Charlotte woke up groggily, pushing herself onto her elbows and letting her hair tumble down her back. She looked around, wondering where Matt had gotten to considering his side of the bed was nothing but crumpled sheets, the duvet mostly on her side of the bed considering she often hogged it. She yawned and struggled to get out of the cocoon of the duvet. She'd rather just keep sleeping, but she knew she had to get up eventually. Slipping onto the wooden floor, she grabbed her pair of white socks and pulled them onto her feet as some protection from the cold floorboards.
Stepping from the bedroom, she pushed the door to the side and found Matt in the kitchen. He was dressed in a green top with dark jeans, his hair slicked back on top of his head. He looked up when he heard her leave the bedroom, lips arching.
"Good morning," he said.
"Morning," Charlotte replied, drinking in the sight in front of her.
Matt was beating eggs in a bowl. The table was set with two places, a bottle of orange juice in the middle alongside a vase with a bouquet of sunflowers there. Charlotte's lips arched as Matt set the bowl down, the whisk resting on the side of it. His hands dropped to his hips as he heard her move towards the kitchen and stop by the dining table. She reached a hand out to the sunflowers and ran a finger along a few of the petals.
"I'm hoping that silence is a good thing here," Matt said to her. She tugged on his Columbia sweatshirt she wore. She nodded her head and considered the effort he had gone to.
"I think so," she said.
"Only think, huh?" Matt questioned.
"It depends on how good the chef is," Charlotte said and moved towards the kitchen where she smelt the bacon beginning to fry on the stove, sizzling away. There were slices of bread in the toaster and ready to pushed down. Matt's eyes fell in her general direction, his lips arched as he played along with her.
"I've heard he's pretty spectacular," he decided on saying.
"Really?" she questioned from him. "And who told you that?"
"Oh, I read all the reviews in the New York Times…Washington Post…you really should be impressed that he's decided to cook you a private breakfast. I've heard he charges quite a lot for such a privilege."
"Does he now?"
"Well out your price range, sweetheart," Matt said and she finally laughed before feeling him reach for her, arms wrapping around her waist as she stepped towards him, body pressing flush against his and arms dangling loosely around his neck. "But," Matt continued, "word has it that he's pretty hung up over this girl so he'd do just about anything for her…including cooking her breakfast."
"Well, I heard she's pretty hung over him too," Charlotte replied and she swore Matt's smile couldn't get any bigger. She leaned in and placed a kiss against his lips for a brief moment before turning her head and resting it on his shoulder. "But you didn't need to do all of this."
"I did," Matt said.
"You must have gotten up pretty early to go out and grab everything."
"I was struggling sleeping so figured I'd just make a start," Matt told her, a hand running up and down her back soothingly. She closed her eyes and moved a hand into his hair, toying with it slowly.
"Did you hear anything last night?" she wondered from him and he shook his head as he moved his hand along her shoulder, squeezing it gently and feeling her relax under his touch and at the shake of his head.
"Not a peep," he said to her.
She hummed at the back of her throat and Matt wanted to let out a sigh. He didn't want her worrying over what he'd done. He just wanted her to accept that he'd done it and move on. He'd done precisely what he needed to do. He closed his eyes as he felt her move a hand to his wrist, lifting his fingers from her shoulders. Her eyes darted down to his bruised knuckles that were covered in small cuts. She moved a thumb over them, but he didn't wince at the movement.
"I don't like the idea of you out there…if he'd have hurt you-"
"-He didn't, Lottie," Matt promised her, moving his other hand from her back to her cheek, thumb running over her cheekbone as he pictured the worried expression on her face. "I'm fine. I promise. I don't want you fretting over this."
"I just…it's just that I've only just got you back, Matty. I don't want to think about losing you."
He felt his chest swell at that; overcome with emotion that she still wanted him. Even after what had happened, she still wanted him and cared for him. He lowered his forehead, brushing his own against hers and kissing the tip of her nose. "I'm not going anywhere," he assured her. "In fact, I'm afraid you're stuck with me for the rest of the day because after breakfast I'm taking you on a long walk around Central Park."
"Are you really?" Charlotte asked, sensing that he didn't entirely want to dwell on the previous night. He wanted things to be as normal as possible and so she would give him that.
"I am," he said. "We're going to go and eat ice cream…walk aimlessly round the park…and maybe head to that burger place you used to love so much for dinner."
"You're spoiling me, Murdock," Charlotte said.
