Hi everyone, sorry this chapter took a bit longer to post, I decided to rewrite parts of it. The title could be "Out of the frying pan into the fire." Some fight, argument, and smut :)
This can't be happening. Not now, not when finally she can be free from the Russians. Not now when she found friends and actually started liking living here in New York. She doesn't want to run away. But what other choice she has? Her face was in the news! Those people will find her, and it's way harder to escape from them than the Russians. Especially after what she did. Her stomach flipped and she started hyperventilating. Lowered herself next to the dumpster in the alley behind Matt's building.
"Anna?" Matt's voice came from the back door of the building.
She sobbed, then collected herself a bit. "I'm here, Matt, next to the dumpster."
She heard his cane knocking on the ground, then finding the dumpster. It made hollow sounds as he tapped his way to where she was sitting. On the concrete, scattered by trash. She was so distracted, didn't even question how he was able to find her here.
"What happened out there?" He asked, reaching toward her with a tissue. She reached for it, it was toward her left a little.
She realized she can't tell him anything. She doesn't want to put him in danger. He doesn't know about her abilities, probably would think she's a nut job. A freak. If she just told him about those people, he will question the reason why they want to get to her. She could call Daredevil, but wasn't sure if it's a good idea to put his life at risk either. The memory of his lifeless body was still in front of her eyes, engraved deeply in her heart as a reminder how dangerous was bringing other people into her mess. She only has one option, leave town and run. It worked before, and nobody will get hurt.
"Sorry. I freaked out of the reporters, the lights and cameras. I don't feel comfortable being in the news." She said rocking back and forth in her sitting position, looking down at her hands, not wanting to see his face and expression. Matt tilted his head, listening to her heartbeat, which was fast, but steady. She's telling the truth. But he was sure that she's not telling him everything.
"Come, let's go upstairs." He reached his hand to her way, and she shifted a little to grab it. Her heart stopped at the feeling, his hand was strong and rough, she could feel the callouses on it. A tingling sensation ran through her body and locked her fingers in his automatically after she stood up. She hold this hand before. Or maybe she just imagining it, started having similar feelings toward Matt as she has toward Daredevil? They were very similar in a lot of ways, but also different. Maybe she's just being too stressed out right now that can't think clear and talks more into things? But this feeling, it's like they have done this before. Would it be possible? Can they be the same man? Matt is blind, there's no way he can jump, fight, run like Daredevil does. Unless... unless Matt isn't really blind, just playing a role to hide his other identity.
Anna shook her head. You are being silly, yet again.
They walked up to the apartment holding hands, and Anna deep in thoughts.
Matt reached up to remove his glasses and set them on the coffee table. Patted the seat next to him on the couch for her to sit. Anna made a big sigh, but obeyed.
"I know you're scared." He started. "But you need to know that you can trust me. With anything." His eyes were looking at the wall somewhere behind her. "I'm your friend, not just your lawyer, you know that, right?"
Anna's heart wanted to jump out of her chest. She wanted him to be her friend, she trusted him. But she needs some time to think. She only revealed her powers when it was a life and death situation, basically the circumstances forced her to do it. She was sure he won't believe it, hell, she wouldn't believe it. And if he would, then he would be disgusted of her, maybe even scared of her. For what she did. Then she thought about the consequences again, bringing Matt into this another big mess of hers. She can't do that to him, she cared about him way too much to do such thing. Her tears started falling again.
She slowly nodded "Yes. And I trust you, Matt." She sighed. "But I just can't." There it was, her sobbing again in front of him, feeling her body shaking with it. Her blurry eyes were watching her own hands in her laps, her hair fallen in her face getting all wet from her tears as the old memories came into the surface again. Suddenly she felt his hands on her shoulders, pulling her whole body closer to his. His gentle action opened the gate of flood, and now she was crying louder as her pain grew, letting it all out, lifting her hands up in fists and hammering his chest in pain. Why does this happening to her? Why her life can't get to be just normal, like others? She doesn't deserve someone like Matt, why was he still here comforting her? He just sat there for minutes, taking her beating without any word, having his nice white dress shirt got soaked by her tears, pulling her closer to his body to ease the pain. Anna slowly calmed down a bit and got over her self pity, her sobbing stopped in his embrace. She carefully distanced herself from him, feeling ashamed about her sudden outburst, and rubbing her eyes with her palms.
"I'm sorry... I... I need some fresh air." She said eventually and stood up.
He nodded with a surprised and worried look on his face. "Ok. I will be here, anytime you feel like you are ready to talk."
She walked out the door, running down the stairs to the street. Matt knew she needs some time to think, to be alone. He knew he should respect that, but he was also worried. It's been a while since he saw her this upset and he knew that there was a good reason for it. But what? The Russians were not a threat anymore. He changed to his black outfit to follow her from the far distance, just to make sure she's ok. He remembered last time he saw her upset like this, when the Italians covered her place in blood, what she thought belonged to people they killed. She needed some time to let out her pain, then she recovered fast. He was hoping this is gonna be similar, but now she needed some time to work it out.
