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amberlynnmurdock · 1 month

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Carnival Games

Pairing: Benjamin Poindexter x Reader

Summary: Based off this lovely request about Dex impressing his North Star by winning a bunch of carnival games. Your boyfriend is the best sniper and he takes that skill to the carnival.

Genre: FLUFF. So much fluff that I really wish Dex had this love in his story *heart clutch*

Words: 2.5k

A/N: This was so fun to write, also the ending might be REALLY CHEESY but IDC, Dex fluff is so fun and cute I was literally giggling writing this lol Thank you for the request, anon! I hope you love it! <3

He wasn’t sure if it was because of the intense training he did in Quantico or if it was simply just because of his nerves, but Dex could never fully be relaxed no matter what environment he surrounded himself in. Even at home, he was always on high alert. Checking windows, making sure his curtains completely covered them. It was second nature for him to grab the knife he kept under his pillow when he heard a strange noise down the hall. It was second nature for him to scan any crowd and look for potential threats.

So being surrounded by loud noises, flashing lights and the smell of funnel cakes wafting in the air was definitely a less-than-ideal situation for him to be in. He’d never willingly go to a carnival—in fact, he’d rather go through the intense training he did when he first started at the FBI than buy a ticket to go to a place like this. The only reason he was here now, surrounded by these squished crows and children running, people on dates and families—God, that was the worst to see—was because of you. You were the only person he would let succumb him to this kind of torture. And you had no idea.

At least Dex had the option to wear his baseball cap tonight. It somewhat helped in blocking out the crowds but at the same time, he needed to see everyone at every angle. Most importantly, he needed to see you. You were practically dragging him through the crowds, holding on tightly to his hand, looking back every once in a while to make sure he was okay. Overall, Dex wasn’t okay, but the moments you gave him your attention, he somewhat was. Everything around him became white noise when he focused on you. He longed for the moment it was time to go home so it can be just the two of you.

“I’m so excited,” you looked back at Dex, whose eyes were darting between people and rides. He had that familiar look on his face you knew all too well—he was overwhelmed. You had asked him probably ten times if he was okay with going to the Brooklyn Carnival and each time, Dex said yes—even though you knew better. He wanted to so badly do the things you wanted, but the price of that was his comfort. You made a note to yourself that if you did catch him getting overwhelmed—like he was now—you’d pull him aside to bring him back down.

“Hey,” you stopped in your tracks, pulling Dex by his hand closer to you. He was startled by the sudden stopping as he focused his dark hazel eyes on you.

“Is everything okay?” Dex asks, “Did you see something?”

You shook your head softly, touching his cheek. “I’m okay. Everything is fine. Are you okay?”

Dex nods his head, averting his eyes from the people that surround them. “I’m okay if you are.”

“We can leave—“

“No,” Dex interrupts you. He won’t let his nerves get in the way of your date. “I want to stay.”

“Okay,” you smiled, reaching up to kiss his cheek. “Let’s go.”

You grabbed his hand again and pulled him closely through the crowd, passing the rides, food stands, and entertainment until you reached the games. Different booths surrounded the area. There were more kids around and families waiting in line for different games. The image of them all sent a pang to Dex’s heart. It was a reminder that he never had this kind of childhood—a childhood full of laughter and cotton candy and games. He can’t think of that right now, not when you’re laughing and smiling at the same thing he sees. Dex smiles at you because you’re the only thing that can make him smile right now.

“What should we play first?” You squeeze his hand a few times and meet his eyes. Dex sighs in exasperation, looking around at all the games. His attention falls on a ring toss game in front of them.

“How about that one?”

You smile. “Sure.”

Dex was the one who led the way this time. He grabbed your hand and pulled you between people, watching them carefully, and shooting them daggers if they weren’t moving for you. At the booth, a man in his late 50s smoking a cigarette asks for two tickets from both of you to play. Dex carefully pulls them from his back pocket and hands him the tickets.

“Alright,” the man grunts, “throw all five rings on the bottle and you win a little teddy bear.”

Dex squints his eyes and takes the rings from the man, handing them to you. You squeal in excitement and squeeze Dex’s shoulder.

“Okay, me first,” you demand. Dex laughs lightly and steps out of your way. “I want that little teddy bear.”

“You’ll get it,” Dex encourages you. He glances at the small stuffed animal hanging from the top of the board.

You shuffle the rings between your hands and notice each ring has a different size, obviously to show the level of difficulty to get it around the bottle. Still, it seemed easy enough, like throwing a frisbee. You squint your eyes to level the ring to the top of the bottle and flick it quickly, successfully getting the biggest—easiest—ring around the bottle. Dex smiles to himself and crosses his arms, beginning to feel more engaged with the game.

“Just got to get four more, darlin’,” the man chuckles from the corner of the booth. He didn’t see it, but Dex shot him an intimidating glare.

“I got it,” you reply. Dex shifts in his stance and watches you carefully.

You level the second ring up and flick it a little too fast, flying right over the top of the bottle. You sigh in defeat—at least you have three more. Dex shifts again and watches intently.

Without fail, you manage to miss every single last ring. Your cheeks heat in embarrassment, in a funny way that a carnival game could make you emit such an emotion, but also because your boyfriend happens to be one of the top snipers in the FBI and he just witnessed you miss each attempt. You look at Dex, shake your head, and roll your eyes in good nature.

“Oh, whatever. Your turn,” you laugh as you step aside. Dex maneuvers around you and dismisses the mocking expression on the man’s face.

“No teddy bears yet,” he laughs.

Dex is determined, and it’s almost comical how easy it is.

You can’t even count the number of seconds that go by when all five rings easily land around the bottleneck by Dex’s doing. You jump up to him and squeeze his shoulders.

“DEX!!!” You squeal, “Let’s go!!”

Dex wraps his arm around your shoulders and brings you close against him. He looks up at the man under his baseball cap and smirks.

“The little teddy bear, please,” Dex demands.

“Alright, alright,” the man waves in defeat as he reaches for the small bear at the top of the board. “Here you go.”

Dex takes the bear from him and hands it to you with a smile.

“You earned it,” Dex says in a low voice.

You reach up and kiss Dex on his jaw. “Let’s play another game.”

Dex laughs. “Your choice.”

You walk Dex to the middle of the path, one hand in his, the other holding the teddy bear he won for you. You look around each booth until your jaw drops and your eyes widen on the biggest stuffed duck you’ve ever seen and immediately know you must have.

“Oh my, God, Dex,” you gasp, walking to the booth like a magnet. “I need to win that giant duck.”

Dex follows your gaze and lets out a loud, genuine laugh, only you could cause him to have. Because of course, you need that giant stuffed duck. It had to be half his size, and so round you could probably use it as a pillow. Its orange legs flopped beneath its giant yellow body. Something like that brought no joy to Dex but seeing you excited over it did.

“I’ll go first though,” you say to him. “I do want to earn one of these things.”

“All you,” Dex gently bumps your shoulder in encouragement.

You walk up to the booth and ask the older woman how to win the giant stuffed duck. She laughs and playfully punches the stuffed animal among the smaller ducks that people are more likely to win.

“No one’s won this thing in all the years I’ve come here,” she says. “You’ve got to shoot every moving duck on this platform in under two minutes. There’s 15 ducks. The more ducks you shoot, the faster the machine goes. If you can manage that, you’ll win this giant duck. If you only hit, let’s say, five of them, you win a rubber ducky.”

“Okay,” you nod carefully, pondering your technique in hitting all the ducks. “We’d like to play.”

“That’ll be three tickets.”

You look at Dex who already is reaching for the tickets in his back pocket. He hands the woman the tickets and goes back to watching you from behind. It’s a seated game, with a fake gun attached to the table that shoots tiny rubber bullets. The gun is locked in this position to ensure it stays facing the game, with a little movement to swirl around. You take a seat in front of the fake gun and place your hands on it, realizing you’ve never held something even remotely close to a weapon. A thought dawned on you that Dex does, quite often for his job, and for some reason that tugged your heart. You hoped a game like this didn’t make him uncomfortable. So when you looked back at him once more and he offered you the tiniest of smiles, that tells you all you needed to know.

The woman went out of the way and flipped a switch to start the game. The tune of Ring Around the Rosie started to play from the speakers as the ducks on the board began to move around. You aimed at one of the ducks in the top row and hit it smack in the middle. The clock was ticking, and the more you hit the ducks, the faster the machine moved, making it impossible to aim and shoot at them all. As soon as the timer dinged, the machine stopped and a mocking tune played from the speakers.