"Nah, sweetheart, just making up on years of lost time," he replied and moved to kiss her forehead before turning her around, steering her with his hands planted on her shoulders. He guided her to the dining table and made her sit down as he went back to making them breakfast.
"I could get used to this," Charlotte commented, chin in hand as her fingers toyed with the petals on the sunflowers once more.
Matt added the eggs to the pan and began stirring them, own lips curved upwards. "You and me both, Lottie."
…
Sitting at the table in the corner, Matt kept a hand around his beer bottle after finishing off his burger and fries. Foggy had text him earlier in the day and wondered if he wanted to hang out. Matt had told Charlotte that he'd say he was busy, but she'd insisted on Foggy coming for dinner with them. He'd met them at the restaurant after they'd finished their walk around Central Park. They'd gone inside and grabbed a booth together. Foggy had sat across from Matt and Charlotte, noticing the way his friend would let his arm brush against hers. He'd seen the way he'd let her order first and how she'd wiped ketchup from the corner of his mouth. It was when she'd gone to the bathroom when Foggy struck with his questioning.
"You know you're sickeningly cute together, right?" Foggy checked with Matt who just smiled with a chuckle, sightless gaze moving down to the table and he wondered if he'd ever blushed before as he felt his cheeks warm up. "I mean, the way you are with her is like…I don't know…you're completely smitten."
"Maybe I am, Foggy," Matt suggested and his friend rolled his eyes.
"You've been in love with her since you were like fourteen," Foggy said. "I'm just glad to see you happy even if I know I'm third wheeling on this date."
"You're not third wheeling," Matt said. "Charlotte wanted you here."
"And you didn't?"
"I always want you, Foggy," Matt said.
"Correct answer," Foggy said and took a drink of his beer before picking at a fry that had gone slightly cold. "But seriously, how you handling all of this? I know it's hard on her with all the attention, but you've been dragged into it too. I've seen your face on the front of newspapers, Matt…people at work are whispering about you…wondering if you were the one who got Charlotte pregnant and forced her to have an abortion."
Matt rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "Honestly?" Matt asked. "I don't care what people think. The only people's opinions that matter to me are yours and Charlotte's. Let people whisper if they want to, but the truth will come out eventually. It always does."
"You think?"
"I do," Matt said. "In the meantime, I'm doing everything I can to keep Lottie away from the news."
"Is it working?"
Matt shrugged. "She looks at it occasionally when she thinks I'm distracted or not paying attention, but I can tell. She puts on a brave face and I…I just give her space…I give her what she needs because she needs that. She knows I'm here for her, but I don't want to crowd her."
"I get that," Foggy assured him.
"Plus, she's got a job volunteering at an art gallery that she enjoys. She even mentioned picking a paintbrush up again soon," Matt said and he remembered feeling so proud of her when she'd mentioned it in a passing comment. He hadn't pushed her because he knew she needed to make decisions on her own and in her own time. "I think she's doing well and we're…we're taking things slow, you know?"
"You? Taking things slow?" Foggy asked. "Does she know how many girls-"
"-I'm not saying I've been completely celibate since Elektra," Matt confessed. "But Lottie isn't just a one-night fling. She's…she's Lottie, Foggy. She's been through so much and rushing into something after what she's been through isn't clever. It isn't the best idea. I mean, I've told her that I love her, but-"
"-Whoa, whoa, whoa," Foggy interrupted, waving his hands in front of him, eyes widening in surprise. "So, you're telling me that you're taking things slow, but you've already told her that you love her? Matt, that is the complete opposite of going slow."
"I know it might seem like that, but for us…for me and Lottie…it's not…it's been there for years, just that neither of us have said anything," Matt said. "I mean the other stuff, you know? Like the intimate stuff."
"I do not need to know about your sex life. I know more than enough already." Foggy promised him.
"But that's what I'm saying, Foggy," Matt said. "We're not jumping into anything even though I've told her I love her and she told me she loves me. We're just enjoying spending time with each other and I think that's enough for the time being."
Foggy nodded thoughtfully and drank his beer again. "If only you'd have realised this year's ago. Might have saved you some heartache."
"No point in dwelling on the past," Matt decided on saying seconds before Charlotte appeared again. She slipped back into the booth next to Matt and he lifted an arm up, resting it over the back of the red leather seat. Charlotte reached for a fry from her own plate and ate it slowly.
"What did I miss?" she wondered.
