A/N: Ok, here we are. This is the final chapter of Friendship & Loyalty. I'm a little bit sad about this, because this story meant a lot to me, it helped me in a very though time of my life and everything, but, hey, every story has to have an end sooner or later, so...

I'd really like to thank in the first place my amazing beta InsertImaginativeNameHere. Thank you for all your work, your patience, you grammar explanations and everything you have done for me with this story. Really. Thank you.

And then, thank you to all the 37 people who followed this story and the 22 who inserted it in their favourite list. It was way more of what I was expecting when I began, and I really hope you enojoyed reading this story as much as I did in writing it!

Special thanks to all the people who left a review through all the chapters, I really appreciated all of them!

One more thing, then I leave you to the chapter, I promise. This would not be the last work you'll see from me on this site: I am working on a crossover Daredevil/Suits and I have also written one and a half one-shot in italian. I'm just waiting to have the time to translate them in English, plus, I'm seriously thinking about a sequel for Friendship & Loyalty, so maybe let me know if you'd like to read more of this, please.

Now I really leave you read the chapter!

Happy reading!

And remember, I don't bite who reviews, but I might who doesn't :)

Chapter 18:What's worse than Nobu?

Claire would literally smash Matt's alarm clock against a wall some day. And by smash she meant the Hulk kind of smash. She hated that fucking high robotic voice yelling it was 8am every single morning when she had just managed to fall asleep, because what the hell, Matt!

He didn't even need that thing anymore, because usually he was already awake to make her a snack when she came back from a shift.

Then, thinking about it...why delay the inevitable? She rolled and reach for the white instrument of torture and threw it with all her strength.

-Whoa!- Matt ducked his head just in time to not get hit by the object, that instead collided with the panel. Finally silence -What did it do to you to deserve such a punishment?-

-It got on my nerves, like, a lot- she smiled innocently -and if you don't want to follow suit, you'd better let me sleep. Or stop sending us criminals with a stupid amount of bad-but-not-lethal injuries. Or again, put your suit on and go out for a dinner with Marie. She has a crush for your friend DD and she's acting like a teenager-

-Do I have to pick one?- he smiled back, and Claire felt warmth rising inside her heart, it was one of the first things he had said to her. Beside that, it was so rare to make him smile lately that Foggy had begun to take it as a personal challenge (which, by the way, she thought was a bad idea, but Foggy was Foggy, so… hey).

-Or just do all of them. Your choice. But no sex with Marie- he grinned, the Han Solo kind of mischievous grin, while she got up to help him with his tie; not that he needed it, he had done that by himself since forever, but she liked do that, and he let her, so...

The nurse kissed his forehead, wishing him a good day before going back to bed, but still she couldn't rest.

Stick had died about a month and a half ago and her boyfriend was still firmly in the famous five steps of grief, and all they were trying to help him, but Matt, being Matt, had curled himself into an impenetrable shield made of silence and guilt, and after all that time, they still didn't know what had really happened that night; instead, they had won a stalker (read horn-headed vigilante), and she had to thank Foggy for that.

At the beginning, she had thought it was just the cutest thing someone had ever done for her; every morning Matt had been waiting for her outside the ER, and every evening and night she had received at least one visit from Daredevil. He had said he missed her, and she just had believed it, despite the fact he was more tired every day that passed. Then, one evening, like thirty minutes after the beginning of the shift, an ambulance had come, carrying a scrappy Matt and a desperate and exasperated Foggy. It had turned out that her totally insane boyfriend had put himself into a third job, their bodyguard. When he wasn't on patrol or in the office, he just staked them out, depriving himself of the few hours he usually managed to sleep between his activities.

Between the two of them, Claire and Foggy had found a quite good explanation for his weariness and he had been sent home after a couple of hours. She had taken the rest of the night to stay with him, and she had found really hard to not kill them when Matt whispered a shy "Foggy told me I have to protect you", because... seriously? Your best friend is a totally insane good catholic boy and you tell him to protect all of us?

Now things were a little better, but she still hated not to be able of helping him as she'd wanted and his silence wasn't really helping. Claire now just hoped he could find the strength to talk to Father Lantom, at least, because she had learnt the priest was a good friend, and she hoped he would find some peace coming from him, or the Bible, or both, which would have been annoying from her point of view (girlfriends were also for this kind of stuff, right?) but it was also still better than nothing.

