"THE RED VICTORY SAGA" - Chapter Three: Before The Villain

This backstory is based on the opening sequence of Daredevil #37. We hope you enjoyed that little schmaltzy piece...'cause things are about to get uglier. :)


A trip down memory lane. Matt Murdock's apartment. Nine years ago...

Elektra sat against the mahogany backboard of the bed, undressed. It was warm outside, a typical muggy summer night in Hell's Kitchen. She eyed the shadows on the wall in front of her and memorized the layout of his bedroom. His nice work table. His potted plants. She was comfortable. Tired. Hair fell across her eyes onto her tan brow which still had nuances of sweat glistening over it. She listened to him breathing quietly on the bed below her. He lay on his back, between her legs. They had made love for an hour and would go on to spend the rest of the night talking until they fell asleep. She never let him know how much she loved listening to him, but Matt knew he made Elektra happy in so many more ways. There weren't many people in her life who had been close to her. He'd been the first to figure her out, really. The first to listen. The first to smile without asking for a smile in return. And as far as their relationship went, Matt had been the first she'd been in bed with, too. He had been special to her then. So very, very special... "What are you thinking about, Matt?" Her voice was unearthly quiet. She usually never spoke above a murmur. But she wanted to know what was dancing inside of his head, and if she was in there at all.

Daredevil stared up at her, as if by sheer force of will he might be able to make out something of her. Anything. Matt sighed when he couldn't, and settled for reaching up a hand to slide over her jaw in reverence. "I'm thinking I wish I could see what you look like right now." He'd traced her features a hundred times, knew the structure of her high cheekbones. But just once, he wanted to look up and see her watching him.

Elektra was watching him. She didn't need to bow her head in order to catch his latches lifting in her direction. Though he had welting scars where his eyes once were, Matt's lashes were remarkably spared from the accident he encountered in his youth. They were still thick, and beautiful. Her hands, too, remained where they were - atop his head, where her nails soothingly gathered his dirty blonde locks in idle fashion. She said nothing for a while, merely shifted her gaze to the moon. She had to remind herself that he'd seen the moonlight before, in his earlier life. It made her feel less sorry for him. One of his hands were collected and placed over her heart. The beats told him everything. "Makes two of us," Elektra replied quietly.

Daredevil smiled lightly, half-smiling. "You're not that vain." He loved semantics. If he couldn't be observant in the traditional manner, he was always one to catch an opportunity to point out a verbal observation. He found himself entranced by the warmth at the back of his neck where it rested against her radiating skin.

Elektra smiled faintly. She caught a corner of her unstained lips lifting on her reflection across the room, on his étagère mirror. Its very existence inwardly amused her every time she saw it. She considered her lover's handicap, then her thoughts drifted elsewhere. She spied something else across the room - the endearing sight of two vibranium sais lying beside a sheathed billy club on the table. "Shut up. I'm serious..." Her fingers lowered unconsciously down his head and lightly began playing with his ears. They had been red ever since the two of them had slunk into bed. One of his more adorable features... She eyed the rest of him - lightly decorated with a thin bed sheet, his feet poking out beneath. Would he have minded it much if he knew just how much she stared at him sometimes? "Why do you keep a mirror...?" The woman was about as inquisitive as she was random.

Daredevil thought about that for a moment, staring up at the ceiling. Staring being a relative term. His world was pitch-black. He idly wondered if he'd ever just forget what black looked like and see emptiness. "If I told you..." He caught a hand and kissed it - "You wouldn't have anything to wonder about whenever you're here."

Elektra was insistent. "I think of you," she replied quietly. "You're just too busy being a jerk to notice..." Her words were so tight and controlled that anyone else would have thought her serious.

Daredevil kept up his defenses. "Sue me." Same manner, fired right back at her.

Elektra held back her laughter, even her smile. She punished him momentarily for the quip, shifting her leg away so her frame was suddenly beside him instead of above. Regardless, they were no longer touching for the moment. Elektra lay on her stomach and propped herself up on her forearms, studying his face. She encountered so many faces every day and yet Matt's was her absolute favorite. It seemed to change so often when she examined it. He had a nice brow. Why she thought that sexy, she couldn't explain. Matt's body was high on her list of 'mysterious things to decode'. "I should..." she began, but the urge to rest her head against his bare shoulder grew strong. She held back on it, though. "Love you." Those words escaped her lips about an average once a month...

Daredevil's mind jumped to attention at that. "Love you, El." He wanted to tell her more, but couldn't stand the thought of her replying in kind because she felt she had to. It wouldn't be fair.

Elektra watched Matt's lips closely, as though every word he uttered was sacred because they were meant only for her. Their honesty hurt because of that. Elektra had never felt more loved by anyone. She had never been given anything so special. Matt's simple presence humbled her. There were elements of her father in him. That was only part of her fascination, but she had honestly never met so extraordinary a human being. His honesty. His integrity. Matt had intrigued her from their first meeting on campus, and he continued to do so ever since. Still, he unnerved her somewhat. The thought of getting too close to him challenged her fears. Matt encouraged her to expose herself and she...simply couldn't bring herself to. Not in the way he wanted her to open up to him... Yet she knew that no one else in her future could ever be as capable of reading into her heart quite as thoroughly as Matt Murdock can... Elektra said nothing further and hugged herself tightly to the man beside her, burying her tired head against the hollow of his neck. She was 20 years old and naive, sullen, had not yet tasted the life of villainy...but she was loved, embraced, and she fell asleep on the man who was responsible for giving her all those things.