"Oh, we were just talking about you," Matt said, adjusting the glasses on his eyes as he moved his face in her direction.
"All good, I hope?" she said.
"Oh no, definitely terrible," Matt said and Foggy chuckled, noting the look on her face. It was complete adoration as she nudged Matt in the side and he noted how Matt quickly kissed the side of her head as she ate another fry.
"I would never speak ill of you, Charlotte," Foggy chimed in. "Now, Matt on the other hand. He's a complete cad. You can't trust him in the slightest."
"I know," Charlotte promised him. "Anyway, how are things at work, Foggy? Matt insists on working from home more often than not nowadays."
"Because I get more done."
"Or because you want to keep an eye on me?"
"Not true," Matt defended himself even though it was entirely true. He still wasn't comfortable with her being alone while her husband was still out there. He hadn't made contact with her since the incident in church, but that didn't mean Matt trusted him. "Anyway, it's not as if I've got long left in Landman and Zack."
Foggy let out a deep breath. "Still not going to take them up on a job offer if they give us one?"
"No," Matt said with conviction. "I don't think I can, Foggy. I want to make a difference…help people who need help…innocent people."
"And I get that. It's noble as hell, Matt, but the money…we hardly have any assets between us and setting up a law firm isn't cheap."
"We start small," Matt said. "We can work from my apartment to begin with if we need to, but it's going to be us…I mean…we could help people."
"I like the idea, Matty, but I also like the idea of job security, being able to pay my rent on time and free donuts on Friday."
"I can buy you donuts on Friday," Matt said.
"I think the other two might be more a priority for Foggy," Charlotte interjected and then leant back, feeling Matt's fingers brush her shoulders from his arm across the back of her seat. "I mean, you know that I could help…I got enough in the divorce settlement even if it hasn't been finalised yet. I'd be happy to."
"You don't need to do that," Matt said to her.
"I know that I don't need to because I get you want to do this on your own, but I'm just saying that I don't want you not to do something you're passionate about because you're worried about money when you don't need to be."
Matt was quiet then. He knew Charlotte meant well. She was just trying to help and he loved her for it. He loved her for being so utterly selfless that all she wanted was for him to be happy. But he wanted to do this on his own. He wanted to be able to stand on his own two feet and not take money that came from her husband.
"And that offer is super sweet," Matt took the lead as Foggy remained silent and drank the rest of his beer. "And it means so much, but…we'll manage…it's an adventure, right? It's something new."
"So you're really going to quit?" Foggy checked.
"I am."
"Well, I guess I'll have to come with you."
"Foggy, you don't have to. If you really don't want to or you're really unsure then I'm not going to force you to do anything you're not comfortable with."
"It's me and you right?" Foggy checked with him. "Avocados at law."
Matt smiled genuinely then, raising his nearly empty beer bottle into the air. "Avocados at law," he echoed and they clinked their bottle necks together as Charlotte remained silent, silently happy that they had each other in the work that they did.
…
"I think we might be able to wrap things up in another ten minutes."
Charlotte was stood in the kitchen in the back, washing out champagne glasses to send back to the catering company the next day. She had her hands dipped into the warm soapy water, the sleeves of her shirt rolled up to her elbows. She'd tied her hair into a high ponytail and had slipped out of her heels, the soles of her feet aching terrible. She figured while she was away from customers that it didn't matter. Vanessa came walking in, hands on her hips.
She was wearing a fitted white dress with white heeled pumps. She'd curled her hair even more, but it looked so effortless, like she'd just woken up like that. She looked to Charlotte as she took more champagne glasses off of the tray and started washing them, holding the sponge in her hands and running it along the glasses.
"Has it been a good night?"
"We sold six pieces so I'd say so," Vanessa said to her with a coy smile. "And I think you made commission on two of those pieces."
"Really?" Charlotte asked, eyes widening in surprise at that.
Vanessa chuckled. "You're quite good at interacting with the customers," she said to her. "Keep this up and I might have to hire you full time."
"I don't know…I mean…it might just be a fluke," Charlotte said, not entirely wanting to get her hopes up, but she'd enjoyed it. She'd enjoyed talking art with people and meeting the artists Vanessa worked with. She enjoyed watching them work in the studio off the main gallery and asking them about their works.
"You don't need to put yourself down, Charlotte," Vanessa assured her. "Anyway, I should get back out there. You okay to finish off back here?"
