Happy Holidays! Have no idea if anyone is reading this story, but if you're here then I just want to say a thank you! The story is almost at half point, so definitely not over yet. Just a note that I know nothing about accounting, or ledgers, also I'm not a lawyer, so please don't take those parts seriously.

The next morning she woke up to the smell of freshly baked bagels. Her stomach made a loud noise and she peaked out from the bedroom to see Matt in kitchen toasting bagels and preparing coffee for them. He was moving his hand above the spice jars reading the braille labels with his fingers, probably trying to find out which one is the right one to use for the fried eggs in the skillet.

"You're up early." Anna greeted him. "How's your wrist?" She walked up to the countertop, pulling herself up on it a little to take a peak of what he's doing.

"The neighbor's dog woke me up, and couldn't fell back asleep, so figured I make myself useful." He replied. "My wrist is much better thank you, I don't feel it swollen anymore."

"That's good to hear. I didn't know you can cook." Anna was surprised.

"Oh, I wouldn't call this cooking. But yes, I can cook."

"You should have had started with that, I wouldn't have hesitated for a second to stay at your place." She joked, but was seriously interested in how a blind man can cook. She supported her weight with her elbows on the countertop, watching him moving in the kitchen. Looked like he memorized where everything was, and was able find things. She made a mental note not to relocate anything in his apartment while she's here.

The coffee maker made a noise and she decided to help out. "How do you like your coffee?" She asked while grabbing two mugs out from the cabinet.

"Just black with a hint of milk, no sugar, please." She poured two cups, preparing them the same, since she drank hers like that as well. He didn't have the red glasses on, but after he finished with preparing the breakfast he reached for them.

"Oh, you don't have to put them on for me." Anna said.

He looked at her direction questionably.

"I mean that's why blind people wear them, right? To cover their eyes from others?"

He smiled. "Partially. People can freak out from unfocused eyes, yes. But they mostly to protect my eyes from bright lights."

She looked all confused. "But you're blind..."

"Most of us still have some light perception, and our eyes are highly sensitive to bright lights. It can be painful, and sometimes causes headache."

"Hmm... so do you see anything? Like shapes? Or only blackness?"

"I see the world on fire."

She shivered. That sounds terrifying.

They walked to the law office talking all the way about random topics, like the city, schools, Anna talked about the different states she lived and what she liked in them, talked about their favorite books, audio books in Matt's case. Religion came up again so Anna learned a few new things about being Catholic, while she told him why she's not really religious.

They arrived to the office way earlier than Foggy and Karen.

"So Foggy and Karen, are they together?" Anna asked while bringing glasses of water to the table.

"Yes, they've been together for almost two years now."

"They seem very happy."

"Yes, they are, I think of them as the perfect couple, they always know what the other thinks and finish each other's sentences."

Anna made dreamy eyes, that must be wonderful. Knowing someone that much and trusting them, being similar thoughts and interests.

"Have you ever had anyone like that?" She asked Matt, who thought about it for a second, probably bringing up nice memories, because he smiled.

"I thought I had." He said eventually. "But now thinking about it, I'm not sure."

"Hmm... I'm sure one day you'll find it. You truly deserve it."

He smiled and lowered his face a little. After a minute he stood up to take some of the papers to a scanning machine. She watched as he scanned them, then bringing his laptop to the room with some weird device and earphones. "I have to digitalize them to be able read them."

She realized it's a braille device, looking like a keyboard, where he can feel the letters like reading a braille book. "Interesting what technology can do now." She watched as the device changing when he turned a page.

"Yes, makes my life easier for sure."

They both started reading the documents, then soon the other two joined in. Karen explained what to look for in the books, and soon they were able to identify some key things, even found part of the missing money, which will put Anna in a good light in front of the Boss.

She left just before noon to get to her shift, while the others kept working.

"This is great!" Karen said and pointing out a company in the papers. "This company started showing up in the ledger last summer, but there's no record about acquiring it, it just started producing generous amount of income." She jumped up from her seat and went to her desk to look up the public records online. The owner is another company, so she was tracing that, which lead to another one. "Damn it, a dead end." She scrolled the page down a little. "Wait! I saw this other company somewhere in the papers!" She rushed back going through the documents quickly. Foggy and Matt stayed still and quiet, waiting for her to finish the lead. "Got it, it's here as well!" She stood up, smiling victorious. The other two made a face of understanding nothing.