000

-So, Matt...are you and Claire coming, right? - Matt's head tilted in surprise, his attention suddenly brought from his work to his best friend, a confused look on his face.

-Where?-

-At Christmas dinner- oh. That. Matt had almost (ok, maybe completely) forgotten about the traditional Nelsons' Christmas reunion. His family had basically adopted him in something like 30 seconds the first time Foggy had dragged him home and since then Matt had just become a member of that crazy family and, after a while, he had begun to get used to Foggy's mom's hugs and everything and he usually got secretly (he had a rep, after all) excited about the reunions. Still, this year everything seemed far away from him, as if he had been watching the world behind a glass.

-Uhm... I don't know... I haven't talked with Claire yet-

-I don't care, you two are coming, so I won't be the only one giving grandma a wedding to plan-

Matt rolled his eyes and rewarded his partner with a shy smile.

The truth was he wasn't exactly in a mood for celebrating. His mind kept going back to the night he had lost Stick, and he simply wasn't able to move on. -Buddy?- he felt a warm hand resting on his forearm, and he just nodded, because it was Foggy and sometimes he did his best speeches without saying a word.

When he got home he remembered it was Claire's night off and that Karen wasn't going to kidnap her for some kind of girl stuff this evening, so they simply decided to stay at home. They enjoyed a simple dinner with just some pasta.

Matt was suddenly nervous about telling her about the dinner, and for the first time he realized how much he considered the Nelsons his own family. He felt as if he was introducing her to his real parents.

Calm down, Little Horn. No. Not the inner Foggy Bear voice again! Anything but that!

He took a deep breath and held Claire closer.

-Are you ok, Matt?-

-Mmm... Yeah... I mean... Just... I wanted to ask you something...-

-Are you nervous, Little Horn?- he didn't miss the amusement in her voice and took another breath. He could do this. What the hell, he was the man without fear, wasn't he?

-Mmm... There is a dinner...for Christmas...I'd really like to go with you-

-At the church?-

-Foggy's parents'- he whispered.

000

Claire raised his head to look at him. They hadn't made plan so far for Christmas eve, mostly because she wasn't sure about what his habits were. Sure, she remembered what Foggy told her in Boston, but she didn't know if they had kept that ritual.

-What's wrong with them?-

-N...nothing- Matt seemed confused by the question, but somehow he managed to say that they were ok -It's just... I've never brought... Uhm... A girlfriend... And...so... If you...don't... I mean... I'd love to... But if...you...-

That was shy Matt again, and, she loved shy Matt, even when it was hard to understand his words like now, but she didn't have to. She had got the point pretty fast and she couldn't restrain her smile. He was nervous to introduce her to his family. She shifted from her position to held him in a tight hug, shutting him up with a hand on his mouth.

-I'm coming, Little Horn. I'd love to meet your family- and the big smile on his face was something she could never forget. It was pure happiness, something rare inside Matt even before Stick's death, and she let his smile fill her heart.

000

What's worse than Nobu?

Claire and Karen coming toward him together. That was worse than fighting the Japanese man and Fisk at the same time. Mostly because that alliance meant he was in trouble, like a lot of trouble.

But he had no a clue about what he had done this time, so he tried to put his desk between him and the two girls.

-We have to talk- Karen started off, placing both her hands on the table.

-Do we?- he asked trying to not panic. What the hell had he done?

-Definitely, Little Horn- Claire echoed, her arms crossed against her chest.

Ok, he was definitely in some kind of trouble with the two most dangerous women in town (put it this way, they could have given his ex Elektra a run for her money), he had to find out the reason if he wanted to survive. They were only coming after him so there were two possibilities: either they had already tortured, questioned and killed him or Foggy was innocent this time, which led directly to his night job, which, in turn, could mean that his best friend could be involved in that alliance too.

He was thinking but he was pretty sure he had done nothing wrong. Ok, he had sent two people with more broken bones than bones in their bodies last night, and he might or might not have kissed Marie's cheek before leaving the hospital, but in his own defense, the girl was stalking him and she would have menaced him jumping from roof to roof if he hadn't. Behind that, nothing came to his mind.