It started getting dark and cool already and Anna pulled her sweater closed on her body, crossing her arms in front of her. She was mindlessly walking down the streets without any planned route, just where her feet took her. After a good hour she stopped at a sudden noise. Sounded like someone just stepped on an empty soda can, crushing it under his foot. She eyed the dark alley to her right and shivered. Where am I? She was alone in a bad section of town, all lost. She quickly passed the alley without breaking in to a run and swallowed her panic, not wanting to draw attention to herself. She hurried down two blocks, hoping she's heading to the right direction, but honestly had no idea. It was dark now, there were not a soul on the streets, and only half of the street lights were working, which meant she had to pass sections in pitch dark. The only noise was her quiet footsteps in her tennis shoes. She stopped at an intersection, turning around, trying to identify the neighborhood, but wasn't familiar with the street numbers. Suddenly a movement caught her eyes from the far distance, in the middle of the road. As she carefully walked closer, staying flat to the building walls as much as possible she saw a man with one arm in cast desperately trying to lift up a manhole cover. He was struggling with one arm, since the other was all bandaged till the tip of his fingers while Anna slowly sneaked closer. The blood drained from her head as she recognized the man. One of the two who killed Bobby and Duke, the one who's arms got broken by Daredevil. Apparently one arm healed enough to remove the cast, but the other was still pretty much healing. What is he doing with that manhole? She watched as he was finally able to drag the lid to the side, just enough so he can slide into the hole underneath.
Anna looked around the dark intersection to confirm that nobody else was around, and tiptoed to the spot where the Italian guy disappeared. He left the cover pushed aside, too lazy to close it back up, so she was able to peak into the black darkness.
"Nope. Don't even think about it." She told to herself. Why would he go down there? He belonged to the Italian mob, what business would he have in the sewers? Without the Russians in the picture they don't even have to hide in Hell's Kitchen anymore, they could just walk free on these streets. One of her weaknesses was her curiosity which she was certain one day gonna get her killed. Whatever that guy was doing in down there can't be good. She lowered her head, flinching from the smell, then standing up and walking in small circles until she made up her mind.
"Fuck it, those other guys gonna find me anyways, I'll be dead soon, might as well do something good and find out what the hell these guys are up to." she murmured under her nose before pulled her cell phone out from her pocket and illuminated the iron ladder leading down to the complete darkness. She grabbed the cold metal - slimy from the night's humidity - as strong as she could and carefully made her way down without slipping. She flashed her light to both direction of the tunnel, and picked one to follow. There was a shallow stream at the bottom of the sewer, and she tried her best to avoid it and walk on the side as much as possible, who knows what's in that water. After passing through a few intersections she was completely unsure about her whereabouts, but then finally the sewer opened and she found herself in a large wide area. She scanned through it, noticing several wooden crates. Anna recognized them right away, the Russians kept their drugs and guns in similar crates as well, so apparently the Italians were moving their products to Hell's Kitchen through the sewers. Well, she had to admit it's less noticeable for the police than doing so on the streets. She snapped a few pictures and opened the Maps on her phone to mark the location, scrolling to Daredevil's number, debating if she should pass this information to the mask man, or not. A sudden nausea washed over her what she's been trying to ignore in the past thirty minutes, and she turned her screen off. The smell was getting worse and worse, especially here in this open area and she knew she needed fresh air soon otherwise she's gonna throw up. She looked around confused, just realizing she had no clue which direction she came from to get to this room. "Shit..." she cussed and started running down one of the tunnels, hoping for the best. The smell and her nausea got intensified, and she was certain this isn't the smell of the sewer, more like rotten meat, and desperately trying to convince her panicking nerves that it's animal and not human, though underneath she knew exactly well that it's a lie. She broke into a sprint now, didn't care about the nasty smudge splashing high up on her legs, and after a nighty degree turn her flashlight hit a man carrying a huge backpack, the same man with cast on his arm. Both of them froze and he dropped his weight and started running toward her. She panicked and turned on her heels to run to the opposite direction, hoping she can get away without fighting. As usual, she was wrong. As she got back to the large room, she ran straight into another man just right around the corner. He grabbed her, spinning her around and holding her back close to his body, one arm under her breasts by her ribs tightly, cutting her air. This man was very tall, about 6'4", full of muscles, strong and she immediately regretted her stupid idea to come down here to investigate. The guy who was chasing her finally arrived, bending over, trying to catch some air.
"I know you... you little bitch!" He forced the words out finally through his teeth with thick accent. "You are Daredevil's girlfriend!"
"Oh, hahaha! Is she?" The huge guy who was holding Anna laughed up viciously, and she realized what did this mean. These men hated Daredevil, and they would do anything to hurt him, or kill him, and she just handed herself to them on a silver platter. The man holding her released his grip just a little so she was able to suck in some desperately needed air. "What should we do to her?"
"I know what I want to do to her, Daredevil broke my arms. And since she's so precious to him, I'm gonna fuck her first... hard... then hand her over to Don Carlos. He will be pleased to have something so important to Daredevil. I'm sure after some convincing she's gonna tell us everything about the masked man, his identity, his whereabout. This is awesome!" Anna saw his white teeth flicker in the dark and her anger started rising in her chest. She always got angry when men took their strength on a much weaker woman. She assessed her situation now that she can breathe. She can free herself from this big fellow, but then probably the other will jump on her right away. With the cast on she didn't expect him to give her a big challenge though. But then she can't expect the tall guy would just stand here doing nothing either, and she was in a huge disadvantage against him. She had to wait until the time was right, until they get distracted. She eyed the cast guy walking up to her while removing his belt around his waist, tossing it aside the ground, a few feet away from her feet. He lifted one finger and brushed it over her mouth and Anna had to swallow a gag not to throw up right there. His other hand grabbed her breast and she wiggled her body in an effort to get away from his touch.