“Damn it! So close,” you said in exasperation. The woman chuckled. You got up to meet Dex who was already handing her the tickets so he could play.

You stood behind Dex as he took a seat in front of the fake gun. Dex didn’t even look at you as he sat down and focused on the game, which made you smile. It was funny to see a tough and seasoned FBI agent as he was getting competitive over a silly carnival game—it meant a lot to you that he was only doing it just so he could win you a stuffed animal. It meant even more that he seemed to be having a good time.

The woman started up the machine again just as Dex rolled his shoulders to relax. His fingers twitched on the trigger of the fake gun. Once the music started playing, Dex wasted no time in shooting at every single duck at moved, proving that the speed of the machine had nothing on his skill. You watched from behind him with your mouth open in amusement. Even the woman was stunned, as she stood in the corner of the booth and stared at each duck go down in under one minute.

“Well,” the woman sighed as the machine began to play victorious music. “That’s a first.”

Dex let out the breath he was holding once the fake gun locked in place and the machine of ducks reset itself. He placed his hands on his thighs and watched as the woman unwound the giant duck stuffed animal from the prize board. You were already waiting for her at the corner of the booth in excitement. When she finally brought it over, you gave it a big squeeze and went over to Dex.

“Dex!” You said in excitement, “I can’t believe you did it! I mean, I can believe it, because my boyfriend is the best sniper in the FBI, but you really won it for me!”

Dex stood up from the seat, wrapping his arms around you and burying his face in the crook of your neck, your bodies separated by the ridiculously large duck. He held you even tighter.

“Thank you,” he whispered against your skin. That’s all he needed to say for you to know what he meant.

◎◎◎

As the night went on, you and Dex played as many aiming games as you could find. And every time you played, you played the best you could—but when it was Dex’s turn, you always left the booth with another stuffed animal. On the way out of the carnival, Dex asked if you could stop at a funnel cake booth to take some home. That wasn’t a hard request to grant.

Now, sitting in the car of the subway, Dex sits with the giant duck in his lap as you carry the rest of the stuffed animals in your arms.

“I’ll probably donate all this,” you sighed, feeling a bit tired.

“That’s nice of you,” Dex replies, turning his head to look at you. When he looked forward again, he saw the reflection of you both sitting with the stuffed animals in your hands. Dex looked the silliest, with the giant duck in his lap. You laughed and rested your head on his shoulder, ignoring the powder from the funnel cake on his denim jacket.

“We’re keeping the duck, though,” you said, resting your eyes.

Dex laughed and held it tighter in his lap. “We worked hard for it.”

“I hope you had a good time, Dex,” you whispered. “Thank you for coming with me.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, matching your tone. “I did have a good time.”

In the reflection again, he sees you take a deep breath as you finally let yourself fall asleep on his shoulder. He looks around the car of the subway—not many people are on. Not many threats to worry about. He kisses your temple before focusing on your surroundings again until the subway reaches your stop.

When the two of you finally reach Dex’s apartment, you set the stuffed animals on his couch carefully but carry the duck into his bedroom. You placed it perfectly in the middle of his bed and smiled to yourself. Dex wraps his arms around you from behind, burying his face in the crook of your neck again. You lean into his warmth as he caresses your body softly, his strong hands moving up and down the length of your torso.

“I’d play all those games again to win you more ridiculously sized ducks,” Dex whispers. “And I’ll never miss one shot.”

#ben poindexter #benjamin poindexter #dex #bullseye #wilson bethel #ben poindexter x reader #dex x reader #benjamin poindexter x reader #wilson bethel x reader #mcu #marvel #win you over

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petertingle-yipyip · 7 months

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WORLD CLASS SINNER - FRANK CASTLE

two - if he had been with me

tags: n/a // one // three // masterlist

Pairing: Billy x Reader (Casual) , Frank x Reader (Platonic)

Word Count: 7,195

Summary: Further and further her humanity goes as Y/N commits herself to Frank Castle's crusade. Small moments threaten to bring her back, but how can she when there's nothing worth it... Or is there.

The next morning, you woke in a start with the same dream. A hand flying to your chest while the other rubbed the nonexistent blood out of your eye. Glancing around while the room spun for moments, you recognized you weren’t in the rubble but in your bed. Although the weight against your chest would’ve argued otherwise. When you got back from washing your face, Billy was awake and sitting at the edge of the bed.

“You still dream about him?” He asked simply.

“Hmm?” Your brows raised innocently. “Dream about who?”

“C’mon, Y/N. I hear you talkin’ in your sleep. Mumblin’ about your precious Matt. It was like that before you left too.”

You shrugged and leaned on the doorframe. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“And you took down some of the pictures. And the painting.”

“You’re starting to sound like my friends, Billy.” You said with a slight edge to your tone.

“That’s a bad thing now?”

“It’s an annoying thing right now.” You countered. “There’s a reason I’m avoiding them.”

“Y/N.. If you need more time-” He tried and you groaned as you pushed yourself up. “Don’t do that!”

“You know where the door is once your pants are on!” You called over your shoulder, waving a hand goodbye while you headed to your kitchen. “Don’t embarrass yourself in front of Miss Fran across the hall. She’ll stop being nice to me.”

There was a quiet commotion while he shuffled around your bedroom, finding the sporadic trail of clothes before he made his way over to you. He leaned against the countertop while you busied your hands and attention on the stove.

“Y/N, I’m not trynna make you talk about somethin’ you don’t want to, alright? Bringing up your guy crossed a line. I’m sorry…” He offered gently. Honestly. And the sentiment made you roll your eyes to yourself. “I just wanna make sure you’re good.”

You sighed heavily and turned towards him. “I’m fine.” You offered a tight, meaningless smile. “Happy?”

He shook his head and sighed inwardly while you turned away.

“So.. How long do I still have you for?” He asked instead.

“What?” Your brows furrowed at the odd question.

“Your words. You can’t work Anvil and your hotshot FBI gig at the same time. When is it official?”

“Oh.. I don’t know. I got my badge before I left so Dex tells me we’re just waiting on the SAC to get the go-ahead. I can work as a freelancer if you need me in the meantime.”

“I always need you.”

“Yeah, okay.” You scoffed. “When’s your next recruitment?”

“I gotta check, b... I’ll let you know.. You wanna come with me later? I gotta go see Curtis.”

“No, I gotta take care of some other stuff.” You brushed him off, knowing you had to devote some time today to finding Frank and Micro. “But I’m going to Curtis’ meeting today so we should cross paths.”

“Then I will see you later.” He nodded before pushing off to get ready to leave.

Once he was gone, you got yourself ready. You took a quick shower and wore an outfit fitting for an FBI agent, given that was the guise you would use to get into her house, and clipped your badge to your belt. You dug through your collection to find one of the pocket devices that came in handy when it came to cameras and signals, for nothing more than your own hunch for an NSA agent’s house. You added your gun to the back of your belt - more to pull the persona together than any sort of threat - and headed out to Sarah Lieberman’s.

As you drove over to the house, Dex called. He asked if you wanted in on a potential investigation, something about Carson Wolf being murdered in his own home the night before. It was an interesting coincidence given the fact that Frank had returned and a separate agent was asking questions about him. You had no doubts that Frank was involved but it did leave a nice chance to find out just how dirty Wolf was to get himself killed. You agreed to throw your name into the pot.

“Hi, are you Sarah Lieberman?” You asked politely and she shifted uncomfortably in her doorway.

“Yes. Can I help you?” She asked tightly and you saw the blur of a child running around behind her.

“I’m Special Agent Y/L/N. May I come in?”

“What is this about?”

“Have you had any sort of odd interactions recently? A man who seemed to have appeared out of the blue.”

“This is about Pete.” She sighed with a nervous chuckle. “I just filed the insurance claim yesterday. I didn’t think it would… Wait, special agent?”

“Yes.” You nodded simply, shifting your jacket to show your badge. “May I come in?”

She nodded quietly and stepped aside, welcoming you in. Once you crossed the threshold, the sharp tone pinged in your ear. You winced inwardly and rubbed the area near your implant, glancing around to find something that would’ve interfered with the signal. There was a camera somewhere, the watchful eye of the ghost of a spouse, and it wasn’t likely to be alone. Your eyes were darting quickly, between corners and other wall decor for the small lens but you couldn’t find anything. Nothing obvious at least.