-What can I do for you, ladies?- he tried, showing the best of his wounded-suck-polite smile along with his puppy eyes.

-You really think that pretty face will move us?- Karen asked.

Ok. He was definitely dead. He was a freaking vigilante, but he would die at the hand of his girlfriend and secretary. What a shame!

-You have put us in a big trouble, you know?- Claire cut off every other request for mercy.

-A big one- Karen completed -Now, you will tell us everything you know about Foggy's family or New York will have one less vigilante-

Seriously? THEY were nervous about it?

Matt was the man without fear, so he took the risk.

-Not a chance, girls, sorry-

-What? No, Matt. Please. Come on. Help us- It was amazing how fast Karen could change from menacing to begging in a heartbeat.

-I didn't have any idea of it when I first met them. I don't want to deprive you of the surprise-

-Matty, please…- . He had to admit that. When Claire was begging his steadfastness vacillated but he managed to hold on somehow. Plus, they had nothing to worry about. Matt was sure they would be part of the family in less than a minute.

000

-Matt? Seriously, a little help here?-

-I am blind, Claire. I mean. I can feel there are trousers, a sweater… uhm… maybe a shirt? and a dress. Beyond that… -

Claire looked at him. It was Christmas eve morning, and she was trying to find the perfect outfit for the evening, but now she was worried about Matt. He looked sad, even if he pretended to sound chilled out.

-Matt? What's wrong?- she asked making a step to reach for his hand and make him sit on the bed, moving the clothes out of their way at the same time. -Do you want to stay at home? We can go tomorrow-

-What? No. No. It's fine. Really... -

-Then what?-

-It's just... - and he just stopped, and Claire sighed. Here they were again. The nurse had learnt that every time he went mute like that, he was thinking about something related to the night of Stick's death, and that, by the way, was still a top secret file.

-Matt. What happened that night? I've never asked before, but whatever it is, it's tearing you apart, and I just can't bear it anymore-

She realized she had said the wrong words as soon as they had been spoken. He still had this fear of being left. His hands began to shake slightly in hers and his head ducked. -Matt..-

she said softly, reassuring -I'm not leaving you. Ok? I didn't meant that. You know. It's just…-

-I know, Claire. I'm sorry- he stood and made his way directly to the roof. She sighed but didn't follow him. He needed to be alone.

Foggy's family was… Foggy-ish?

Claire couldn't find any other words to describe that crazy clan made of Nelsons of all ages.

As soon as they arrived, she and Karen had been sucked into a vortex of hugs and kisses and more hugs and endless names. There were Nelsons, like, everywhere, the house was bursting at the seams with all of them, and Claire couldn't help but ask herself how Matt could have survived all of this the first time he had been there.

It was like being surrounded by a lot of optional Foggy's; noisiness and childish enthusiasm included.

Claire and Karen had tried to survive to all of this and eventually they had found a spot on the couch near the fireplace and as far away as possible from Foggy's Grandmothers (yes, both of them). It had turned out Matt wasn't the only one bringing a girl at home for the first time, and the two lovely grannies had become more thrilled than it was probably healthy at their age about two possible (ok, they thought certain) marriages in their family.

The nurse and the secretary had been quite literally kidnapped by the two old ladies, who had found in their little nieces loyal soldiers.

In all this, they had tried, of course, to call Foggy and Matt for help, but the two of them had seemed to be invisible. Your boyfriend is a freaking superhero but when you really need him, he is M.I.A. Thank you, Little Horn.

Finally, they could have a break from the plans for their double wedding and sit on the sofa with a tired sigh of relief.

-I'm going to kill Matt for this- Karen declared -It was his duty to warn us about all of this!-

-And I'm going to help you. He is…-

And suddenly they found the two friends. They were playing with three little kids, the children of they didn't remember which brother or sister or cousins or whatever (seriously there was a stupid amount of people in this home, how did they all fit? Was it bigger on the inside or something?) and for the first time Claire could see...just Matt. Not the lawyer struggling to keep his own firm alive, or the blind guy with supersensitive ears, or Daredevil. He was just a regular guy enjoying some time with his... Nephews? Had she just heard "Uncle Matt?"