"All under control and I've arranged for the caterers to pick up the glasses first thing tomorrow morning."
"Thanks," Vanessa said gratefully. "I'll see you in a bit."
"Be there soon," Charlotte said and she went back to washing the glasses with a renewed vigour, smile widening and her cheeks beginning to ache. She finished off drying them and then packing them away in the bubble wrap before taking hold of the spare bottles of champagne and placing them in the fridge.
Adding the plates to the boxes, she figured she would finish the rest of the glasses when the remaining guests had gone. She tidied everything up in the small kitchen, wondering if she might be able to leave early. Matt had told her that he would stop by and walk home with her after work. She had insisted she was fine, but he was more insistent than she'd anticipated.
"Charlotte."
"Yeah?" she said, turning her head over her shoulder as she remained crouched on the ground, taping up a box.
"There's a guy here…says he's with you. Name's Matt."
"Oh…Matt…yeah," Charlotte said his name. "He must be early."
"Do you want me to send him back?"
"If that's alright?" Charlotte checked.
"He's a good-looking guy. You did well there," Vanessa said and Charlotte said nothing, her cheeks turning red as her boss smirked and then headed on away. A moment later and Matt appeared, cane in front of him and glasses covering his eyes. Charlotte's smile remained on her face as she watched him move towards her, a hand in his pocket and dressed in his work suit with his tie slightly crooked against his white shirt. His grey suit jacket also looked slightly crumpled.
But it was his face that concerned Charlotte. There was a cut on his lip and on his forehead. Charlotte stood up straight, smoothing down the green pencil skirt she wore over her white blouse.
"What the hell happened?" she asked from him and took four steps towards him, a hand going to his stubble covered cheek.
"I don't want to lie to you, Lottie," Matt whispered to her and Charlotte pursed her lips together, brow arching.
"So, you didn't trip?" she checked with him and he shook his head once. Dropping her hand from his cheek, Charlotte ground her teeth together as she put two and two together. She just hoped that she was coming up with five. "You went out there again, didn't you?"
"I heard a woman in an alleyway on the way here…someone was trying to kidnap her…" Matt whispered and Charlotte ran a hand down her cheek, shaking her head quickly back and forth as she tried not to get angry with him. "I don't want to discuss it here while you're at work. I just wanted to come here and tell you that I'm here…and I'll wait outside to walk you home. We can discuss this then."
"I don't think there's much to discuss. You saved a woman and clearly got your ass handed to you judging by your bloodied face and the way you keep wincing with each step you take."
"Lottie-"
"-You promised me," she interrupted him. "You promised me you weren't going to do anything reckless like this again."
"So you would rather I just left her alone? Let some thug hurt her?"
"No…but what if that guy had a gun or a knife? What then?"
"He didn't."
"You weren't to know that when you went in there."
"You're forgetting what I can do."
"You might be gifted, Matt, but that doesn't mean you're invincible."
"No, but I can help. There are people out there who need my help and I can do that…I can make a difference-"
"-You've given this a lot of thought," Charlotte interrupted him again. "So the other week when you told me that you wouldn't do this again, you lied. You've been thinking about it…going out there…helping people…and what? You just weren't going to tell me?"
"I was going to talk to you about it," Matt said. "But tonight was just a spur of the moment thing."
Charlotte let out a huff and turned on her heel to finish off taping up the box. "I've got work to finish, Matt."
"I know…I'll wait outside…" Matt said, longing to see her just for a moment and drink in her expression. He could picture it, but he longed to see it. He longed to try and calm her and promise her that everything was going to be fine, but he didn't do that. He just left her packing boxes and headed back out towards the gallery, cane in front of him. He moved around the room, hearing only one other heartbeat. He guessed it was Vanessa judging from the way she was locking the main door.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to distract her from work," Matt said to her as Vanessa turned on her heel, dropping her keys into her patent leather bag she had just grabbed from her office. He knew she noticed the cuts on his faces, but he suspected she was too polite to say anything.
"You're not distracting her, I just saw off the last customer so I'll let you both out the back door," Vanessa said.
"Thanks," Matt said. "I know Charlotte's really enjoying working here."
"Well, I enjoy her being here," Vanessa said. "She's a good worker…conscientious…polite…and nothing like the press make her out to be. I suspect that's why I imagine you're nothing like they've made you to be either."
Matt chuckled darkly at that, mildly entertained. "What? Some blind playboy who had an affair with a senator's wife?"