“Are you alright, Agent?” She asked from your side, offering you the worried eyes that often became the default for mothers.

“Yes, just a migraine.” You gestured vaguely to your head.

“Oh! I have Tylenol. Give me just a second.”

“No, I’d hate to put you out.” “Nonsense.” She smiled kindly and disappeared into her kitchen.

You made a small noise to yourself before pulling that pocket tech. You booted it up and wandered the living room, changing the height and angle as the screen flashed to track down the nearest camera. As you were searching, you noticed a small body on the stairs watching you.

“Who are you?” He asked with lips pursed in disgust as if to say how dare someone be in his home.

“FBI. Who are you?” You answered simply as your device pointed you to a family portrait. You smirked slightly and tapped some buttons, beginning to track the signal. Before you would leave, you would know exactly where to go.

“I live here.” He stated as if it was obvious.

“It’s a nice house.” You nodded, finally turning to face the disgruntled young boy. “Can I ask you about the man from yesterday?”

“I didn’t see him.”

“Okay..”

“I didn’t!” He insisted.

“I believe you, kiddo.” You chuckled slightly.

“Can I hold your gun?” He asked suddenly.

“Absolutely not.” You shook your head and he frowned. “You get a little older and I can teach you how to use it.”

His eyes lit up before he scampered back up the stairs, and you wondered if that was something Sarah should be concerned about. She came back soon after and she profusely apologized, just in case her son said anything uncalled for. You brushed it off and accepted her offer of painkillers and water. You two spoke about the interaction from the day before between her and “Pete”.

“Mrs. Lieberman, I haven’t been entirely truthful with you.” You confessed, intending to build some sense of trust in case you needed her for information later on. “I’m not just looking for Pete out of coincidence. He’s family… I haven’t heard from him in a long time and the FBI gave me more resources to try and track him down. He’s refused to answer any of my messages across any platform but now I have a chance to reconnect with him.”

“Oh.” She smiled slightly. “Pete didn’t mention a sister.”

“Cousin, actually. All the family I have are just cousins..”

“We exchanged numbers and I can give that.”

“I doubt he’d answer.” You shook your head. “He always seems to know when I’m calling.”

“Okay... Well, my insurance is sending some paperwork that’ll need his signature so I’ll see him again. I can let him know you stopped by.” She offered honestly.

“That’d be great, thank you.” You nodded with a faux sentimental smile. Your tech buzzed in your pocket and you knew you had the source of the signal. “I’d better be going.”

She offered you something to eat, saying you’d be more than welcome to stay for lunch but you brushed off her invitation. You couldn’t waste any more time with socializing and pleasantries. The only thing that stopped you from heading straight over was your prior commitment to stop by Curtis’. The commitment was only made to get Billy out of your apartment without being completely blunt about it, given the fact that you two would still be interacting at Anvil and likely throughout the course of whatever crusade you were riding into. And despite your mild stalling, you ended up walking into Billy and Curtis’ conversation. So you hung back in the hall for a minute to allow yourself to be nosy.

“Mover and a shaker. A man of wealth and taste.” Curtis said and you could hear the smile in his words. “You always knew you were destined to do great things, I’ll give you that.”

The guys both chuckled slightly.

“I can’t tell if you think that’s a good thing or not.” Billy said with a small laugh.

“No, I’m proud of you man.”

“Y’know there’s always a job for you at Anvil... An instructor’s job.”

“Y/N finally make it official then and leave your ass?” Curtis asked and you could imagine the expression he wore. “She ever call you back?”

“No but…” Billy sighed and your brows furrowed. “When it comes to Y/N, I just…”

“Lose all sense in your head.” Curtis teased.

“I do not!” Billy laughed.

“Man, I have never seen you fawn over any woman like that! You’re like a lost little puppy whenever she comes around.”

“Kiss my ass.” He laughed and you waited a beat before walking in. “It’s not about Y/N, alright?”

“Topic of conversation even when I’m not in the room, huh?” You joked with a wide grin. “Nice to see you, Curtis.”

“I was wondering when you’d finally walk through that door.” Curtis grinned and stood to hug you. “How was training?”

“Boring.” You shrugged. “Knew it all.”

“Show off.”

“Yeah, a bit.”

“Y/N, don’t you think Curtis would be great as an instructor at Anvil?” Billy tried, coming to your side to use you in their prior conversation.

“Hell of a corpsman from what I heard.” You agreed. “I bet you would’ve sewn your own leg back on if you had the chance.”

“Hell yeah, you wanna go find it?” Curtis laughed. “You gonna stay? I know some of the guys have just been waiting to try and rile you up again.”

“Yeah, I’ve got some time to kill.” You said with a small nod. “Don’t expect me to come in later this week then.”

“Sounds good.. Wanna help get some of the snacks from the kitchen? Keep you outta trouble.” Curtis pointed a stern finger at you. “C’mon.” You laughed. “When have I ever gotten into trouble?”

“I’ve gotta take off but we still good for tomorrow night?” Billy asked Curtis and you had the itch to be nosy again.

“Yeah, I’ll be there.” Curtis nodded.

“You know making plans when someone else in the room isn’t invited makes people uncomfortable, right?” You said plainly, though it made the boys laugh.

“Tomorrow’s Frank’s birthday.” Curtis explained. “You were his lawyer, right?”

“Yeah, till he blew his top and kamikaze’d my case.” You rolled your eyes slightly as you thought about his outburst on the stand that day. “I do feel bad about the way it all went down though…”

“You wanna come?” Billy tapped your arm. “Just a little memorial thing, y’know, personal.”

“Yeah, I’d love to. Thanks.” You gave a tight, hopefully grateful smile. “I’ll be back with the snacks.”

“Thanks, Y/N.” Curtis nodded and when he thought you were out of earshot, you heard him ask Billy. “Let me guess. You still haven’t told her how you feel.”

That was going to make things awkward.

You stayed for the meeting but didn’t say much. Some of the members welcomed you back and hung around to catch up afterwards. Others hardly noticed but one man, some old white man who’s name you never cared to learn, continued to disregard you and say that you didn’t deserve the seat. You offered to go outside and show him exactly what you thought he deserved, but Curtis was quick to shut that down. Even though the man was practically cowering away from you by that point. Other than the cranky old man, it was nice to be back in that sort of routine.

The next day, you swung by Melvin’s workshop and hung around while he finished the vest. Despite your hesitations, he had utilized a dark red base fabric that was seen between the edges of the plates. There were devil horns that sat level with your collarbones at the center of the chest, matching the horn tattoo near your spine that you got your first night at Quantico as an alleged initiation ritual. There was white stitching along the hem of the collar and a faint stitched outline of an hourglass. When you asked about it, he said that it was a tribute to where you came from but it was white to show that you were better. You scolded him for sounding like Matt, left some money on his bench, and chucked it in your trunk before you decided it was time to find Frank.

You hopped back in your car and followed the route you were recommended. As you drew closer to the location, the scenery didn’t surprise you at all. It was remote, well out of the way of any city traffic. Everything around it seemed abandoned, or damn near it. There wasn’t another soul for blocks, maybe even miles.

Perfect spot for a ghost.

You ditched your car a few alleys over and kept your pocket device in hand, though you took a second to tuck your badge under your seat. As you got closer, you were able to track cameras and their field of view. You had to circle the building a couple times before you caught sight of a blind spot that led right up to an old, rusted out chain link gate. Behind the gate sat an old maintenance door that was practically falling off its hinges. Beside that, a ladder to the roof, where you assumed another point of access would be. If not a door, then the vents.

You hurried across the gap and squeezed between the fence. When you shifted the door, it creaked loudly and the sound echoed through the empty alleys. You cursed slightly and moved it out of the way enough for you to sneak in sideways. It fell back into place with a loud thud and you winced slightly as it echoed in your hollow chest, dense enough to mimic the Midland explosion. In a swift motion, you tucked away your tech and pulled your gun, keeping it aimed downwards but your muscles remained tense. You crept the dark halls, hearing vague voices from a distance.

You kept going, following the voices and the small glow of light, until you were a few feet from where the guys were. Low and behold, Frank Castle. Part of you wanted to scream at him, to curse him out and make him feel bad for never reaching out. You wanted to shame him for ignoring you, for not being there when your entire life fell apart and Matt’s life was taken. But you willed yourself to stay still, to stay quiet.

Screaming about it wouldn’t change the past, so why bring it up at all?