"Guys! The building where Daredevil found the smuggled people and the police helped them, remember?" She covered her mouth in excitement. "It's here in the book."

"So we can connect them to that crime." Foggy got excited.

"Yes, we just need to find the owner to prove it it belongs to them, it's hard to track, they set up a bunch of shell companies. But will work on it."

Karen called Anna to fill her in on the details.

Anna stuffed her backpack full with new documents, selecting the ones seem to be helpful for their investigation, and reported to the Boss that she found some of the missing money.

It started getting dark as she walked toward Matt's apartment, looking over her shoulders in every second. Suddenly she felt the presence of someone close by, so picked up the pace and turned to a different direction, not wanting to lead her tail to Matt's apartment. Someone was definitely following her. Only a few seconds passed when a dark figure jumped in front of her from the building.

"Stop doing this please!" She was breathing hard, both hands on her heart after realizing who it was.

"Sorry, you're very good at noticing if someone is following you, so I figured I won't hide anymore." Daredevil said. For someone like her who's been running from people in all her life, watching behind her back is a second nature.

"How generous... But maybe next time say something first. Like, hey, it's me, the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, then jump down." she said sarcastically.

"I never liked that name. But promise, I will remember for next time. I got your voice mail."

Anna blushed, remembering how embarrassing she was when she left that message, so she didn't make a comment. The masked man continued. "I visited the Italian guys. Don Carlos is starting a war against your Boss, I wanted to warn you. If these two gangs start shooting each other, a lot of innocent people will die in the crossfire."

"Holy shit! And I thought this can't get any worse... What can I help with? Is there a way to stop it?"

"You shouldn't do anything, except trying to stay away from them as much as possible. If things go down at least you shouldn't be there."

"Well, I'm kinda working remote now anyways, Boss knows Don Carlos is pissed at me, and he doesn't want to be around when he finds me."

"According to the guy I questioned - and I know he was telling the truth - Don Carlos isn't really interested in you anymore, because they have a bigger fish to catch. They just wanted to scare you."

"Well, they succeeded in that."

"Come, let me walk you home." He reached out for her hand, and she locked her fingers in his immediately. She knew they're gonna take shortcuts through several dark alleys.

"Matt's place is this way." She pointed to the direction. It felt good seeing him again, walking together like before, she realized she missed him. She loved the feeling of his hand in hers, even the gloves didn't matter. She told him about what the lawyers found in the documents, he said he's gonna check on the other buildings in those papers.

"I'm gonna check on a few of them tonight. This whole thing is coming down soon I'm afraid, we need to hurry."

Anna nodded. "Just be careful, please."

"As always." He smirked and stepped in front of her. She didn't even realized they already arrived at the back alley to Matt's building.

She lifted her head to look up at his face in the dark, wishing she could see him without the mask, wishing he would trust her as much to show her his face. He slowly put his hand on her jawline, making small circles with his thumb. She turned her head into it, felt so good, and slowly closed her eyes, enjoying the moment. "Good night, Anna." He said, and disappeared into the darkness.

She took a big sigh, and walked upstairs, to actually use her keys for the first time, since nobody answered the door.

She stepped inside, sneaking in the dark carefully in case he's asleep, but the couch was empty. Then she realized how stupid she was, darkness or lights, doesn't matter to him, so turned the switch on to illuminate the empty apartment.

It felt weird being here alone, but at the same time it started feeling like home. Which is silly according to the short time she's been here. She walked around to check out the little details she hasn't had the chance. There were no pictures on the walls sadly, no family photos either. It was a clean and well organized place, with no clutter. The whole apartment felt like Matt. Her phone beeped and she saw a text message from him.

Hey, I will be late working, trying to finish some paperwork. Please don't wait me up.

She replied back with a short OK, then headed for her shower.

Wasn't able to sleep, she decided to browse on her phone. Matt had a wifi, so she didn't have to steal it from anyone this time. Without thinking, she put his name in Google. More articles came up than she expected. Mostly about Nelson and Murdock taking down Wilson Fisk, so she read the details on them. That happened around the same time she moved to New York, so remembered how big of a deal it was for the city. A few other cases of theirs made it to the papers, then she found his Columbia graduation records, some photos from year books. He had a longer, but cute hair back then, which made her smile. Suddenly a very old article caught her eyes, a young boy saved a man's life by pushing him away before a truck from the chemical plant hit him, causing the boy to lose his sight.

