I do not own anything from the MCU.

"Are you going to age with grace?

Are you going to age without mistakes?

Are you going to age with grace,

Only to wake and hide your face."

—Oblivion by Bastille

Pippa woke to sunlight streaming through the window, her alarm clock beeping obnoxiously, and Spencer jumping on her bed.

"Wake up, Mom!" He cried excitedly, each word punctuated with a jump. "Today's the last day of school! Then we can get ice cream when we're done! You promised!" He was careful to face her, knowing she needed to read his lips.

Chuckling tiredly, Pippa pulled herself into a sitting position. "Hmm," she said, pretending to think as she tapped a finger on her chin. "I remember making that promise as long as a certain someone was ready on time." She grinned at Spencer good-naturedly as she watched his eyes widen.

"On it!" Spencer squeaked as he clumsily ran out of the small room.

"Be careful!" Pippa called after him, smiling fondly. Groaning, Pippa got up and glanced at the lone framed picture sitting next to her alarm clock. It was from the day she adopted Spencer, and he was sitting on her shoulders, both of them grinning so hard their cheeks ached later.

Pippa's hair was shorter in the picture, and even though it was still brown, you could faintly see her natural blonde roots poking through. Her hair hid her hearing aids, which she had gotten only a few days prior to when the picture was taken.

Spencer was around eight at the time, and his disease was just starting to set in. When he was four, Spencer had been diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, which meant his retinas were slowly deteriorating. Looking at the picture, it was near impossible to tell that her son was going blind, but now it was a different story. He was already completely blind in his right eye, and his vision was fading steadily in his left.

Admittedly, it was a bit of an adjustment to have a deaf and nearly-blind person living together, but the two of them made it work. When she had first adopted him, Spencer was completely willing, almost eager, to learn sign language with Pippa. She was just as willing to study Braille, something Spencer's birth parents had him learn as soon as he got the diagnosis.

It didn't take Spencer very long to get ready, thanks to Pippa's 'motivation,' and the two were soon making their way out of their apartment, hand in hand.

"Good morning, Mr. Murdock!" Spencer cried happily as he and Pippa walked past their neighbor's door. The young man gave a small smile as he locked his door.

Pippa nodded at the man. "Morning, Mr. Murdock."

"Good morning, Miss Murphy, Spencer. Going to school?" Matthew Murdock replied, his unfocused gaze hidden by his usual dark red sunglasses.

Matthew was an enigma to Pippa, and that frustrated her greatly. Thanks to her combined time at Hydra and SHIELD, she could read anyone like a book. Anyone but her blind neighbor. And if Pippa had learned anything, it was that enigmatic equaled dangerous.

"Yup!" Spencer grinned, bringing Pippa back to focus. "Today's the last day, and Mom promised to take me to get ice cream after!"

Matthew's eyebrow quirked up at that, and he allowed a faint smirk to appear on his face. "Oh, really?" Leaning closer to Spencer, he whispered as if telling a secret, "You'd better hold her to it; offers of ice cream don't happen every day."

Spencer giggled, but he quickly schooled his features into a straight face, nodding solemnly. "I will," he whispered back.

Pippa eyed her neighbor wearily, but she forced a chuckle. "Don't go and be a bad influence on my son, Mr. Murdock," she joked, but part of remained skeptical of her neighbor.

Matthew smiled boyishly at her as he stood up straight and fidgeted with his tie. It was a habit of his, Pippa had noticed. "Wouldn't dream of it, Miss Murphy," he replied, and, even though he was blind, it seemed as though he was staring into her soul.

"Mom," Spencer groaned, tugging on her hand. "I'm gonna be late!"

"Alright," She soothed, placing her free hand on his shoulder. Clearing her throat, she glanced back at her neighbor. "It was nice running into you, Mr. Murdock, but we've got to get going."

"Of course," Matthew nodded. "Bye, Spencer, Miss Murphy."

Matt Murdock listened as Rose and Spencer walked away. They sounded happy; something completely different than what he had overheard a couple of nights ago.

I suppose it all makes sense now, he thought begrudgingly. If she had been a spy most of her life, then it was fitting that lying and concealing her emotions would be easier for her.

The bigger question, he supposed, was whether he could trust her. When she was an agent of SHIELD, he might have, but she was retired now. She only had to look out for herself and Spencer.

Matt considered breaking and entering, but Rose would know if someone entered her house uninvited. He gritted his teeth in frustration before walking off, tapping his cane on the ground. This would get him nowhere; he needed to step away from the problem and come back with fresh eyes. No pun intended.

Pippa groaned as she opened her apartment door, quickly slipping off her heeled boots. Her job at the local cafe was beginning to grow tedious, and if one more person asked her for a trenta latte (what the fuck even is that? She didn't work at Starbucks, for God's sake), she was going to scream.