"Yeah, she's very hot and probably feisty in bed if Daredevil likes her." He said and Anna spit in his face and at the same time drove her left elbow back at the tower behind her. The big guy bent over just a few inches and she grabbed his arm what was gripping around her chest still to lift herself up and deliver a snap kick out on the balls of the other man. He yelped in pain, and as Anna's feet touched the ground again she punched back at the big guy's groin. He lost his balance in the pain and released her, but his weight pushed Anna to the ground. She went down on her knees, her hair falling into her face. Next time she will come down to the sewers she will remember bringing hair ties. Quickly spun around on the ground to be able to see her attackers and scooted back fast on her butt to avoid him stepping or falling on her and her right hand felt the dropped belt on the ground. She grabbed the belt but before she was able to stand up the muscle guy tried to attack her. So she kicked her legs out as fast as she could, hearing a cracking noise as her heel collided with his knee joint. He growled in pain and grabbed her legs with anger, pulling her closer to him on the concrete. The guy with his arm in cast stepped next to her and she swung the belt she was still holding at him, hitting his head with the heavy metal buckle what cowboys wear, as he bent over to touch her. She saw blood streaming from his temple where the metal clip hit him and to her surprise he stayed down. Her focus moved to the bodybuilder, who was still holding her ankles.
"Marco was right about you being feisty!" He laughed and felt his grip loosened around her ankles just to hit by a sharp pain on her belly as he kneeled on it to keep her pinned down. His hands went busy undoing his zipper, then lowered his face close to hers for a kiss and grabbed her breast strong with his hand, while the other forcing her head to stay still. He made a mistake though underestimating her and leaving her arms free. Before his lips touched hers she reached up and poked her fingers straight into his right eye. He cried out loud, falling back on his butt while retreating. Now she was able to breathe again, and jumped on her feet in an attempt to run as fast as she could, except he reached out for her left ankle, closing his fingers around it with iron grip, spinning her around. The sudden force made her lose her balance and her head snapped back on the cold concrete as pain ricocheted through her skull.
Never go down, or you'll have a big disadvantage. But if things go really bad and you end up there, try to get up as fast as you can.
She heard Tom's voice in her head, but couldn't make her body move to stand up, suddenly feeling the heavy weight of her eyelids.
Sorry, Tom, I did my best.
"Anna!" She heard a familiar deep but overly concerned yell, and forced her eyes open to see if she imagined it. The huge muscle guy was standing next to her - pants back on thankfully - bleeding from one eye where she got him good, blocking Daredevil's punches who just approached him. The masked man's 5'10" height looked tiny and lightweight compared to his enemy, and in the next second she saw him flying against the wall, hitting it hard with his back. This isn't good. She turned on her side in an attempt to get up and help him, but the sudden move made her head spin and the darkness fell on her eyes.
Next time she opened them a picture of black boots in front of her body appeared in her view, then they were slowly backing up toward her. They belonged to her savior who was standing again, protecting her and fighting against a big group of men now. She closed her eyelids, but heard several thuds, punches and bones breaking before all faded and darkness fell over her again.
Next time she regained consciousness she felt two strong arms were scooping her up from the freezing cold concrete, pulling her close to his chest.
"You're gonna be ok... just stay with me..." The man said and she had no recollection where she was and why he's carrying her, but she knew this man and felt safe in his arms. His scent, his concerned voice, the tone he spoke, his hard muscled body, all reminded her to earlier this evening when he pulled her close to comfort her.
"Matt..." she whispered, and Daredevil froze. It's funny how easily our subconscious mind can put the pieces together in a sudden lightning flash, but then when the analytical part of our brain is working our feelings get clouded by skepticism and reasonings. But deep down it just knows without doubt. For a few seconds everything went quiet and still, no more steps splashing in the water, no more yelling from the distance, she didn't even hear him breathing. She had no idea why he stopped and what happened, but her hands moved up around his neck, leaning into his body more before she passed out again.
The cold breeze woke her up next time. They weren't in the sewers anymore, he just climbed up to a rooftop with her and the wind was howling there. He stopped as he noticed her opening her eyes.
"Hey, how are you feeling?"
Anna looked around in the dark and her eyes met his masked face. "My head... feels like someone hit me with a sledgehammer... or an axe."
"You slammed it to the ground while fighting with the Italians..." He said and she noticed his jaw clenched and his features changed sharp. Oh... he was angry. She was getting better at reading his emotions in the mask. He's been guarding them carefully, but sometimes just for a split second they're all visible on his face. He lowered her down carefully, and she hang onto him for balance then sat down, back supported by the chimney, rubbing her face with two hands. Daredevil sat down next to her.
"So..." he started and Anna knew he had to use a lot of strength to control his emotions right now. "What were you thinking going down there?"
"Arrggg..." she growled, really didn't want to hear a lecture right now when her head is gonna split into two halves. "I was an idiot, I know! I don't need to hear it from you, ok? I just recognized the cast-armed guy - Marco by the way - from the... you know... and wanted to know what was he doing down there."
"And you didn't think maybe... just maybe once call me and wait for me instead of investigating by yourself?"
"I was right there, he would have gone by the time you got there. And I took him out, could have handled the big guy too if I didn't slip and hit my head." She protested, then realization hit her. "How did you find me?"
"You texted me the map location from the sewer."
"I did?"
"Yes, but nothing else. And you went down by yourself, risking your life."
"I just wanted to see what they're doing and leave. I wasn't planning on being attacked by a muscle tower and..." She swallowed down the fact of them wanting to rape her, calling her as Daredevil's girlfriend. He didn't need to know every details, especially not the ones what would make him angrier. Her eyes scanned him from head to toe in the dark, only lit by the city night lights from the distance, noticing blood all over his clothes, and wondering what happened down there after she passed out. She jerked at the sight of his torn shirt on his left arm revealing a deep cut on his biceps. He will need stitches. Her eyes moved up to his jaw and mouth, what were free from the mask. He wasn't just masculine, but also sexual and frightening at the same time. He looked very different tonight, more distanced than ever, more serious, and all his fury was directed toward her. If she didn't know better she would be so afraid right now that just run away screaming as fast as she could.
She looked at him again. He turned his face away. She shrugged and tuned her gaze toward the city.