She covered her mouth in shock. His name was right there, he was only 9 years old. He said it was a car accident, but she always thought he was in a car with his Dad. He saved a man's life, and got punished by taking his sight away? Just felt so unfair. And he's here, grown up, and still helping people despite of his blindness. She felt huge respect and adoration toward him.

The related page underneath mentioning a person called Jack Murdock, killed in an alley and stating his only relative, Matthew.

He went through so much pain, her heart started aching.

Suddenly a thud broke the silence of the room. "Matt?" She walked out to the living room, then hearing it again from the roof access.

Matt wouldn't come from the roof she was sure of that. So picked up a broom, and slowly walked up the stairs. There it was again, like someone's hitting the bottom of the door. She swung it open, ready to strike at anyone who's there trying to break in, but instead founding a bloody Daredevil on the ground just by the door.

"Jesus! What happened?"

"It's my leg. Glass cut a main vein." He said and she realized he's missing one sleeve of his shirt, and it tightened around his thigh to slow down the blood flow, while he's applying pressure on it with one hand.

"Can you come in?" Anna asked quickly. It's never safe healing someone out in places where others can see her. Even if it's a rooftop, who knows who else has access to it. "It's just a few stair steps. Matt is not home."

He nodded and tried to stand up. She lowered herself to her knees to help him, putting his left arm on her shoulders and lifting him up to her level. He was heavy. "Just stay with me, ok? Don't pass out, because I might drop you accidentally. Talk about something, it won't take long to walk down. Just keep talking."

Matt was losing a lot of blood and feeling a bit lightheaded, only able to form a few words. "I'm so sorry, Anna."

"It's ok, take a step with me." He did, and he started feeling heavier on her shoulders, probably close to passing out. "Keep talking!" She urged him.

"You deserve.. so much better..." his voice was a bit scattered. "I'm sorry.. I couldn't help.. I just couldn't... stop.. seeing you."

"It's ok, you're ok. We're here. She lowered him by the wall at the bottom of the staircase, not wanting to move any further as necessary.

"Stay with me!" She shook his shoulders, then placed her hands on his thigh. She was ready for the loud noises, but all she heard was his and her heartbeats in her head. He just have been listening and focusing on the sound of it to stay awake. She smelled her own scent mixed with Matt's from his shirt she's wearing again. Then she felt something new, a very deep feeling, similar to what she's feeling toward Daredevil, just intensified. She swallowed, and felt his bare hand moved to hers. The sensation of his touch was excruciating, she never felt anything pleasant like this, it was almost unbearable, but at the same time she didn't want it to stop. This is how he feels touching her? This wasn't her feeling, it was definitely his. He usually locked down his feelings when she was healing him, but this time he's just way too weak, but still conscious, holding onto her to stay awake. She pushed the thoughts away for later, to finally feel the pain from his cut, her thigh burned up as expected, then she healed him until the wound closed.

She woke up an hour later, finding him still next to her on the floor, but awake. "Thank you." He said and squeezed her hands gently. Her eyes wandered to his bare arm unintentionally, seeing the muscles twitching as he repositioned himself. She had to swallow and look away, face all red. She cleared her throat, then asked.

"How do you feel?"

"Dizzy as usual, but not too bad."

"Your body is getting used to this process, eventually you will barely feel anything." She looked around to realize they're in Matt's apartment in the middle of the night, and he can be back in any minute. She couldn't tell the time. "Uhm... do you think you can walk up the stairs? It's not like I want to throw you out, it's just not my place, and Matt could be here any time."

"I would hear it, don't worry."

"Oh, that's right. Super-hearing."

He smirked, but stood up slowly, holding on to the wall and the railing on the other side for support.

"Thank you for blocking out the city's loud noises for me this time." She said, though she wasn't sure if that was intentional or not.

Seeing him tense gave her the answer that it wasn't. Those were his true feelings, unmasked. "Anna... I..." Matt had no idea what to say. His heart was screaming at him to confess his feelings to her, but his mind fighting was against it with multiple reasons.