-That's not fair- Karen stated.

-Definitely not- the nurse agreed.

-How can we kill him? He is...they are...-

-The personification of cuteness- she completed, losing herself in the sight of Matt with a three or maybe four years old little girl on his laps. He had taken his glasses off the moment the children had stepped into the living room, saving them from a certain destruction, and he looked like he was completely lost in a world made of "why" questions and childish toys.

The little girl was describing her new bride-dressed Barbie (seriously?) to him, making him touch every single part along with the description, so he could "understand better". Matt was playing along, making question every now and then, then he accepted to marry the doll with his Ken-alter ego.

-That little girl's just stolen your boyfriend-

-Yeah. Noted- she smiled and she could tell Matt had heard them talking because he turned his face gifting them with one of his smiles, adding more cuteness to the cuteness. Then he whispered something in the ear of the child, who gave him the biggest smile she could and then ran toward her.

-Aunt Claire! Aunt Claire!- she yelled almost literally jumping on her knees, and both of them were so surprise that she felt her face getting hot, while Karen began to laugh. The nurse whispered an "I'll kill you, Murdock" between her teeth, sure the kid wouldn't notice, but at the same time that her ending-soon-if-he-kept-doing-this boyfriend would pick every single word up. She smiled at the little girl, recovering from the shock.

-Hi, sweety! What can I do for you?-

-Uncle Matt says you love playing with Barbies! Wanna play with me?-

Dammit, Murdock.

-Sure! Let's go! Aunt Karen, you on board with this?-

-Absolutely-

000

The rest of the evening passed in a flash, and soon the four friends found themselves in what had once been Foggy's bedroom; Claire and Karen on his bed while the boys were sharing the floor because of the lack of space, the house finally silent now that everyone was asleep somewhere between the bedrooms, the kitchen and the living room.

In a moment, the blond one was aware of how much noisy his family was, or better, now he knew about Matt's incredible ears.

-Hey, buddy, are you ok?- he whispered -You know...all this...-

-I'm ok, Foggy. It's noisy and a little bit overwhelming sometimes but... It's ok. I kinda like it, actually. It's like...having some kind of...uhm...some kind of shield protecting me from what's outside...-

-Like with your dad...- Claire stated gently in a low voice, moving herself from the bed to Matt's side. Karen was already sleeping, so they kept their voice very low to not wake her up.

-Yeah- Matt agreed -Sort of...-

000

Sort of his ass. It was exactly like with his dad, and he felt quite the same way when he was with Claire. Hell, he could even stand the hospital without freaking out to see her. He did not go mad the night Stick died; she was with him and he didn't get overwhelmed although he wasn't in the best condition to focus and cut everything out.

Since that night he had fought hard with himself, as if he had been split in two: one side, the one that made him panic every time he had a fight with Claire, was begging him to speak about what had happened at least with Claire and Foggy, because secrets were bad. Secrets had already made Foggy go away from him, and he didn't want to repeat the experience. It was his Matt-ish part.

The other one was pure Daredevil, and, being that, it just wanted to keep his friends safe, he wanted to spare them from anguish and fear. It was the side who thought that it was good for them to keep hating Stick, because it was easier and less painful.

He had been in the center of that inner fight, totally unable to take a final decision...until now.

Screw Daredevil. He couldn't go on this way. So, he held Claire closer, focusing on her even breath to calm down and find the strength to go back to that night, when he had heard Stick's swear between all the typical chaos of the night of Hell's Kitchen.

At the beginning, he had thought to make just a small stroll, carefully listening to catch possible help requests. He had a rough day at work and he was tired enough he hadn't been able to hide it even to Karen (not to mention Foggy), so he wanted to come back home early enough to sleep more than usual.

For once, everything had gone according to plan until he caught a mention of his name. It wasn't so unusual after Fisk's arrest. It was a well-known thing that he and Foggy'd had a main part during the whole operation and also that they were helped by Daredevil. Still, he decided to stop for a minute, trying to figure if he had something to worry about.