They both sat there in an uncomfortable silence for minutes, pissed, deep in their own thoughts. Matt closed his eyes under the mask and focused on slowing his breathing down to cage his anger.
"You weren't an idiot." He said eventually with a big sigh, and Anna looked up at his face again with a weak smile. Some of the tension left his features. "You were brave going down there by yourself. Reckless, but brave."
She thought about it, yes, he can call it reckless. But the truth was that she was tired of running. She's been running from those people in her whole life, and now that her face was in the news she knew it's just a matter of time before they're gonna find her here in Hell's Kitchen. So far she's been trying to avoid confrontation, staying hidden and invisible as much as she could, but that's over. She just had an emotional breakdown earlier in front of Matt, and she didn't really care what's gonna happen with her down there. It didn't matter anymore. She didn't have much time left here, and she wanted to use it for good, keep fighting, helping people and Daredevil as much as she could. The Italians were about to take over Hell's Kitchen and she knew Daredevil was working on stopping that. So here was her chance to help and she did, and was ready to do more before she's leaving town or dies.
"I thought about what you said last time... in Matt's apartment." She thinned her lips. "That you don't do relationships..."
"And?" He asked with deep voice.
"And I agree." Anna raised her head and looked straight at his, as much as it was possible in that mask. "We should stay on the business level."
Daredevil laughed, and she watched his chest shaking with it. "Are you serious? You just got free from the Russians, Anna! This business partnership we had is over, you're free now." His jaw tightened again, and his anger was back, his voice got louder and deeper, the tone what makes your bones freeze. "You weren't listening to what I just said? Don't go near the sewers again, stay out of trouble, keep yourself away from the Italians... This isn't your fight anymore." He stood up hands clenched in fists, and took a deep breath to add it quietly. "Just enjoy a normal happy life now that you can! Maybe find some friends, get married and things. You have a chance for all that now."
Anna felt her temper was rising, she hated when people, especially men told her things like this. Like they knew her, like they had any idea what's out there looking for her. Like they knew what she wants. Like they have the right to fight, but not her because it's safer to just hide. Yes, he came to her rescue several times, but so did she, she also saved his ass. But even when angry at him right now she still didn't want to drag more problems into his life, especially since he's planning on excluding her from his completely. So kept it quiet about the people hunting her, the fact that she can never have real close friends, and like she would have any idea what normal life was anyways..
"Right..." She said with bitterness and the edge of her lips curved down.
Matt felt horrible, they never fought before, not like this. Sure, he was angry at her once when she went on a reckless mission by herself, but that wasn't the same. Pushing her away hurt him more than he thought it would. But seems like she keeps putting herself into danger to fight against bad people and didn't want that for her. He also had to keep people away from him, especially from him as Daredevil. Daredevil has lots of enemies who would be happy to kill her just to hurt the masked man if they find out they have a connection. She needed to understand that they never can have a future together, not partnership, not friendship and especially not more than friendship. He didn't want her to go and keep putting herself in danger, trying to fight against yet another drug cartel. He gently touched her hand as an apology for yelling at her, but she pulled it away the instant.
"I chose this life long ago, and I'm not gonna drag you down with me. Stay away from trouble, Anna." He sad quietly, almost like a whisper, then disappeared in the dark night.
Anna sat there for a while until her body started shaking from the cold, then stood up to look around where the heck he left her. She was standing on top of the bakery's building where she worked.
"Thank you for saving me by the way." She whispered to the air, wasn't sure if he can hear that or not and started walking on the rooftops toward Matt's apartment.
It was dark and quiet as she walked down the stairs to the living area. Matt wasn't on the couch. She froze, spinning around in the billboard flashed home, realizing it's all empty. Matt isn't home. She checked the time on her phone, it was 3am in the morning. Her head wanted to explode, throbbing painfully from the impact earlier, and this newly added stress didn't help. She dialed his number right away, just to make herself jump as a loud robotic voice cut into the quiet. "Anna... Anna... Anna..."
She saw his phone vibrating on the coffee table.
"Shit!" He must have went outside looking for her after she left crying. Of course he would do that, he's always worried and ready to help her. How could she be so stupid, yet again? She didn't even think about him when she went down to the sewers. She pulled on one of his hoodies hanging from the rack and ran down the stairs looking for him. After running around the empty and dark streets for an hour, she still couldn't find him anywhere. It started raining, so frozen to the bone, soaked, and with splitting headache she went back to the apartment. Her feelings got intensified as she realized it was still empty.
"No, no, no..." She paced around for a minute before yanked the front door open to go back down there, just to see Matt walking toward the door from the elevator. He was soaking wet as well, holding his cane in his right hand, still wearing his lawyer suit from yesterday, but no dark glasses.
"I'm sorry..." She spoke up as a huge wave of relief washed over her as he approached the door. "I... I lost track of time."
"Anna!" His lips curved up in a smile and he stopped in front of her. "I was looking for you everywhere. Is everything ok? Are you ok?" He asked, tilting his head to the right to read her reactions. Does she remember that she called him Matt down in the sewers? Would she really figured his secret out, or it was just her head injury playing tricks?
Anna watched him, wondering why this situation felt so familiar to her. This intense focus with the head tilted... Daredevil. He was tilting his head similar, now she knows when Daredevil's doing it it means he's listening to something, most likely her heartbeat to tell if she's lying. But that's just silly, Matt doesn't have super hearing. Or does he?
You're imagining things again, better stop it. Matt is a blind man, who's relying on his hearing more, that's all.
"I will be." She said quietly and put her hand on his left arm to walk him in to the apartment. He tensed as she touched the cut on his biceps, but composed himself fast, swallowing the sharp pain. Before she would notice it, he spoke up.
"You were out for so long, I worried something happened."