The heat that lived inside of you now made a friend in the Midland echoes and they both danced through your veins. They teetered around the edges of that hole, leaning and pulling away as if to tempt the darkness to swallow them too. But nothing would get rid of those. Nothing would rid your body of their influence. Instead, you kicked those feelings into the gaping chasm in your soul and kept your eyes forward.

There was another man in the room, sitting in a desk chair. Even though his body was angled away from you, you could tell the man was completely naked. Your brows furrowed as to why that would be what Frank chose to do but you shrugged it off as some form of power play, a means of embarrassment and belittlement maybe. Either way, it didn’t change what you came for.

You tucked your gun away and snuck deeper into the room, listening in on their conversation while you thought about when to announce yourself.

“Hey.” He spoke desperately from the chair, dripping water - or maybe sweat - while Frank was unamused. “I’m the only friend you have, Frank.”

At that you laughed and the entire room fell silent.

“What the hell was that?” Frank muttered, turning towards the direction of your sound.

You cursed quietly and crept back into the dark hall. You looked around for somewhere to hide and saw that there was a series of open rafters on the ceiling. With a satisfied smirk, you hauled yourself up and tucked your feet just as Frank had come into the hall.

“I’m the only friend you have, Frank!” Micro tried again and you turned to face him, though you also tracked Frank’s steps. “Hey!”

“Where are you?” Frank said to himself as he stood beneath you.

You focused on the man in the chair and found he wasn’t necessarily afraid, not at that moment at least. He was concerned that Frank wouldn’t believe him, that Frank would kill him. You wondered what he really expected when he chose to instigate the Punisher but you shrugged it off to the male ego. He also felt desperate, that he needed his help more than anything. And while you knew deep down that you shouldn’t get involved, that you needed to keep some distance from vigilantism and fights so you could heal, you felt no necessity to stay away. Plus it was interesting.

“What are you looking for?” Micro shouted, drawing Frank back into the main room. “If someone was coming, Frank, who would it be?”

“You’d be surprised the shit she can get into.” Frank answered vaguely and you tilted your head in agreement.

“She? Who’s she?”

“You know all this shit about me but you don’t know her?” Frank chuckled. “C’mon man.”

“Like her her? Like Exodus her?”

“No, the Queen of England.”

“Holy shit..” Micro breathed and panicked in his chair. He jerked roughly to try and free himself from the restraints. “You’re joking, right? There’s- She can’t find you, right?”

“I’m thinking she already did.”

The sudden blaring of an alarm drew your attention. You looked over and saw a timer ticking down on the computer screen. You pulled your tech and tried to access it, to override it, but it was too complex for you to do within that time frame. You groaned inwardly while the boys went back and forth as to whether or not the threat that loomed after the timer was real or not. Frank finally turned the chair and Lieberman admitted - and showed - that it wasn’t explosives, but a video feed. If he didn’t enter the code, then that video would be broadcasted to various media outlets.

But that, you could block. You watched the man type in the code and utilize a retina scanner but then quickly got to work blocking any streaming opportunity from the cameras. They would still work and record, but the second someone tried to send that video out of the building, it would crash the whole system. You thought about sending something of your own, something just to toy with Lieberman and show him that he isn’t as smart or as sneaky as he thought, but their next argument caught your interest.

“How many times was Ahmad Zubair beaten?” Lieberman practically yelled.

“Shut your mouth.” Frank warned and the anger radiating off of him rivaled the heat in your own bones.

Could that have been what Madani was so interested in? What was her stake in Zubair’s life?

“How many times was this innocent man tortured? He was a good man! He was an honorable father. He was a cop.”

Frank’s hand wrapped around Lieberman’s throat and that’s when you decided to make yourself known.

“What are you gonna do, kill him?” You called with your familiar accent, stretching your legs to let your feet dangle over the edge. Your voice caught both of their attention and you offered a small smile and wave in return. “You owe me some answers.”

“How did you find me?” Lieberman asked in a panic, shifting in the chair.

“Your wife.” You shrugged. “Once I got inside, the cameras were easy enough to trace.”

“You were in my house?”

“Don’t kill him yet, Frank.” You tried, slipping out from your hiding place and moving to stand beside your friend. “He may prove useful.”

Frank turned to you without letting him go and his eyes darted back and forth between yours. The hard anger seemed to soften when he caught glimpse of whatever he was looking for and he slowly let him go. He backed away and you heard Lieberman muttering quiet thanks. You rolled your eyes slightly and patted Frank’s back before moving around the room.

“I knew you weren’t gonna kill me.” Lieberman announced, as if to provoke Frank some more.

“Does he ever stop talking?” You asked Frank.

“Not yet.” He muttered.

“I know people, alright? I’m an analyst. It’s my job.” Lieberman continued. “I knew you wouldn’t kill me because you’re a good man, Frank.”

“Knowing he’s a good man doesn’t mean you know him so I wouldn’t flaunt that as if it matters.” You commented simply. “And you definitely don’t know me.”

“No… No, I don’t.” He admitted. “But I will.”

“Ha! Daredevil didn’t even really know me so I wouldn’t get any hopes up…” You turned to Frank. “We should catch up.”

“Yeah, a lot goin’ on right now.” He gestured to the room around you. “She tell you?”

Without saying her name, you knew he meant Karen.

“Told me you were around.” You shrugged. “The rest was me.”

“Course it was.” He offered half a smile. “It’s good to see you, Princess.”

“Yeah, you too.” You returned the expression.

“How’s Red?”

You pressed your lips together and gave a small shake of your head, which only seemed to confirm whatever he saw in your face just a few moments before. You waved it off and ignored the pulse of heat at the back of your neck, tracing the outline of your tattoo. The memories of Midland began to flash, that deep opening threatening to swallow you alive, so you cleared your throat to try and clear the memories. You knew it would be obvious that something was wrong and it was directly related to Matt and Daredevil, but you’d never speak a word of it in front of David Lieberman.

“What does Homeland know about Zubair? Where did it happen?” You turned away from Frank, feeling that pound of emotions in your chest. It was bubbling from that hole, sending vibrations through your bones as it begged for release.

“Kandahar.” Frank answered instead. “Why?”

“Does Homeland have the video?” You asked.

“Yeah..”

“Son of a bitch…” You sighed and ran a hand down your face. “Explains that.”

“Explains what? What does Homeland have to do with anything?” Lieberman asked quickly.

“Frank.” You said instead. “Things are a lot bigger than you think. A lot of connecting pieces are falling in my lap… Let me help.”

Frank faced you for a moment and scanned your face again. He was looking for something, maybe the same thing and maybe something else. You didn’t care to ask. You let him look, let him find whatever it was he would find. He sighed and gestured you over. You moved across the room and he took your arm to pull you out of Lieberman’s eyesight.

“I see it in your eyes, Princess.. You’re not alright, are you?” Frank asked quietly.

“He’s dead.” You answered simply, but your voice felt drowned out by the explosions in your heart. “And I did nothing.”

He frowned slightly and pulled you in for a tight embrace.

That seemed to dull the heat as your eyes closed tightly and the tears threatened. You wrapped your arms around him and balled his shirt into your fists. You buried your face against him and he offered quiet, gentle consolations. All the running, the burying your pain and pretending it didn’t exist, all of it swelled into a pressure in your head that escaped as hot tears.

“I don’t wanna do this here.” You pulled away and wiped your sleeve across your eyes. “Not now.”

“Y/N..” He tried but you backed away slowly and he didn’t stop you.

“I don’t wanna talk about it right now.” You shook your head. “I’ve gotta go, alright? I’ll come back tomorrow.”

You had Billy pick you up from your apartment and you two drove to the cemetery together. You followed his lead to the headstone and you hadn’t expected to feel your heart sink. Knowing Frank was alive and in New York with a fake tombstone while Matt was dead under New York and no one was ever going to know, there was no tangible way to remember him other than whatever was left in your apartment, it felt like it could kick your heart down that bottomless pit.

The thought made you shiver and you felt Billy put an arm around your shoulders to pull you into his side.

“Happy birthday, Frank.” Curtis toasted.

“You alright?” He leaned down to ask and you simply nodded, your voice having been swallowed up. “It’s a good thing, getting a stone.”

“Yeah, figured he deserved a marker of some kind, right?” Curtis agreed, passing you the bottle of liquor.

You nodded in thanks and took a drink before passing it on to Billy.