"I used to kick ass and take names," she mused, tossing her hearing aids on the coffee table, "but now I'm just taking names." She laughed bitterly.

She was about to settle on the couch and watch a Friends marathon while she waited for the bus to bring Spencer home, but she barely took two steps towards the TV when someone knocked on the door.

Pippa sighed. "Mrs. Lopez, I'm telling you, I haven't seen your dog—" she faltered when she saw who stood in her doorway. "—anywhere."

Matthew Murdock chuckled lightly. "I don't think I look like Mrs. Lopez," he joked. He shifted from side to side and eventually settled on leaning against the door frame.

Furrowing her eyebrows, Pippa cocked her head to the side. "Mr. Murdock, what can I do for you?"

"Well," Matthew rubbed the back of his neck, a sheepish smile on his face as he glanced down. She knew his mouth was moving, and she knew that he was speaking, but she had no idea what she was saying. As he finished speaking, he glanced back up, his face hopeful.

Pippa grimaced. "Could you repeat that? I took my hearing aids out, and I didn't get any of it."

Matthew seemed to lose some of his confidence, glancing in her general direction. "Sorry," she read, "uh, well, I was wondering if I could accompany you and Spencer for ice cream. I had plans with my friend, but he's bailed on me, so..."

Sighing, Pippa pursed her lips and considered her neighbor's proposition. "I mean, if Spencer's okay with it—"

"Mom!"

Pippa jolted as her son ducked between Matthew and the door frame to barrel into her leg. "Can we go get ice cream now?" He asked, moving his hands to sign the question his well. "You promised!"

Kneeling down to her son's height, she asked him, "Hey, Mr. Murdock wanted to come along. Are you okay with that, bud?"

Spencer grinned widely. "Yeah!"

Sighing, Pippa looked back at her next door neighbor. "Well, I guess I have no problem with it."

Cheering, Spencer grabbed the two adults by the hand and began dragging them down the hall. "C'mon! Let's go!" He was surprisingly strong for a ten year old, and Pippa glanced over to Matthew, flustered.

"I am so sorry," she muttered quietly.

Matthew laughed. "It's okay, Ms. Murphy."

Sitting in a small chair inside of Ben and Jerry's was not how Matt had originally planned on spending his day, but there he was. He picked at the vanilla ice cream he had in a bowl with the plastic spoon, partially listening to Spencer babble. It wasn't that he didn't like the Murphy's, he thought they were perfectly fine, but he needed that file. And if he needed that file, he needed to get closer to Rose. Or Pippa, he supposed. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to call her anymore.

"Do you have a seeing eye dog, Mr. Murdock?" Spencer asked, bouncing in his seat.

Matt chuckled. "No, I don't."

"See?" Rose motioned with her spoon. "Mr. Murdock gets along just fine without a dog."

"Well, I'm more of a cat person anyway," Matt shrugged. "But if he wants a dog, who am I to stop him?"

Rose groaned good-naturedly. "Fine." She gave in at last. "This future dog better not pee on the floor."

Spencer burst into a fit of giggles, nearly dropping his cone. "Of course not, Mom! It'll be trained!"

"If you say so."

After the trio had finished, they made the trek back to the apartment complex. As they neared their respective doors, Matt smiled in a friendly manner. "See you tomorrow, Ms. Murphy," he called as he opened his door.

"Sure thing Mr. Murdock," Pippa replied, pulling her own door shut. Matt sat on his couch, waiting, listening. He could hear her putting Spencer to bed. She was finally turning out his light when she gasped. "Hey Spence," he could hear, "I meant to run to the grocery store today. I'll be right back, okay? If anything happens, call me."

Spencer sleepily agreed, and Pippa rushed out.

Matt stood up. This was his chance. It was almost too good to be true, but he was probably never going to get a chance like it again. Pausing, he waited until he was positive that Pippa was gone and Spencer was asleep, and he quickly crept out of his apartment and to his neighbor's. He slipped a pin out of his pocket and carefully maneuvered it into the lock, listening for when he lifted the latches within it. After a minute of shifting the pin in the lock, he heard a 'click,' and he cautiously opened the door. He crept through the hallway, making sure to not wake Spencer. He found the files easily enough, and he grabbed them, quickly locked the door back, and made his way back to his own apartment. As he sat on his couch with the files in hand, he realized that since they weren't in Braille, he couldn't read it, but that was a problem he could deal with tomorrow. He changed into his all black outfit and tied the mask over his eyes. Slipping out of his window, he leaped onto to the fire escape. He had bigger things to do.

A/N

Ta-da! Chapter two is officially done! I hope you guys like it! I'm sorry it's taken so long. I've been really busy with school, and on top of that, I've decided to completely rewrite a few of my stories. Not this one though. I really like it so far, and I'm excited to see where it goes. Anyways, I'll try to get the next chapter out soon! Until then, happy holidays!

Love,

Nell