"Sorry, I just needed time to think."
"Why are you shivering? You just got back home?" He asked as her teeth made a chattering sound.
"No, about an hour ago. I went back out looking for you after I found the place empty, then it started raining as you also noticed." She smiled at his wet hair. He looked adorable.
"Go, get a hot shower, that will help warming you up."
She nodded nervously. "What about you?"
"I can wait." He said and as she looked at his eyes this time she saw a lot of mixed emotions there, pain, sadness, guilt. She slowly let go of his arm. Something was wrong.
"Are you ok?" She asked him worriedly.
Both sides of of his lips drew back in a fake smile, what she recognized immediately. She's getting pretty good at reading Matt as well, not just the masked man. The other man in her life who's emotions were also always so perfectly controlled, but there were these split seconds when she was able to see through his walls. He quickly recomposed his features to a neutral one. "Of course, I was just worried, it's very late and you were out alone."
Guilt hit her again as she realized her little disappearance must have scared him more than he showed it. But there was something else he's not telling her. She nodded. "Ok, I will be done in a few minutes, and the bathroom is yours." She disappeared fast, didn't want him to stay in his wet clothes too long.
Anna was done in ten minutes and as she walked out wearing one of his shirts again, Matt handed her a mug of hot tea. "Thank you. I don't think I deserve your kindness, I'm really sorry about tonight."
He put his right hand on her shoulder. "Just... just promise me you come to me when you feel like you're ready to talk about it, ok?"
"I promise." She said, this at least she can do.
The next morning Matt was already gone by the time she woke up. She dropped back down on the bed, thinking over her options.
Her face was in the news, which she had no idea where was broadcasted. Maybe only in New York, or maybe in other states as well? She decided this will be the first thing she needs to find out. Second, she got ditched by Daredevil, he literally wants nothing to do with her. Deep down she understood his actions, but that still didn't change the fact that it hurt. Especially since she definitely has feelings toward him, and so he did. Without the help of Daredevil, she wasn't sure if it's a good idea for her to do anything about the sewer full of drugs and guns, except maybe reporting it to the police. Third thing was her life here. Depending on subject number one, she has to leave town, or stay. Since everything was depending on that, she grabbed her phone from the nightstand nervously and opened the news. To her surprise there were two stories on the headline what involved her. Daredevil and police captured several Italian gang members trying to smuggle drugs and guns into Hell's Kitchen through the sewer tunnels. They also found the bodies of four missing people they killed and hid down there. And the other one was the Russians going behind bars and her embarrassing show in the news. She stopped the video right away as it started auto playing it. She typed in the all too familiar magazine, the Austin American-Statesman, feeling her heart pounding loud in her chest. There was one local news and under that her little video with the Russians story. She dropped her phone on the bed forcefully.
"Shit!" Her days, or more like hours in Hell's Kitchen were really counting. She knew what she had to do now, she's done it several times in her life. She didn't care if she died last night, and she felt ashamed by that. She can't lose hope again, that's all she had left. This was the only way to protect her friends. Jumped out from the bed and after a quick breakfast she ran to her apartment to start the cleaning. She needs to disappear from New York, lead those people away from her friends here, and it's hard to cancel her lease with blood and trash in her apartment. It's not just about the security deposit she would lose, but also leaving unfinished business behind what can misfire later. At least her headache feeling a little better today, so she was able to do some work.
Several hours passed and the place still looked like she had done nothing. Swallowing the bile in her throat to keep her breakfast in her stomach she dragged the bloody carpet down to the dumpster, followed by two large black trash bags. Hope her neighbors won't think she was getting rid of a body, but her nonstop looking left and right definitely made her suspicious.
It was late afternoon when she got back home through the back alley just to be safe. Matt was sitting on the couch with a beer, and she caught a glimpse of sadness and self guilt in his eyes again before he put on the usual neutral mask of his. Men. Always trying to hide their emotions, and she's definitely becoming an expert in noticing them.
"How was your day?" She asked, lowering herself on the couch next to him.
He smiled painfully. "Hard." He said shortly, then turned his face toward her. "Yours?"
"Hard." She sighed, remembering the dried blood on her carpet and the broken furniture. She's really leaving town, and leaving her new friends behind. Suddenly she realized most likely she's never gonna see Matt again. Ever. And it hurt like hell.
She couldn't hold her emotions in anymore, turned toward him and hugged him tight, burying her face in his shoulder. He hugged her with his arms, pulling a little closer to his body. Anna was listening to his heartbeat and breathing, she inhaled his masculine scent. She wants to remember him like this, she wants to remember to this, being in his arms, the happiest moment of her life forever. Now, when he thinks she's innocent and he is her friend. Carving it deep in her memory, wanted to remember clearly every little aspect of his face, his arms, his heartbeat. When she will be far away, she will be able to bring up this memory, so real like it is now.
She moved her fingers up and down his shoulders and to her surprise his body was more powerful under the suit he was wearing than she would ever guessed. She felt all the muscles through it, and was wondering how was this possible. Same with holding his hand yesterday in the alley, it felt like she hugged this man before. On that rooftop, after Daredevil saved her from the bullets. She remembered exactly how it felt, it felt just like this time. Last night when Matt hugged her she was too upset to notice, except for her subconscious part of her brain, but now she definitely feels the connection.
Matt started stroking her arm, then moved up to her hair. It felt amazing, and Anna immediately forgot about her previous thoughts, she just never wanted this to end. They stayed there for a long time, her enjoying the caressing of her hair, slowly calming down her thoughts. Eventually they both fell asleep on the couch in each other's arms.
Anna woke up laying on the couch with her head in Matt's lap, and his left arm on her side. She looked up at him, and his head was tilted back on the headrest, still asleep. She slowly shifted and moved his arm, so she can sit up next to him.