“Frank would’ve hated this, this maudlin shit.” Billy said with a sad laugh. You stepped out from under his arm and took his hand instead, hooking the other one around his arm and leaning on his shoulder. “I wish he’d…”

Curtis leaned around you to see his friend’s face better but you couldn't take your eyes off the stone.

“Why didn’t he… Why didn’t he come to us, man?” Billy continued and you felt genuine regret through your conjoined hands. You wondered, if only for a moment, what would’ve been different had Billy been involved. Maybe it doesn’t go to trial, or maybe Billy’s the character witness rather than Schoonover. Maybe Nelson and Murdock doesn’t fall apart. Maybe you and Matt end up too busy with cases to investigate Midland. Or maybe you meet Billy at a time that you could’ve allowed yourself to feel something. You had to swallow the thoughts down, feeding them to the nagging emptiness.

“He didn’t have to be alone. We could’ve helped him.” Billy continued.

“He didn’t want any help.” Curtis shrugged. “He wanted to kill every bastard who had a hand in it.”

“I miss him..”

“Me too.” You finally spoke.

“I could see it, before everything. He was finding it harder and harder to come back.”

“He said Kandahar was like nothing else.” Curtis agreed and your ears perked up, picking up your head from Billy’s shoulder. “He said the lines were blurred.”

“When did he say that?” Billy asked and his body language almost felt defensive.

Maybe he was there too.

“When he was over there.” Curtis answered after a short pause and you could tell he was lying. Frank had to have reached out to Curtis after the Kandahar incident, after Ahmad Zubair. “He called me, y’know, to shoot the shit. Said I was lucky not to be there.”

“Yeah..” Billy breathed but it was clear that he didn’t fully believe Curtis. At the same time, he had nothing to accuse his friend of. “You were.”

You all hung out at the gravesite a little while longer, sharing stories and memories of Frank. You told them about in the interrogation room, when you needed a witness and he alluded to Billy. The comment of “you’d like him too much” made Billy laugh. You even admitted that in the short time you knew him, Frank was one of your few real friends and you felt some guilt over his death. Both men assured you it wasn’t on you but that didn’t change anything in your own head.

On the ride back to your place, you decided to try and pry some information out of Billy.

“Can I ask you something?” You asked quietly, making it seem as if you were hesitant to ask.

“Yeah, what’s going on?” He answered simply. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah.. Yeah, I just wanted to ask about Kandahar.”

“Why you bringin’ it up?” He asked tightly, offering a sideways glance that practically screamed suspicion.

You gave half of a shrug and dropped your eyes to your lap, hoping to come off as nervous and uncertain.

“Hey.” He said gently, putting a hand on your leg as a silent apology.

“It’s just.. If Frank didn’t like it and you obviously didn’t like it all that much either, I feel like it was something bad.” You explained carefully, watching the inflections in your voice as you spoke. “Is there anything you can tell me about it?”

“We had orders.” Billy said simply, though his voice was gentle. Definitely one of the more gentler tones you’d heard from him, but he always spoke to you with a certain tenderness. Sometimes it made your stomach lurch, other times it felt safe. This time is was somewhere dangerously inbetween. “You know how that goes.. You don’t always like them or even agree with them but you can’t say shit in the moment.”

“Yeah, I get that.” You nodded, because you did. You knew that all too well. “It was that bad, huh?”

“I’d tell you more if I could but…”

“Classified.” You finished with a sigh. “I figured as much. I appreciate you telling me something though.”

“I think the later parts were the worst for Frankie.” Billy explained carefully, phrasing it as if it was his own assumption but you could tell there was something more knowing about it. “Some intel that didn’t exactly pan out, got us caught in an ambush, and it changed him. Changed the way he saw our unit. He ever mention that to you?”

You shook your head but you had to assume he was talking about the Zubair incident, maybe even the story his CO told on the stand. “All he told me was that it was usually off the books, or that was his impression at least, with all the secrets… But during the trial, Schoonover talked about a mission near the Hindu Kush. Frank didn’t agree, said it was an ambush, but he went anyway because orders are orders… Frank did what he did best and got every man out. I never got a chance to ask him about it but he wasn’t exactly all that talkative anyway.”

Billy gave a small chuckle and it broke up some of the tension in the car.

“He never was much of a chatter-box.” Billy smiled slightly.

“I guess that was your job, huh?” You teased and his smile grew a little wider. “Thank you, for being honest with me.”

“I’m not gonna lie to you if I don’t have to.”

“I appreciate that.” You nodded as he pulled up to your building. “It’d be nice if you could tell me a little more but I get it.”

“You are relentless.” He laughed, turning to face you with a soft expression. “With all your own secrets.”

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Your brows furrowed slightly and you felt the heat under your skin dampening and your stomach started to find its way into a small knot.

You hadn’t realized it until then but you had missed having someone look at you with admiration like that. Of course Matt had his own way of seeing you and he never hesitated to express just how much he loved you or wanted you, but something about seeing it in someone’s eyes felt different.

Maybe you were healing after all… The thought made you want to gag.

“Stop looking at me like that!” You laughed slightly and smacked his chest, which earned you nothing but a smile.

“How about this?” He offered, patting your leg before keeping his hand there. “There’s someone I may be able to introduce you to and if he likes you…”

“He’ll tell me anything I wanna know?” Your brows raised.

“I’ll tell you anything you wanna know.” He chuckled. “Deal?”

“Hmm… I’ll break you yet, Mr. Russo.”

“Looking forward to it.” He smirked before you got out.

You rolled your eyes in amusement as you entered the building. You headed up to your place, checking your phone to see a text from Dex saying Homeland was going to keep the investigation of Wolf’s murder. It didn’t surprise you that they’d want to be the ones to figure out what happened to their own man, but it did leave interesting possibilities. Was the ranking agent only doing it to keep something quiet or were they a good agent? Were they doing it out of loyalty to their bureau and to Wolf or were they doing it for their own interest? But what would knowing Wolf’s attacker serve anyone? It was a lot to consider, but unfortunately not enough to keep your usual nightmare at bay.

The next day, you wore the vest under your shirt - one of Matt’s old Columbia shirts because it fit better over the protection than your own. You had a gun at your back and a knife at the side of your waistband. You thought about just taking the retractable that Billy gave you a while ago but it was shoved in the closet, wrapped up in your suit and still coated in blood. You didn’t think you could take seeing it, expecting a red-tinted mania to accompany it. So instead, with your weapons of choice, you hopped in your car and headed back over to Lieberman’s hidey-hole.

The tension in the room made your skin tingle and sent a shiver down your spine. You rubbed your hands on your arms to disperse the feeling and walked in to find the boys in one of the side rooms, Lieberman untied and dressed and Frank tense.

“I don’t do partners.” Frank said angrily and you made a face to yourself.

You sat beside him and propped an elbow on his shoulder, which earned you a small scowl.

“How do you keep sneaking in here?” Lieberman asked in annoyance.

“There’s a blind spot in your cameras.” You explained simply. “Leads right up to an old service entrance that isn’t locked and you two are too busy bickering to hear me coming.”

“Blind spot.” He scoffed. “Really?”

“Mhmm.” You nodded. “Anyway, did you turn off your little cameras?” You gestured vaguely to the ceiling.

“Yeah.. How did you know about them?”

You shrugged a shoulder and turned back to Frank.

“If you don’t do partners, what am I?” You asked with raised brows and he squinted his eyes as he looked at your face. “What?”

“You’re different today..” He said simply as he tried to piece together what changed.

“Okay?”

“What changed?”

“Nothing…”

“No, something’s different.”

“Nothing important.” You urged.

“Y/N.”

“Leave it alone, Frank.” You warned. “Now’s not the time.”

“Can we just-” Lieberman cut in and you looked at him with a slight glare. “Can we get back to what’s important?”

“And what exactly is that?” You humored him.

“We’ve all done things we would like to take back, but we can’t. We’re not the bad guys here, they are. Right?”

“Do we know who they are to begin with? Is that why Carson Wolf from Homeland is dead? Someone’s looking into Frank’s unit and I’m guessing it’s about the Kandahar incident. Wolf was part of the coverup for your death-” You pointed to Lieberman, who conceded with a small nod. “-and had to know about their off the books work. If you’re making Homeland your enemy, they’re not gonna back down. Not from a trio of ghost stories.”

“He means the guy who gave us the targets… Called him Agent Orange.” Frank explained carefully.