"That's... that's how you feel when I touch your hand every time?"

He swallowed. "I'm... Anna, I'm a vigilante. I can't... I can't put you in danger... I'm sorry you had to experience that." He lowered his face. "Knowing me and being with me will put you in danger."

"I'm already in danger, it wouldn't change it."

"Oh, trust me... it would be even worse. There are a lot of people after me." He thought about Fisk, who knows Matt's identity, and would be delighted to threaten someone special to Matt, and would happily expose him to the world and police. Plus all the other enemies he has in Hell's Kitchen, and once they find out somehow that Daredevil has a girlfriend... they could easily torture her for the truth.

Anna didn't want to hear any more excuses for the things she felt, she wanted to keep them, and enjoy them for a while. She's been dreaming about him a lot, and learning that he has strong, true feelings toward her as well was the best thing happened to her in a long time. But he was fighting against it, and she didn't want to force anything on him. Especially since she knew exactly what his struggle is. Pushing people away to protect them, that's exactly what she's been doing in her whole life. Plus this probably isn't the best time for any intimate relationship, she's been hiding from the Italian mob, being hunted by other people Daredevil doesn't even know about, plus being a drug dealer... So instead quickly changed the topic.

"What happened in the warehouse exactly?"

Matt let out a breath he was holding.

"I fought a man on the upper level of the warehouse. We fell through a window and the glass cut into me. My mistake."

"Do you feel any glass pieces in you still?" She asked, checking his body with her eyes for other cuts.

"No, I'm good." He said and started walking upstairs. "It's 1:30am already, your lawyer friend is nearby. I better go." He forced his lips together in a thin line, regret on his face. "Thank you again."

"Wait, how do you know exactly it's 1:30am?" She looked at him confused, knowing well he doesn't have a watch on.

"The freight Amtrak train to Albany just left the station. It's never late."

She rounded her mouth in surprise, that train station is miles away. "Oh..."

She curled up on the couch waiting for Matt to show up any second. She sat there for a good 10 minutes when she heard the door's lock turning. Daredevil has a long range of hearing for sure.

"Hi." She said before he entered the living room, didn't want to freak him out.

"Hi." He replied tiredly. "You're awake."

"I couldn't sleep, so just reading here on the couch."

He walked closer and sat down.

She jumped immediately. "Oh my God, Matt! You're bleeding!"

Matt froze. He didn't feel anything on his body, was pretty sure he wiped off every bit of blood. Maybe one of the smaller cuts reopened and bleeding through his shirt? He cleaned up in a rush, so maybe left out something? But she was right, he smelled copper in the air.

Anna rushed to the kitchen and wetted a paper towel. "Here." She said and carefully touched his forehead with it, just above his right eyebrow, cleaning off a small cut there.

Oh, in his hurry he forgot to check under the mask, of course.

"What happened?"

He never liked lying to his friends, but usually it was necessary. "I accidentally dropped a paper on the floor, and while picking it up I slammed my head to the table. I didn't even notice it's bleeding."

She cleaned the skin around it, then went to the bathroom for the medical kit. She remembered seeing it in the drawer when picking a toothbrush for herself. She opened it, realizing how well equipped it was.

"You don't have to do this, I get these small injuries a lot. I will be ok." Matt tried to get out from the situation, worrying of her recognizing anything suspicious.

"I'm here. You're not alone. So let me help." She reached out to remove his glasses. "May I?"

He nodded, and she looked into his deep brown eyes. What's up with men in her life hurting themselves so often?

"This is gonna sting a little." Matt didn't flinch while she disinfected the cut, then applied a bandaid on it. It wasn't deep or anything bad.

"All done." She smiled. "It's so much easier to heal you, than..." she shot her mouth suddenly, realizing she almost compared him to Daredevil. "Never mind..."

Matt raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask questions, knowing exactly who she almost referred to.

"Since you're injured, it's my turn to sleep on the couch." Anna said with confident, and laid back on it.

Matt started laughing. "I wouldn't call this small cut an injury."

"Well, it was bleeding, so for me it looked very serious. I'm staying here, no arguments." She pulled her feet up as well, pushing it to his thigh, trying to make him leave. "You have to move me if you want to take it. But warning you, I'm a fierce and dangerous fighter!" She made a scary face, even though he couldn't see it.