"I think you might just be blind, but I'm not sure about the playboy," Vanessa confessed to him and he sensed the teasing tone in her voice. He chuckled.
"Well, the cane isn't just for show. I've got these bruises to prove it," he said, holding the can upright against his side with one hand and pointing to his face with the other. They both chuckled at that. "But no, we're nothing like they've made us out to be…Lottie especially…she's…everything about her is the complete opposite to what they say and I know this might not mean much, but thank you for seeing that. Thank you for giving her a chance when some people wouldn't even give her the time of day."
Vanessa observed Matt for a moment and cocked her head to the side. "You really do love her."
Matt's lips arched again. "Is it that obvious?"
"Call it women's intuition," Vanessa settled on saying at the same time Charlotte came walking out.
She'd dumped her heels into her satchel that was slung over her body, a dark green mac hanging over her frame. She'd changed into a pair of sneakers that didn't go with her outfit, but were easier for walking back to Hell's Kitchen in. She looked to her boss as she stood by Matt's side, the tension between the two of them palpable to both of them. She just hoped Vanessa hadn't picked up on it.
"I've boxed everything up to be taken back tomorrow and all the paperwork is filed in your office with the sales from tonight. It just needs to be inputted and then the delivery companies called next week to make the deliveries to the buyers."
"Well…how about you come in on Monday and sort that?" Vanessa suggested and Charlotte looked surprised. Vanessa picked up on her expression and laughed once. "Come on, I was just talking about having to hire you and you're proving to be quite valuable here. How about we say you work three days a week here…I pay you…you earn commission on anything you sell."
"You're serious?"
"Deadly," Vanessa said.
"Then yes," Charlotte said, feeling the cloud over her head lift slightly. "Thank you so much."
"You don't need to thank me…now you get off home and enjoy your weekend with your blind playboy," Vanessa said and Charlotte looked confused, but Matt forced himself to chuckle and moved a hand into the crook of Charlotte's arm.
"I think she's on about me," Matt said.
"It was nice to meet you, Matthew," Vanessa said.
"You too," Matt replied and Charlotte glanced to him before looking to Vanessa again.
"I will see you on Monday then, Vanessa," Charlotte said. "Have a good weekend."
They finished off saying goodnight with Vanessa letting them out of the back door. Moving onto the street, Matt kept his hand in Charlotte's arm, not wanting to let her go. She was quiet as they walked down the streets together, Matt letting his cane stretching in front of him as he tried not to use his heightened senses. He didn't want to that evening. He suspected he would need all of his energy for their discussion back home.
Heading back to his loft, Matt held the door open for Charlotte and she stepped in first. Dumping her bag onto the floor, she slipped out of her coat and hung it up as Matt followed her towards the living area. She kicked off her sneakers and tucked them under the sofa as she settled down on the seat, legs curled underneath her body. Tugging her bobble out of her hair, she let her locks flow down to her shoulders as Matt removed his glasses and dropped them onto the coffee table, sitting down on the other end of the sofa.
"Are we going to talk about this?" Matt asked from her.
Charlotte bent her legs and pulled them up to her chin. "Are you going to go out there again?"
"I mean…I…I don't know…I've been thinking about it…I'm not going to lie to you, Lottie. I've been thinking about what it is I can do to help and maybe I can do more than just use the law. This city…Hell's Kitchen…you know that things aren't as they should be."
"Of course I bloody know, Matt," Charlotte hissed at him. "Or are you forgetting that I was, or more accurately still am, married to a man who is probably involved in organised crime? I know what's going on out there and I know how dangerous it is. That's why I don't want you running around the streets getting involved. You're just a man, Matt. You're a man who has extraordinary abilities, I know that…but you don't have an Iron suit or a magic hammer…you're not a God…you're a man."
"A man who can help, Lottie," Matt said to her. "And the worst part is that it felt…it felt right to help. It felt good. I know that I promised you that I wouldn't go out there again, but after hearing what I've heard…I'm struggling not to do that."
"And if you get yourself killed?" Charlotte wondered, her voice wavering. "What then? Because you…I know this is selfish. I know everything coming out of my mouth right now is selfish, but this is the happiest I've been in ages. This is our chance to make things work between us and you want to risk that by going out there and fighting crime in a mask?"
"I don't want to risk it, sweetheart. I don't want to risk us. I'm happier than I've ever been when I'm with you."
"But you still want to do this?" Charlotte checked with him.