“That guy still around?” Your brows furrowed and Frank offered a shrug. Could that have been the person whose approval Billy needed before he told you anything?

“That night that my CO told you about during the case, that was the last one I ran with them. I should’ve killed Orange that night but.. Some of my guys pulled me off, said it was to protect me.”

“Who?”

Frank shook his head as if to say it wasn’t important.

“You could’ve ended it all that night.” Lieberman added. “You didn’t, and then they killed your family. You have to live with that.”

“Hey.” You said sharply and pointed a stern finger. “Watch your mouth or the next thing out of it is your tongue.”

He put his hands up in surrender. “This war you’re waging, Frank, it’s the U.S. government. It’s the CIA, and you just got rolled over by one spook zip-tied to an office chair.”

“Yeah, that’s a little embarrassing.” You muttered and Frank elbowed you in the ribs.

“I thought I needed you but you need me just as much.” Lieberman continued. “And now I’m starting to think we’ll need her too.”

“I think I have some connections that could be useful here.” You admitted. “I’ve made a few new friends since I last saw you, Frank. I already got in here twice without you guys knowing. You know I can hold my own.”

“Yeah, I get it.” Frank waved you off. “This isn’t gonna be like anything you’ve done before.”

“You don’t know any of the missions I ran before.” You shook your head. “You give me a team of three or four of my best, and we can take down an entire country’s government in twenty-four hours. I’m not afraid of this and I’m not afraid to die.”

“You’re only saying that cause Red di-”

“And you’re only doing this because your family.” You cut in firmly. “How is it different?”

“Just let her stay.” Lieberman offered. “She’s gonna do it anyway.”

“What about your friends?” Frank asked instead.

“Haven’t talked to them much since it happened...” You shrugged. “New job hasn’t put me on anything yet so it’s not like I’ll miss anything from there. Not leaving any kids or any family behind so..”

“Not even a boyfriend?” He tried, clearly trying to find anything to get you to reconsider.

You paused as you thought and Billy was the first thing that came to mind. But at the same time, Frank seemed to have already forgotten how stubborn you could be.

“No… Look, I didn’t leave you on that first rooftop. I didn’t leave you on that boat. I’m not leaving now.”

“I’m gonna regret this.” Frank groaned before nodding.

“Great.” Lieberman clapped his hands and stood. “I’ve spent months and months hacking every agency and their server.”

“How have they not caught you by now?” Your brows furrowed as you stood and followed him out of the room.

“I’m NSA. It’s my job.”

“Well I hacked into your stuff and you didn’t notice so..” You shrugged.

“You did what?”

“Nothing, continue.”

“Well… Okay, look, anything they can throw at us, right? Phone companies, police departments, it doesn’t matter, because I can throw it right back at them! I’ve been getting ready for you, Frank.”

“What does that mean?” Frank asked, though his worry for you was more pressing in his mind. You took a second to force it to the back of his mind and he shot you a glare as his focus suddenly changed, to which you shrugged innocently.

“What does that mean?” Lieberman repeated as if offended Frank would ask that, but it was a fair question. He hadn’t exactly said what he wanted Frank and got you for. “It means that every missile needs a guidance system. Without me, you’re just a blunt object.”

“You think pretty highly of yourself, don’t you?” You commented and Lieberman rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, go ahead. Blow me off. Go ahead!” He argued and the clatter drew your attention back.

You saw Frank doubled over, supporting himself against a nearby cabinet, so you hurried over to help him. His body language was tense like he wanted to push you off, but the concern in your eyes made him decide against it. Despite your cruelty, your growing neutrality, and overall lack of empathy in your day-to-day life, Frank Castle had a way of bringing back a more human nature. You scanned his body for injuries but saw nothing so it had to have been something systemic. He nodded slightly to say that he was okay but you didn’t leave his side.

Lieberman brought the desk chair over that he was tied to last you saw him but Frank waved him off. Lieberman tried insisting but you kicked the chair away, unintentionally hitting it against his knees but not apologizing for it. He put his hands up in surrender and gestured for you two to follow him back towards the computers. You sighed to yourself and began to lead Frank out.

“All that heroin was just financing for something else.” He explained when you two got closer. “Your operation Cerberus doesn’t exist. There’s no official record. There’s no congressional approval.”

“Yeah, it was off the books.” You answered simply. “We knew that already. Off the books usually equates to illegal so..”

“They turned you into a hitman, Frank.”

“There are worse things to be.” You shrugged.

“Look, I don’t care if we all trust each other. I don’t care to be blood brothers or any of that kids in a treehouse type shit. But right now, we want the same thing… So work with me.”

“One condition.” Frank said lowly, burning with his own anger. His own betrayal. It sparked something sadistically familiar in your chest.

“Yeah, anything.”

“They die.. Every single one of ‘em.” He turned up to you. “No trials.”

“I’m not the one that insists on the justice system.” You answered plainly.

“No bullshit.. They die.”

“Fine by me.” You shrugged.

After a moment’s thought, Lieberman answered.

“Yeah, I can live with that.”

58 notes · View notes

1rsoldiersince2012 · 4 months

Text

Bound by Law (Matt Murdock x Reader)

One last chapter of 2023! Grateful for this journey and hopefully I'll get fresh ideas for the upcoming chapters🫶🥳

42. Field Day

"Oh, what are you wearing today?" Matt asks as he leans on the threshold of his bathroom, standing half naked, only in his sweats. You look at him in the mirror as you put on your mascara, eyes falling on the bright white bandages. Matt listens to the subtle soft brushing on your eyelashes and a soft smile appears on his lips.

"Uh, nothing special, a skirt, blouse and jacket." You reply, as you fix your pearl necklace that you brought with your fresh clothes to Matt's place last night. You rarely wore pearls, but today seemed like a good day for showing them to the world. By 'world' meaning a tiny interrogation office in the FBI headquarters downtown.

"What color?" He doesn't hesitate to ask, coming next to you.

"Well, my skirt is black, as is my jacket..." Matt touches your clothes, sliding his fingers along the cut of your blouse. From the soft feeling of it - silk. "And what you're touching... Is red." You reply with a deep breath, and your skin gets covered in goosebumps from his delicate touch on the exposed skin of your chest.

His finger hooks up on your pearls, and he tilts his head to the side. "Huh, this wasn't there last night."

You smirk, "A lot wasn't there last night, Murdock."

Matt laughs, burying his face in your chest and kisses just below the necklace. "You better get going, or I'm gonna leave you with nothing on right now."

"Shut up," you laugh, pulling his face away and softly kissing his lips. "Do you want me to change your bandages?" You ask, turning your head to the mirror to watch him engulf you into a hug. His hands were your heaven, and his chest pressed to your body made your heart flutter. Matt shakes his head negative and gives you one last peck.

"Go, kick their asses."

"Yeah, sure, I'll do that." You grab your stuff from the bathroom and drop it into the bag, taking your jacket and your coat with you. "I'll call after the session. Probably. Take care!" You hurry out, suddenly weirded out by the situation. It wasn't weird to spend the night with Matt and tend to his terrible wounds, that were still questionable, and it wasn't weird to leave his apartment with fresh clothes that you've brought last night. On purpose. Yet, it felt weird to have such a domestic interaction with someone after such a long time... Maybe you've forgotten what it was like being in a relationship. Is this what it is? Relationship? With the man you're sharing the office? Anyway, this wasn't important now, not when you were already heading to the building filled with feds.

***

You watch Dex fix his gun in the holster, but quickly it becomes hidden under his jacket. It felt strange to see him in a formal suit rather than a windbreaker, and for some reason it looked as if he actually put effort in dressing up today and styled his hair as well. Is he trying to impress someone in the interrogation room?

"Care to join me for a coffee after the session?" He asks, looking at you intently, waiting for any kind of twitch of muscles in your face, yet you remain standing with your best poker face. "I'm pretty sure that this will take the whole day and more than one break."

"That depends, agent." You blink slowly, "On how frustrated with the FBI I will be."

He smirks, looking down at you - your red silk blouse, oh how he wanted to feel it sliding between his fingers... And your pearls. He didn't notice them yesterday. Or maybe you put them on only for him? Dex was quick to assume the wrong things. Although, he was even quicker to become obsessed with someone new. And currently, your crimson red lipstick was stirring something in him.

"It's strange seeing you without the FBI jacket." You comment, sparing Dex a brief glance but mostly keeping your eyes up front.

"Why?" He asks, pushing his hands into his pockets, and escapes from being caught staring just by pure luck.