"I'm gonna miss you, more than anything in my life." She whispered. She watched his face, and carefully reached out to brush a strain of hair away from his forehead, back to where it belonged. He moaned, which made Anna smile. She wanted to hear it again, so stroked her fingers gently along his hairline, down to his ear. A deep sound came out of his mouth and he opened his eyes. Anna was looking straight into their glittering deepness. She didn't make a sound, but moved her hand away. She heard him breathing low and controlled, like someone's trying to keep their emotions and actions at bay. Then Matt slowly lifted his head and sat up straight, eyes directed somewhere toward her, not saying a word. She swallowed, and moved her eyes away from his, a bit lower to the sexy curve of his lips she's so well familiar with, making her wonder how it would feel if...
Matt knew where her eyes were focused, and took it as an encouragement. He found her face with his right hand, and started gently stroking her cheek, moving his face dangerously close to her. A shiver went down to her toes as she felt his breath on her skin. He wanted to see her, like truly feel and see her. He hesitated for a few seconds then moved his fingers up to her forehead, slightly shaking. He traced her hairline downwards and moved across the sensitive skin under her eyes. She closed them and he felt her eyelashes brushing over his fingers, so moved a circle around them, making his way down on her nose then jawline, before exploring the other side the same way. He finally stopped at her chin, and Anna took a shaking breath in, waiting patiently for them to move. As he moved up to her sensitive lower lip she parted them slightly, letting the air out she was holding in. His fingers traced her lips around slowly before moving them to her left jaw, cupping it with his palm.
Matt was hesitating, his mind knew he shouldn't do this, but the fight was already lost and his always tightly and carefully controlled emotions were ready to burst to the surface, taking over completely and do what his heart really wanted.
"You are beautiful." He said, and Anna felt her breasts hot and her mouth uncomfortably dry, so she unintentionally wet her lips, desperately wanting to be kissed.
The world stopped for her. She didn't care about anything, just this moment, and her eyelids slowly closed, feeling his breath again on her face. The moment she felt his lips touched hers, she was lost. Her own lips parted automatically, giving him free entrance. She felt his tongue exploring her lips and teeth, and she moaned into it. That sound seemed to had an effect on Matt, because he moved his left hand around her waist and pulled her closer to his body, deepening the kiss. Anna felt all the butterflies in her stomach wanting to get out, felt the heat radiating from his body, setting hers on fire. She touched his tongue with hers, responding to every move he made. His left hand moved up and down her back, and the other one caressed the sensitive area behind her ear as his kiss became more passionate. Anna's hands moved up to his chest, feeling his throbbing heartbeat through his shirt, running her fingers through the hard muscles. Then she felt Matt's hands started shaking, and he pulled back carefully, taking fast and heavy breaths. She heard her own breathing being ragged and loud as well. Wow, what was that? She felt it like an explosion, and it was just a kiss.
Matt was still like a statue, except his breathing, his eyes wide. He must have felt it the same way she did.
After a few long minutes, his right arm was finally able to move, trying to touch hers with his hand still shaking. "Would you... would you come out with me... for dinner?" He asked, and Anna nodded, then as usual realized the fact he can't see that, so forced the word out. "Yes."
"Tomorrow night?"
"Yes." It was hard to speak, and her heart was hammering in her chest. She's going out on a date, like a normal girl. Finally she was able to smile.
She went to her apartment to continue the cleaning process, which was a hell big of a job, then rushed to the bakery. Her mind was racing, she just couldn't believe what just happened this morning. Yesterday was hell and pain, and today seemed like sunshine. She was sure she has to run away and leave town, but now she's just way too excited and has to take the risk and stay around a bit longer. Maybe a few days. She's going out on a real date! The dark clouds showed up above her as usual, warning her that she shouldn't do this, it's too dangerous for her and for Matt as well. But what if those people didn't even see her in the news and never come after her? Or maybe they gave up looking for her after all those years? Then she would leave everything she loved behind, giving up on them for no reason. She has to risk it, or at least delay it, to see where things are going with Matt.
"I wasn't able to make a big progress, the whole place looks like I've done nothing for several hours." She complained to Lucy when they had a little break.
"I can help after work, have nothing better to do."
"That would be great, but just so you know what you signed up for: the place is a dump. They trashed it."
"Can't be as bad as mine." Lucy laughed.
First Anna thought she's just gonna leave her apartment as is and move away, but realized they're gonna keep the security deposit, and most likely she would end up in trouble. If she has to disappear again, she can't leave unfinished business behind what can find her later. And if she's staying, then definitely needs to get it done.
So, cleaning it is.
"Oh, by the way... what's up with the lawyer?" Lucy asked and Anna changed colors as usual.
"We're going out on a date tomorrow night."
"Shut up! That's amazing!"
"Yeah, I'm very excited about it..." she paused for a minute. "Lucy, how do you know if you love a guy?"
"You just know. There are the butterflies in your stomach every time you meet, you get excited just to think about him. And, you think about him a lot, if not all the time."
Anna didn't have to analyze her feelings, she knew that all those apply to her. She is in love with Matt Murdock, for real. And possibly with Daredevil as well...
"Can you have the same feeling toward two men at the same time?"
Lucy rolled her eyes. "You're in love with the PI as well?"
"I... I don't know..." Anna thinned her lips. "Maybe? But it doesn't matter, since he wants nothing to do with me." She felt like someone stabbed a knife in her heart at the thought of last night on that rooftop. It was very clear that he didn't want any sorts of relationship with her. At least he was honest about it, even if it hurt. "Plus I don't know too much about him. On the other hand I starting to get to know Matt, and he's very nice. Plus he asked me out." She made dreamy eyes, and Lucy squeaked.