Matt's first thought was to stand up and lift her up in his arms and take her to the bed, but that's something what possibly Daredevil would do. Matt Murdock, he's a blind man, cannot possibly lift someone up and walk her to a different room without bumping into something.

"Oh, is that so? Is that a challenge? Because I also have to warn you that I'm a very dangerous fighter as well, I can't see shit, so my attacks are extremely unpredictable."

Anna bursted out laughing, and she had to sit up from her position not to choke.

"Now, you're laughing at a blind man? How do you sleep, Miss Sanders?"

Anna covered her mouth, but couldn't stop smiling. After a few minutes she calmed down a little, dropping her head back on the headrest this time.

"Either way, I'm not moving." She said still a smile on her face.

"As you wish." Matt said and dropped his head back as well. They were sitting next to each other for a few minutes, until Anna felt her eyes are giving up, and slowly closing. She repositioned herself, finding a comfortable pillow to her right then the world went dark. Matt stayed there still, her head on his left shoulder, smiling pleasantly. He could stay here forever.

Anna woke up at something touching her back. She opened her eyes realizing they both fell asleep on the couch, her head on his shoulder and his left arm wrapped around her body. She rubbed her eyes and looked up, meeting straight with a pair of unfocused brown eyes.

"We're both stubborn." She broke the silence and Matt slowly untangled his arm so she can sit up straight.

"Let's call it a draw." He said, and Anna started laughing again, feeling just a little embarrassed about sleeping with him like that. To her surprise it felt just right, and suddenly she missed his embrace around her body. There was this feeling, the heat down in her abdomen what also squeezed her chest tight. Realization hit her that she felt the same way toward Daredevil. She deeply cared about both of them, and was wondering what does this means. She never felt this with any of the few men she dated with in her life, so treated it as a very special thing. But now she's feeling it toward two men. What's wrong with her? But maybe she shouldn't think too much about this, since she's not dating any of these two men right now. This was just a silly competition for the couch, so don't need to talk anything more into it.

Anna went to the Boss's office after her bakery shift to pick up some more documents. He was working at his desk, talking with someone on his cell in Russian. He motioned toward her to come in, so Anna walked up to the filing cabinet and started filling up her backpack as usual. The conversation he was having started sounding more and more heated, so he stood up and walked outside, now yelling with the person on the other side of the line. Anna peaked out to see him on the front patio. This is your chance! She told to herself and rushed to his desk. The drawers at his desk were unlocked, so she pulled them out one by one forcefully, finding all sorts of documents there, including passports. She pulled them out and took photos of them without checking much. Same with a few other papers, but then she heard him approaching. Quickly pushed it back and stepped back to her backpack, closing the zipper on it.

"Those bastard Italians..." he cursed between his teeth.

"What happened?" Anna asked curiously, this didn't sound good.

"They blew up one of our restaurants. I can't believe we weren't able to stop them. I'm sure that masked man also works for them, he showed up at our other warehouse last night as well. Need to take things to the next level."

Anna swallowed, the gang war definitely has started.

"I found all the missing money." Anna said to calm him down a bit. "Your assistant, Tony Romanov, bought two boats and a property on it, the rest got transferred to this bank account."

The Boss took the paper from her. "Finally, some good news. At least someone works for me is capable, good work." He read through the notes. "I want you to transfer all these under my name. It's not like a dead man will need them anyway."

"Uhm, under what name?" She asked.

"Alexander Ivanov."

Anna nodded. Alexander Ivanov, that doesn't sound that scary of a name.

"Alexander Ivanov." Said Anna on the phone. "Do you think you can find something on him?"

"I'll look, also checking the criminal database." Karen said. "I'm sure we'll find something on him."

"I also have photos of more papers, and his passport, if you need more details. I'll text them in a minute." Anna said while walking up the stairs.

"Great! Are you still at Matt's?" Karen asked, and Anna could tell she was smiling.

"Yes. But I will start cleaning my apartment tomorrow, so can give his life back as soon as possible."

"I don't think he minds you staying there. Matt seems much happier in the past few weeks than I've ever seen him." The strawberry blonde said.

Anna looked surprised, though she also noticed Matt's change of mood lately. They said goodbyes and Anna stepped to the apartment.