"You look... Less of an asshole."

He laughs, this time the sound leaving his chest sounds more genuine. "The nicest thing a lawyer has ever said to me."

"Well, that just proves that others had no chance of winning against the FBI." You shrug, finally noticing the interrogation room, your only salvation.

"And you think you're going to win?" He ridicules, nodding to a nearby standing officer.

"I think luck is on my side today, Agent Poindexter." You step inside first, noticing your client already sitting at the square made of many tables pushed together. The distance between one side and the other were only a few steps, but it was enough to see the opposition's legs under the table. Smart move if you want to know when someone's nervously tapping their legs.

***

The first session went terribly. The FBI obviously worked overnight to gather all the evidence against Michael, and you could only sit there and listen to one of the agents talking. Agent Nadeem, you recalled his name. His soft tone was enough to put someone to sleep, yet you had no time to think about sleep. He asked a couple of questions, including "is this correct information, Mr Teneke?" and "am I right, Mr Teneke?" To which you had to respond, "my client will refrain from answering, Agent."

Dex was staring. A lot. It helped a bit that you and Teneke sat side by side, so he could defend himself and say that he was watching Teneke, not you. The scowl on your face wasn't pretty. No, it made you look older and ruined your soft appearance, it contrasted with your voice. You were gripping the pen tightly, and Dex could only think of how it would feel to have you gripping the collar of his white shirt like that. He was losing his mind, but now he liked being on the opposite side, watching you struggle. Yet, he wanted to sit there close to you, instead of that scumbag thief Teneke. Oh, how he wanted to inhale your perfume, mixed with a faint smell of cigarettes. He hated smokers in general, but for you, he'd make an exception. You cross your legs under the table, and he looks at them lustfully. Oh, how he wanted to grip your thigh and squeeze the flesh until his hand would leave an imprint there forever-

"Dex, are you coming?" Ray asks, tapping Dex on the shoulder.

"Yeah." The latter answers, not particularly happy about his train of thought getting disturbed.

"You should've told me more than what you did in the office." You scold Michael outside in the corridor, crossing your arms.

"I didn't know it was this serious, y/l/n."

You almost grunt out of frustration. "Okay, okay, we can still solve this. We can ask for a review... Tomorrow. I'll have the main points written down today and... We'll get you out."

"We?"

"Yeah... I guess it's time to bring the band back together. I'll just have to make a call... Excuse me." You leave Teneke alone, walking a couple of feet away.

Dex and Ray emerge from the corner, passing by you and Dex overhears your last words, "great, I'll transfer the money as soon as possible. Can this make it to today's issue? Oh, amazing, thank you!" You say to whoever is on the other side and turn around just in time to meet Dex's chest, yet he's quicker and stops you by your shoulders. "Oh, sorry, didn't see you... Agents." You step away from Dex's hands, foreign and cold, looking at Ray.

"Busy day?" Ray smiles kindly. A guy like him didn't belong to the FBI.

"Well, you certainly are not making it easier." You turn on your heel and leave, typing Matt a message.

"You're going to ask for a review, aren't you?" Ray rubs his chin in thought, making your movements come to a halt.

"Is it that obvious?" You scoff slightly, turning back to look at the two men. Dex's eyes feel like lasers piercing through your bones. "Perhaps if you're not asking the FBI for a review, you don't really care about your client. And I care about my clients."

Agent Nadeem smiles, crossing his arms, "hey, didn't you work at Chao's? I think I can certainly recall your face on one of the billboards," he turns to Dex, nudging his arm, "wasn't there some words written?"

You feel your face getting redder with the rising anger; Dex thinks for a second, then his face lights up, "Yeah, something 'Here for your truth. The team of the people.', right?"

"Wait, weren't you the one who got attacked by that freak in a suit?" Nadeem chimes in, and you scrunch your nose in the disgust of the memories.

"Today isn't about me, gentlemen, now if you'll excuse me, I must speak with my client." You make your way to Teneke, exhaling with a relief when Ray and Dex disappear from the corridor.

"Bad news?" Teneke asks, thinking that agents told you something about him, but you shake your head.

"No, don't worry. Come on, we'll have to work on something for today so they won't eat you alive."

***

"Matt, I don't know, the feds want to pin everything on him, but I know that he was just frightened by the Russians and had to help them launder the money." You slump in Matt's chair, and look at him sitting in yours, wearing a black hoodie and tracksuit trousers. He was gripping his folded walking stick in his hands tightly, listening to every word you've read and said about the case. Your voice was calm and slightly hoarse since yesterday...when you were screaming his name into the back of your hand...

Matt shakes his head, shaking the dirty thoughts away. "I don't know, there are no documents to prove his innocence, the Russians must've threatened him verbally."

"Well, the Jury isn't going to believe him, because no one fucking talks about the Russians out loud. We could try-" you get interrupted by the sound of the swinging front door of Nelson and Murdock.

"What the hell, y/n? Is this your-" Foggy barges inside, holding a wet newspaper in his hand, and stops in front of your office when he notices that you're not alone.

Matt shifts in the chair uncomfortably, furrowing his eyebrows. You lean back in Matt's chair, folding your arms on your knee. "Good evening to you too, Foggy."

"What is the meaning of this?" He waves the newspaper in the air again, then drops it on your case documents, surely making them wet. You don't move a muscle, casting one look at the open page. 'Nelson and Murdock Attorneys at Law are offering justice at an affordable price? We guarantee you a fair and safe deal?'

"It sounds nice, doesn't it?" You smile slightly, proud of your work. "Would be good to hang that sign outside, don't you think?"

"Y/n, I don't know what do you think you're doing here but I will not step in here when this liar is in the same building." Foggy bites, giving Matt a pained look.

Matt jumps from his seat, "You say that again-"

"Hey!" You raise your voice slightly, standing up as well. "I don't care about what happened between the two of you, but we have work to do. And will continue to get more, but now I need your help with my case. So if you could make truce for this one evening, I will... Gladly accept your help." You finish awkwardly, slumping back in the chair.

Foggy hesitates to say anything, instead, Matt begins, "I didn't know it was her plan to get us here tonight. Clever move." Your lips slightly twitch, but you don't smile, not yet. "But if you want me to stay... You're gonna tell Foggy what you told me yesterday. About Fisk." You open your mouth to object, but Matt beats you to it, "Every detail."

"Fine. Take a seat."

***

"You're mad at me, aren't you?" You say, walking side by side with Matt to your car. The rain has stopped long time ago, the city was quiet and empty. After all, it was past 2 AM. You glance at Matt and pull out a cigarette.

"Maybe." He responds, but then sighs loudly. "I understand your intentions... But I don't think I'm ready to go back to work... With Foggy."

"You know, Foggy will come around. I'm like a 90 percent sure you will too." You puff out a cloud of smoke. "You two can't be separated for long."

Matt smiles slightly, then touches your shoulder, "I have to go. Good luck tomorrow... Today I mean, it's already after midnight."

"I'll see you, yeah?" You close your eyes when his hand gently squeezes you.

"Yeah." He whispers and pulls away, disappearing into the night.

"Yeah, he's not going to forgive that one." You scoff to yourself and get in your car, driving home.

#matt murdock #marvel daredevil #foggy nelson #matt murdock x reader #bound by law #netflix daredevil #matts superhearing complicates things for you #lawyers #daredevil #marvel #benjamin poindexter #ray nadeem

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daniel-bruehl · 2 years

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- "This isn't the first time you've used lethal force." "I'm FBI SWAT, doc. What do you think a sniper does?"

Wilson Bethel as Benjamin 'Dex' Poindexter DAREDEVIL Season 3 Episode 3 (2018)

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chasing-the-storm · 4 months

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Dex in FBI uniform >>>> i'm on my knees

#benjamin poindexter #wilson bethel #marvel #daredevil edit #daredevil #daredevil comics #daredevil netflix #daredevil season 3 #bullseye #netflix daredevil #daredevil born again #benjamin poindexter edit

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igotanidea · 1 year

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Workaholic insomniacs : Matt Murdock x reader

request by @pinksirensong: 132 from the "Choose for me - prompt list" with Matt Murdock

132 was "I haven't slept in four days." It did not indicate which one of them :D

***

I think I might be dying. I am tired to the point where I can’t even close my eyes and get some rest, my mind is racing and I’m suffering with too much thoughts causing my head to drift dangerously to the brink of explosion. Life and job has been too much lately. Of course I knew getting a job in Hell’s kitchen would be … well, literal hell. Sure, I was aware that being a detective who loves one’s job is not exactly a piece of cake. I suppose I just did not see this much coming on me.