"Oh, you two had sex!"
"What? No! We did not." She blushed and an image of Matt's naked body on top hers in his bed showed up in her mind and had to shake her head forcefully to stop her fantasy, rubbing her arm to make the goosebumps disappear. "But he kissed me, and I never felt anything like that before."
"Awwww! I need to hear every details!"
"Shhh... I'm not telling you anything more. It's private." She blushed, and Lucy made a disappointed face.
"I'm really happy for you, Anna!"
After their shift, they went to Anna's apartment to continue the cleanup she started yesterday.
"So any news on the Russians?"
"Matt called me earlier that the police got them all, they go to prison! I can't believe that they're off the streets."
"That's amazing, finally you are all free from them!"
"Thank you, Lucy! It wouldn't have happened without you, you know that right? You suggested me Nelson and Murdock in the first place."
Lucy hugged her. "Yep, and I'm happy to take credit for that, plus for your upcoming date as well!" She smirked. "Do you know what you're gonna wear?"
Anna froze. She didn't even think about it. "I think I just put on one of the summer dresses Karen gave me. It's been a while since I wore a dress, so it will feel very elegant. With a jacket or something, since it's getting cold outside."
"Ok, just let me know if you need to borrow anything from me, I have some super sexy ones." She blinked and Anna blushed.
"I'll keep it in mind."
It was already dark outside, none of them realized how late it got, so decided to continue with the cleaning tomorrow, and said their goodbyes.
Anna was extremely careful walking back to Matt's place, watching over her shoulder every minute. If those guys saw her on the news, they're gonna find her here in Hell's Kitchen easily, they have their way. Just as a precaution, in case she missed a tail, she entered the building using the back door in the alley.
She hasn't seen Matt since that kiss, and was wondering how she should react now. Is it gonna be awkward seeing him? Or they will just act as before, like nothing happened?
She expected to be followed on the streets, maybe even attacked, but everything seemed just fine. Does this mean those people really gave up on her? Or maybe they missed the news and this was her lucky day? Maybe, just maybe she can really stay here in Hell's Kitchen? And if so, then maybe start a relationship? Like a real one, with the person she loves? Anna froze on the stairs, realizing she can't build a relationship on lies. Matt is special, and he doesn't deserve to be lied to. She needs to tell him the truth, tell him what she's capable of, and also what she did in the past. And let him decide if he can live with it, accept her with all of this, or run away from her. It's better to do it now, when they were just getting to know each other. He deserves the truth, even if that means she's gonna lose him. Just the thought of that tightened her chest.
But what about her silly suspicions? Is Matt really Daredevil and just playing a role during daytime? If so, why he never told her the truth? Maybe he doesn't trust her enough? Or maybe he's waiting on her to open up to his other identity first, since he knows she's been hiding things from him as Matt? Then she remembered that Daredevil told her straight that they can't have any relationship. If Matt is him, then why he asked her out on a date after ditching her a night before? Or maybe they're just similar, but not even the same and she mistaken all those signs? But that hug... why did she felt the same way when she hugged them? So many questions she didn't know the answer. But one thing she was sure of, she can't lie to Matt anymore, not if she wants this to work.
With all the determination she knocked on the door just out of curtesy, then unlocked it.
"Hey, Matt..." she called out, but there was no answer. She checked her phone in disappointment, realizing she indeed missed a text from him saying he's gonna work late again. Being exhausted from all the cleaning and work she went straight to bed.
Matt was keeping an eye on Don Carlos and his gang. He was expecting them to take over Hell's Kitchen now that the competition was gone, and he really wanted to prevent that. With their secret distribution line was compromised he was sure they were looking to find a new way in. He eventually found one of their drug warehouses, beating the guys there up and leaving them tied up for the police. It was a long night, and at 4am and after a couple new cuts and bruises Matt was ready to go home. He quietly walked down the rooftop stairs in now Matt Murdock's clothes, founding Anna in bed sound asleep. He smiled at her direction while curled up on the couch to fell asleep on the sound of her heartbeat.
Anna woke up early and sneaked out without waking him up, so she can get a few hours of cleaning in at her place before her shift. She was making good progress, except that big stain of blood on her mattress. That's something what she won't be able to get out. She texted Matt, so he won't worry about her disappearing. She was looking forward to their date tonight, except that squeezing feeling in her stomach. Anna knew exactly what is that. It's the guilt she's feeling. One second she's happy and excited, then shortly after that she wanted to run away and spare Matt from all her troubles.
The news reporter on tv at the bakery was talking about the Russians in prison, showing all their drug shipments secured by the police and them being taken away in handcuffs. Then they showed Anna on the stairs of the courthouse with Matt, then her running away from the scene to leave Matt there alone to answer their questions. But even for that few seconds her face was all recognizable and clear on the screen. Anna lowered her head, no, she can't do this to Matt, no matter how badly she wanted to go on that date with him. She needs to run away as originally planned, before those people see this footage and find her. If they'll figure it out that Matt was helping her more than just her lawyer, they will hurt him just to get to her, torture him to force her to cooperate. She didn't want him to get hurt, he helped her so much, this wasn't what he deserved. So when the clock turned 6pm, she was out of the bakery's door to rush back to Matt's place and tell him she's leaving town. He deserves this much, she can't just disappear without a word after all he did for her. She's gonna pack some of the most essential stuff to her backpack and leave New York on the first bus tonight.
She stopped on her track when a man stepped in front of her, snapping her out from her thoughts.
"Hello, Anna, it's good to see you again!"
Her eyes grew wide as she recognized the man, and was about to turn around to run when another guy stepped next to her from behind, forcing a soaked rug to her face. She tried to fight against him, but the smell of the chemical acted fast and she collapsed in his arms.