Matt was on the couch with several documents printed in braille, he had his suit and tie tossed on the armchair, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He was focusing on something important when noticed her.

"Busy still with work?" Anna asked.

"Almost done, we have the case against the Russians, I just want to add some more details." He said.

"I have something to add: Alexander Ivanov, aka the Boss."

Matt put down the papers and faced to her direction. "That's great! How did you get it?"

"He told me, so no need to worry, I didn't have to do anything dangerous." Anna dropped down on the couch right next to him, only an inch away. "Maybe now you can put down your work and relax?" She smiled.

He pushed the papers to the coffee table and his mouth curved into a big smile. "We got them! You will be free soon."

"Karen is looking him up just now, most likely will find some additional dirt." Her eyes wandered to his bare forearms, noticing how well muscled they are. Is he working out? He doesn't seem like the type. Her heartbeat picked up as she noticed some visible veins running up on them, feeling the urge to touch them and run her fingers along them. Wish I could see his upper arms...

Matt noticed her heart rate speeding up, but wrote it down to the fact of getting close to being free from the Russians.

"Anna, if it comes to it, can you testify?"

She shook her head to wake herself up from daydreaming. "What's gonna happen to me then? I will have to admit committing crime, right?"

"Right, but against your will, plus all the information you're providing should be enough for a plea."

She nodded. "I trust you." She said. "And I will do as you say."

He made a gentle smile. "Everything is going to be ok."

Next day was crazy. Karen called in the morning that she indeed found records on Alexander being a criminal, and she was also able to connect him with the warehouses. Matt was on the phone with their other clients involved in this case, all victims, notifying them one by one about a possible hearing coming up soon, so they can testify. They have all the gang member names and photos collected, thanks to Anna, so the others can identify the ones involved.

Anna rushed to the bakery for her shift, but her phone was ringing in every hour, getting updates from Karen. By the afternoon they had a court date scheduled for tomorrow morning, as an initial hearing. Her heart was hammering loud in her chest, she was jumpy, but trying to keep it calm, so the customers in the bakery wouldn't think she's high on some drugs.

Obviously, with the sped up events cleaning up her own apartment can wait for a bit, so she was still at Matt's place. It was empty, Matt was in the office with the other two working on the details. She was still on the edge, so decided to do some cleaning to calm her nerves down, carefully remembering to put everything back to its original place. After Matt came home they went through her testimony, and he asked her the same questions he will at court. It was midnight when she started yawning, so Matt decided it's time to call it a day.

She woke up to her alarm the next morning, feeling dead tired from the lack of sleep.

"You're a life saver!" She walked to the kitchen with both arms reaching out in front of her, walking toward the coffee he just made.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" He asked, raising his brows.

"Not much. Ugh, I am so nervous."

"You're gonna do just fine, trust me."

She drank the dark liquid feeling a little better already.

The hearing was different than she thought would be. There were maybe five people in the room listening to them with a camera. Guards posted by the door, which made her uncomfortable, like they were here because of her, because she's a criminal.

Finally it was her turn, and she sat by the table in front of the camera. It started with general questions, name, date of birth, and such. Then her involvement, her Dad's involvement, some details about what she was forced to do, and the fact that they won't let her go that easy. She told them all the names, the shipment, the killed people, and the smuggling. Karen pushed written documents in front of them, then she had to identify the gang members on the photos. The other witnesses got called in, got asked similar questions. Finally the police came in the room, and got ordered to bring all of the Russians in. They got dismissed. She relaxed, and looked at Matt, who was talking with one of the judges, and finally she let herself just feel happy. It's over. They're bringing them in. They're going behind bars. She knew there will be more hearings, but those can't be this hard. They believed her, and they're letting her go free. Then Matt was next to her, so she hooked her arm in his to walk him out from the room. She felt her tears start coming out from happiness, so had to swallow hard to keep them at bay. Matt rubbed her arm to make her relax.

Her happiness was short lived unfortunately. They left the courtroom, stepped outside of the courthouse when all of a sudden a bunch of flashes vibrating in her face, people yelling and asking questions. When the realization hit her and saw these people were all reporters, and the TV news camera was rolling with her face in the news, she froze, freed her arm from Matt's and started running to the street, away from all those people.