"I don't want to. In an ideal world this city would be fine, but it's not because there are people out there like your husband…people who are ruining it…and if I can even help just a little bit then I want to. I know we'll have the law firm, but there's more that I can do. I have the ability to do it."
"You have the ability, but I don't want to spend every night waking up and wondering where you are…if you're getting yourself hurt…going to come back to me with something worse than a bruised face and bloodied knuckles," Charlotte said and she uncurled herself from the ball she was in and stood up. She looked down to Matt as he shifted to sit on the edge of the sofa.
"I don't want that either, but in my head…Charlotte…you can't possibly know what it's like. You can't know what it's like to hear so much pain. You have the luxury of being immune to it. In this loft, when we go to bed at night, you can sleep through it, but I can't. I can't sleep because it's all I hear and the fact that I am laying there and doing nothing when I could be doing something is hurting me, alright? Would I prefer not to have this? Would I prefer to be ignorant to it and spend my nights with you…just wrapped up together…of course I would…but I can't. I just can't…and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry because I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to make you suffer more than you have done already."
"But you're going to," Charlotte said, "because it's who you are and I will never change that. I could ask you to get out of here with me…run away…but you wouldn't. You're a part of Hell's Kitchen."
"Maybe one day," Matt said to her. "Maybe one day we can have that. We can run off together."
"You know, with us we've lived with a lifetime of maybes. I don't know if I want maybe anymore, Matt."
"I know what you want," Matt said to her. "I can still give it to you. We can still be us."
"But you would just be a crime fighting vigilante on the side," Charlotte replied and let out a deep breath and held a hand up. "I can't do this right now, Matt. I can't talk about it because we'll just get into an argument and I'll cry and nothing will be resolved."
"You don't want to hash this out?"
"You're not going to back down because clearly you've been thinking of this for a while and I know you can be stubborn, Matt. I know that's who you are…and I…I don't know if I can sit here and wait every night for you to come home because it would ruin me…but so would leaving you when I've just gotten you back."
"I don't want you to leave, Lottie," Matt said and he moved to his feet, his hands going to cup her cheeks and his fingers running into her hair gently. "I know that this is a big ask. I know that there might be time when I come back bloodied, but I will be careful. I'll be so careful and I promise you that."
"We just don't know if it will be enough, do we?" Charlotte asked, her own hands moving to wrap around his wrists as she bowed her head and he lowered his own, nose near her hair and inhaling the strawberry of her shampoo. "Why does it have to be you who does this?"
"Because fate has a weird way of working," Matt said.
"Clearly," Charlotte said. "But I'm not doing this tonight. We both need time to sleep on this…think about it carefully."
"If that's what you want," Matt said to her.
"What I want is something I'm not sure you can give me, Matt," Charlotte settled on saying to him and moved his hands from her face. "And I'm not sure I can give you what you want either."
"You give me everything I could ever want."
"Clearly not," Charlotte whispered and he let her walk away from him and towards the bedroom.
He sank back down on the sofa and buried his face into his hands, trying to block out the noise from the streets outside. Instead, he focused on Charlotte getting ready for bed. He listened to her ritual of leaving her clothes on the floor by her side of the bed. He heard her wipe her makeup from her face, tossing the cloth into the waste basket. She pulled on her joggers followed by his sweatshirt. She trudged into the bathroom and he heard the water running and then her brushing her teeth.
She left the bathroom and he hoped that she would ask him to come to bed. She hoped that she would ask him to join her in bed just so that he could hold her and promise her that she was more than enough for him. But she didn't. She just left the bathroom and headed back into the bedroom, climbing into bed under the covers. She left the door open to the bedroom, but Matt didn't make a move to go in there.
Charlotte laid on her back, eyes on the ceiling above her as she tried to digest everything that she'd heard. She closed her eyes and knew she wouldn't sleep as she thought about Matt on the sofa, sat there so stoic, head in his hands like he didn't know what to think.
"I do love you, Lottie, more than you know," Matt whispered into the darkness.
He waited patiently, not sure how long it was before she spoke back to him.
"I love you too."
She said the words he longed to hear, but neither of them made a move.
That was how the two of them spent the night, neither of them sleeping, but neither of them daring to make the first move in case it ended up being the last move they did make.
...
A/N: So much angst! Sorry! Thanks so much to .air and Shockra for reviewing the previous chapter. As always - I would love to know what you think or what you might like to see happen!