He tilted his head, focusing on the direction of the voices, brought him from the light breeze. It took him a while because they were coming from some kind of warehouse quite far from him and at the beginning he wasn't really sure about the direction. It took him a while and the wind tricked him a couple of times before he could detect the precise location.

In the meantime he could tell they were torturing someone to wring some information about him out of someone, and the was racking his brain trying to figure out who their victim could be. He had checked all his close friends at the beginning of the patrol, so he was quite sure they were safe. He found out who he was only when he had been on the roof of the building.

000

-Matt?- Foggy whispered when their friend stopped talking, all his body slightly shaking against her back, his hold tightening around her chest. They didn't have to ask anything when suddenly Matt had started talking in his lowest voice, with no explanation or notification but his arms squeezing her gently and strong at the same time. Claire had crossed her gaze with Foggy's, not knowing how to react to Matt's sudden wish to share.

Foggy, being Foggy, just accepted the confession, inviting her doing the same with a single nod, and he had been the first to answer to this new silence; She looked at Foggy and moved only her lips a in a single unspoken "no". She was thinking he would ask Matt to go on, but, again, when he completely ignored her warning, she discovered how much she kept underestimating him. -You don't have to do this, buddy- he whispered closing the distance between them to reach for his arm.

-N...no. I...owe you-

-You owe us nothing, Matt- Claire replied shifting and turning into his arm to look at him. She knew it was quite useless since he was blind, but she needed to look into his eyes, barely visible in the dark of the room. He ducked his head to look at her and she took the opportunity to kiss him slightly. -Go ahead only if you want to, Matty- Foggy supported her.

He took a deep, calming breath and began to spoke again.

000

He could recognize Stick's heartbeat everywhere, because it was like listening to an old man with the heart of a middle-aged man, a quite creepy mixture he had always found somehow fascinating in its own way. He made his way into the building, moving cautiously in order to not being caught. The closer he got, the clearer became the voices.

-That kid...i...is...use...useless- Stick was saying, his voice broken by coughs that betrayed some kind of internal injuries. Matt focused on his mentor's body: his temperature was slightly higher than it should be and he could feel what seemed to be a couple of broken ribs in his chest. When he extended his senses to the rest of it, he was certain Stick had been tortured, even if he couldn't tell how long and bad so far. -Y...you don't...need him. He...he knows...nothing-

-You trained him. And the one they call Daredevil too. Do you really think we'll believe you?-

Matt ducked his head. Stick was protecting him, despite everything. He shook his head to clear his head from the distracting thought. They would have the time to deal with that later, now he had to find a way to bring Stick out of there, preferably without getting killed.

-He...knows...nothing-

-So you brought him out of The Kitchen right when we were looking for him for nothing?-

Matt froze. Stick's heartbeat changed slightly. He knew he was there.

-I was protecting him from you idiots. That's why I've never completed his training!-

Matt wasn't stupid. Stick wasn't talking to his captor anymore; he was talking to him, telling him to stay out of this, to go away. And, not for the first time, he wondered why his mind and body could be so good at following his orders. He found himself completely unable to get into the scene, giving the people the Devil they were looking for so badly. In fact, it was likely that they wanted to use Matt Murdock as a bait for his vigilante alter-ego or, at least, that was what he thought. He just froze where he was, completely still, listening to what was happening.

-So, Matt Murdock knows nothing and you neither. That makes you useless to us, Stick, do you know that, don't you?-

-Exactly- he confirmed and Matt could imagine a grin on his face. -Murdock can't help you with the war. He can't fight anymore, and he can't kill-

-And you have no idea of where the Daredevil is- it was a statement, not a question. Matt's heartbeat increased. Stick was playing with fire, and he was damn close to being burnt.

-Correct, again-

And then, there were the three shots. Fast, close and shocking.

000

Matt was now basically whimpering, barely able to keep talking. Claire had shifted again during his speech and his head was now leaning on her lap, and she had one hand in his hair while the other one was weaved together with his.

-Matty…- Foggy whispered moving himself to get closer to them, wrapping Matt in one of his best hugs. Claire took the chance to dry her own tears, feeling now so guilty about everything she had thought about Stick until...well ten minutes ago.