Matt was pacing back and forth in his apartment around 7pm, trying to call her on her phone multiple times. All went to voicemail. This is not like her, she would have called him if she's late, or at least texted him. Unless she changed her mind about their date.
He walked up to his roof, listening into the evening air, trying to find her voice. But couldn't hear her, not even after a long half an hour. Changed to his black outfit and headed to the bakery, finding it locked with no signs of Anna. The most possible scenario was that she got attacked while walking home, so he traced the route she would normally take. Just a few blocks from the bakery his highly sensitive nose picked up a strong smell of chloroform. He found a white rug soaked in the chemical, dropped by the curb. It's not much of an evidence, but felt very suspicious. She's been taken, sedated and pushed into a car or van. But by who? His first thought was those Italians, but the few who were down in the sewers were arrested. Maybe they missed something, and some of the Russians were still free and got her as a payback? Or the Italians decided to clean up the last link to the Russians? Kidnapping someone is usually intentional, not random. He climbed up on the closest fire escape to listen to the city again, founding nothing. No sound from her, no talking about her, nothing. Checked her apartment, just to find it empty with no leads, went to Lucy's place, just in case Anna really changed her mind about their date and staying with her friend, but it wasn't the case. Decided to make a visit at the Russian's old warehouses, maybe they took her. Several hours later after finding all those places empty, he felt the frustration overtaking his body. He lowered himself on his knees at the top of one of the buildings and focusing on his inside, clearing his mind. When he felt calm enough, he opened his senses again to scan through the city. What if this kidnapping wasn't related to anything she was involved with? It could easily be directed against him. There's only one person who was dangerous enough to do something like this and knew his secret. Fisk. Matt's hands tightened in a strong grip as the old memories flashed back. He needs to check on Fisk and Vanessa and check if Foggy and Karen were still ok. It's possible that Fisk's men were watching him as Matt Murdock and knew that he's involved with Anna more than her lawyer. If something happened to Vanessa, he's gonna come after the people Matt loves... Anna, Foggy, Karen. He rushed back to his apartment as fast as he could, his heart pounding loud in his chest.
He ran down the roof access stairs two steps at a time and grabbed his daytime phone to dial Foggy's number. It rang several times and he was ready to rush to their apartment when his friend finally answered.
"Matt? What time is it?" He asked sleepily, and Matt dropped down on his couch in relief.
"Foggy, it's good to hear your voice... is Karen with you as well?"
He heard his friend scratching his head in confusion. "Are you drunk again?"
Matt smiled, if Foggy thinks he's drunk that means everything is ok with them. Then he heard Karen's yawn in the background, which put him at ease. He was sure Fisk would go after Foggy and Karen first.
"Anna is missing." He said finally.
"What do you mean missing? Maybe she's working late, or she's in her apartment, or with a friend? What time is it anyways?" Foggy looked at his phone. "Jesus, it's 2 in the morning?"
"I checked all those places. She's nowhere, and we were supposed to meet after her shift. I have a bad feeling about this, maybe we missed something and some of the Russians are still on loose?" Matt's voice sounded very worried, so the other two believed him.
"I will look into it, going to match the names on her list with the police records again. But I don't think I missed any, all of them were in prison last time I checked." Karen said, sounding awake now, bringing her laptop with her to the bed.
"Maybe some of them got out?" Foggy asked, and Matt heard Karen in the background telling him she's checking that as well.
"When did you see her last time?" Foggy asked.
"Last night, then she texted me in the morning that she left early to continue cleaning her place. We... we were supposed to go out for dinner tonight."
"Oh..." Foggy hesitated. "Maybe she... maybe she decided not to and left?"
Matt's heart got squeezed by a cold hand. Would she really change her mind about their date? He shook his head. "All of her things are still here at my place and she's not with Lucy. Don't you think she would have packed them up if she really left?"
"Hmmm... yeah, possibly. Maybe she just needs some time to think? You sure you didn't do anything bad?"
Matt was playing their last conversation back in his head, but couldn't find any indication of her wanting to leave.
Unless...
He was down in the sewers, beating the guys there unconscious. Now they were all laying in the mud and sewer water motionless under his feet. After calling sergeant Mahony he bent down to pick Anna up and take her to somewhere safe. He could recall quite well how it felt holding her in his arms close to his body. She was still out, hit her head badly earlier, but after a minute she woke up and called him Matt. Him. Him as Daredevil. The ground opened underneath him and slowly started to swallow him. She knows. She knows his secret. But at the rooftop she didn't seem to remember this moment at all, not even later that night when she got back home, so he chalked it up as a dream of hers. But what if later on she put the pieces together. They've been basically living together for months now, and he knew how well she knows Daredevil. It was a reasonable thought that she figured the rest out. Unmasking his secret would definitely make her leave. And be angry at him, much much more angrier than on that rooftop two nights ago.
"Matt? Are you there?" Foggy's voice from his cell brought him back to reality.
"Yeah, sorry. Maybe you're right, maybe she really just needs some time to think."
"Oh... sorry Matt..." Foggy felt horrible and didn't know what to say. He really wanted Matt to find the right girl, but seemed like he kept messing things up when it came to relationships. "Maybe something you can apologize for? Make it right?"
"I'm not sure that's possible... Just... in case she's in trouble... let me know if you find anything on the Russians, or the Italians..."
"Sure thing."
After they hang up, Matt decided to take a visit to the prison to make sure Fisk is still there and check on Vanessa as well, just in case. When he confirmed that they're fine and exactly where they were supposed to be, he checked on the Italians yet again. He needed to channel his frustration somehow, and beating up gang members sounded like the perfect way for it, while also interrogating a few if they knew anything about Anna.