They all were convinced he was a monster and yes, maybe he actually was because he still had killed people, kidnapped Karen and Foggy and thrown Matt out of a fucking window, but now he was dead, and he had died protecting both of Matt's identities.

Matt now was openly crying in her arms, loud enough to wake Karen, who sat there looking confused, but didn't give a second thought seeing him like that. She ran out of the bed to reach the trio on the floor. She didn't ask anything, just joined them, slowly rubbing Matt's back.

Eventually, he calmed down enough to keep talking.

-I attacked them, and brought Stick out of there-

-Was he still…- Foggy whispered.

-Yes, he was. He didn't want me to treat him. He said…- his voice broke. He took a deep breath before going on -He said… they were looking for me and Daredevil to fight their war…-

-This again?- Foggy looked exasperated and Claire couldn't really blame him. That war against only God knew (maybe, she wasn't sure) who or what had ruined Matt's life more than once and it was starting to get annoying, mostly because everyone seemed to think he would have been essential for it. Matt simply nodded, then kept talking.

-Stick told me they are on the other side, that they want me to win-

-Who the hell are you? Some kind of chosen guy? Or what?- Foggy meant to release the pressure in the room, but Matt wasn't in the mood for that.

-I swear, Foggy… I don't know. I really don't know. He said… they were looking for me, and for that he took me out of Hell's Kitchen, to protect me. And… and when I… when I…-

-When I brought you home?- Claire offered softly

-Yes. He kidnapped Karen to keep her safe while Foggy was the only one who could find me, because he is… you are…-

-I know, buddy. I know.-

-In his own creepy, violent way he loved you, Matt- Karen step into the conversation for the first time.

-Why he didn't simply tell you that? What's the point of all this masquerade?-

For the first time, Matt could manage a little smile.

-Claire, do you remember when I told you someone had told me to push all the people away from me?- he answered. How could she forget? She nodded. -It was him. For all the time he had been with me, he repeated the same mantra: feelings are dangerous, love is a weakness, soldiers have to be alone, et cetera… When he...punished me...it was because...he was angry. I wanted my life back... And he cared so much about me to protect you too...and that drove him crazy...-

-He couldn't admit to himself he cared about you- Foggy murmured.

-It turned out he was right. He loved me. He's dead. Like my dad.- The unspoken was clearly in the air. It was the reason he had tried to push Foggy away that night on the roof and, even before, had helped him when she decided to break up with him.

No. Not again. Not right now.

-Matthew- she whispered. -We trust you, ok? You are going to protect us as you always did before, when you barely knew us. We are a family, ok?-

-I… I can't… be everywhere-

-Then teach us to help ourselves- Foggy stated and six eyes suddenly stared at him (ok, four and half, maybe, or four and a brain or whatever Matt used. Ears?). He looked surprised by the fact no one else was seeing the most obvious solution ever. -If we can fight back a little bit, the time to get somewhere safe, he won't have to do everything alone- he explained, then looked at him. -Please, let me be your padawan ObiMatt KeMurdock-

He couldn't really have said that. Not a chance. Not when he was sober. They all froze for a second, then Matt burst into laughter, and the others followed suit less than an half second after him.

-We are going to be fine, Matt- Karen smiled at him.

000

The next day on their way back home they stopped at the cemetery. Stick's grave was simple and spartan like he had been through his whole life. He didn't have money or relatives who could pay for him, but father Lantom still could let him have a wooden cross with his name both in English and Braille, thanks to an anonymous donation, of course.

Karen and Claire had insisted to bring flowers, at least to say thank you, while Matt had brought a beer. He didn't know exactly why, maybe it was just because flowers were soft, and Stick didn't like soft things.

Foggy had a beer too, and he opened it, waving his hand toward the cross.

-I'd never thought to have to say thank you to someone who almost killed my best friend- he commented taking a sip before passing the bottle to Matt. -Or that my blind best friend could be a superhero… but hey, I guess there is a first time for everything, right?-

Matt smiled squeezing Claire's hand.

Yeah, there was a first time for everything.

Matt was sure the day would come when those people would make the connection between the blind lawyer and Daredevil, but, for now, for the first time, he would try to be a good avocado, a boyfriend, a friend and, of course, a vigilante.

The rest could go to Hell.

THE END

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