At this point, as we run an investigation I work almost 24/7. I haven’t slept in four daysand it slowly starting to show. The fact that someone constantly wants something from me so I can’t finish anything does not help. It’s nearly midnight and my team is still burning the midnight oil, our effectiveness inversely proportional to the efforts. Seems like the more we try the less we get. Did I mention my head hurts?

“I need air” I mutter to the operation chef, agent Nadeem “just five minutes of it”

��Go, agent. Take a break, we all could use it” he mutters

“Was that an irony, Nadeem?”

“Sorry. I guess I became a bit grumpy because of this case”

“Yeah, didn’t we all. I’ll be right back I promise and then you can go get some distance.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so” he shook his head “you know me, not going anywhere until I’m done.”

“I know, but your wife will kill me If I let you keep tormenting yourself this way. So no sir, you are next in turn.”

“Women” she rolls eyes.

“You men would be truly lost without us” I smirk and walk out the room with cameras tracing my every step. Being the only girl on the team can be hard sometimes. They have tendencies to undermine your skills and abilities, treat you like a porcelain doll even if you would take down most of them and sometimes make some inappropriate jokes. Good thing our supervisor is a woman. That make them halt a bit. Oh, and I am extremely good agent. Otherwise, I would not be put on this case at all. Besides, there are also benefits. You get your own room while they camp together, you can eat as much food as you want without being judged and you get to understand how the brain of a man works. Or at least get a closer look. I mean, all of this agents are my friends, and even if we banter and fight sometimes we would give life for each other. Especially agent Dex, the sniper, the first one on the defense line. He actually saved my life once and that is kind of debt I could never fully repay. Lately he has been acting strange but I won’t interfere with whatever business he has going on. If he want to talk, he knows where to find me.

Because of all the security and buffers It takes almost fifteen minutes to get out of the building, each second longer than the previous one. The latest rate of suicide victims had raised significantly and therefore the access to windows on the highest floors are limited. Unfortunately, FBI are always located high. Ironically the key figures claim it’s for security. Waving my pass in front of the bouncer’s eyes I finally reach the revolving door and leave the dirty and suffocating space behind me.

The cold, autumn air of hell’s kitchen instantly make me clench the coat tighter around my shoulders and I shiver a bit. I love my city, seemingly empty at this hour, but under the surface still pulsing with life. Driving cars and sounds of carriages, few people walking the streets and occasional shutting makes it all so real. It’s good to come down on earth and sense the surroundings after hours and hours of keeping your head in the documents. Yes, the world is full of violence, unfairness and all those negativity that comes from being human. On the other side, however you can always get hope upon looking at the rising sun or listening to the wind rustling in the wind.

I wasn’t always like that. I use to march through the world like it was a war zone. Straight from point A to point B. Absolutely focused on saving time and getting all my tasks done. Surrounding? Ain’t nobody got time for that. I was an agent and we don’t really have time to devour the singing birds or other stuff like that.

It changed when I met a man, who has all his senses, except one, sharpened like a new-bought pencil. He made me stop and wonder about the sounds, the smells, the feelings. It was something utterly new, like opening eyes to the world after a long dreamless sleep. And it ended up with me in a hospital, seriously hurt during field operation because I got distracted. Yes, Matt Murdock had and still has a lot of negative impact on my life. And our relationship is complicated and damaged in hundreds different ways, but we just can’t be without each other.

“Agent”

“No.” I turn around and spot a red-dressed silhouette in a dark alley. “No!” I repeat firmly shaking my head.

“You don’t even….”

“I’m not giving you anything, Devil”

“Oh, come on, please” he pleads with this tone that in other circumstances would make me give up just because of a single word and give him anything.... Stop! Stop! You are at work, get yourself together, dirty thoughts aside. “I need some information.”

“Those are strictly confidential and you know it. I don’t need any trouble besides those I already have” I pointed at him angrily.

“Come on honey, you know I can figure it out faster than the FBI. Just give me something to work with.”

“No.” I stand my ground “Drop it, Matt”

“Shh!” with one firm move he grabs my hand and pull me into the dark alley where no one could see us, his hand on my mouth “do you want to compromise my identity, sweetie?”

“You are a threat to yourself, so I don’t think there’s much I can do to make it worse” I mutter trying to yank free of his hold and failing spectacularly.

“Honey….” He mutters nuzzling my cheek “why can’t we get over with this. You know, because of this I haven’t slept in four days.”

“Well I know the feeling.”

“Wouldn’t it be lovely to spend some time together after closing the matter?” he pulls me closer

“Careful Murdock, I got a gun”

“Well, I got batons”

“You can’t win this conversation with me”

“Well, shall we try? I’m a lawyer.”

“Oh, well, I am a woman so don’t even try!”

“Karen would….”

“Oh, low blow! Now we’re done here.”

“Why?” he slightly moves back pouting,

“Karen, seriously? You know how I feel about you getting a civilian involved.”

“So it’s not about us anymore?”

“Look, you dumbass of a vigilante” I sigh “You have masochistic tendencies. And it’s fine. I’m used to it as long as you are doing it on your own responsibility. But I’m not going to help you with getting yourself hurt, all right? My conscience would not take it.”

“But….”

“No buts, Matt. Drop it.”

“Is than a command, agent?” his voice becomes dark and serous under this mask of his and this leaves me no choice.

“Yes, it’s a command” I pierce him with the coldest gaze I can produce on my face and even if he can’t see it, I know he felt the ice in my whole posture.

“Well, too bad I don’t listen to those. And you know you can’t do this without me!” he turns around and jump on the nearest set of stair disappearing into the night. Damn him!

***

“did you come up with something substantial on your visit to the outside world?” Nadeem asks seeing me back, coattails running loose, hands in pockets uncharacteristically angry “What happened?”

“Nothing” I snap but his admonitory gaze put me back in my place “sorry. Just some relationship trouble”

“Oh, I can surely relate to that.”

“I know, but that’s no excuse. I’m sorry. But, on the bright side I actually think I may have an idea and a trail that is worth checking.”

“Do tell” Nadeem fixes his gaze on me in anticipation for any detail that can help the team and for the first time I notice the tiredness and weariness on his face alongside with a few grey hair in his dark shag.

“You know, there was this little thing in the files. A symbol” I flick through the documents “here it is, see” I point to the almost invisible pictogram of a blue spade on the building in the background of the photo. “I know where I saw it.”

***

“FBI! Everyone on the ground!” the force team kick the door down and barge into the mansion with me and Nadeem close on their feet. I guess I was right since we have four of our suspects lying on the floor with their hands handcuffed. Mission completed.

“Good job, agent” Nadeem puts a hand on my shoulder as a token of congratulations “I bet this would get attention from the high level. Maybe you would get an investigation on your own.”

“Nah. I would decline that. You and I we make a good team, agent Nadeem, don’t you think.”

“You are a pain in my ass.” He smirks and in his case use of such words means he feels we do work well together.

“I’ve heard that many times before and I’m still here”

“Let’s head back. We have some interrogation to do. This is not over yet.”

“I’m more than happy to do so. And we were so lucky to get here first” I say to no one in particular.

“What do you mean?” Nadeem frowns at me

“Oh, no, nothing. It’s just… lately TV has been claiming that FBI and police are inept and Devil of Hell’s kitchen does all the job. Guess they were wrong.” I meanly stress out the last word noticing a single streak of red sneaking behind me.

***

“Did you have fun?” when I get back to my apartment Matt is already there

“By proving you wrong? By winning the race with the daredevil?” I tap my chin in consideration “Yes!” I grin in satisfaction “So much of it! And rumor has it I’m up for promotion”

“Good thing the Devil decided to left the matter in your hands”

“It is, right? A lot of luck. Or maybe rather a lot of competence and observational skills. Not to mention intelligence and fast thinking.”

“Well thank you” he chuckles

“I’m sorry Matt, but I was talking to my reflection in the mirror. Did not see you in there.”

“Talk about a low blow” he hiss in pain.

“where?” I move towards the couch perching on the edge

“Nowhere” he tries to move away but wince again.

“Matt,….”

“I’m sorry” he sighs closing his eyes “I should have never doubted you”

“You shouldn’t have” I agree “but it’s a habit, right? You do it every time you are on your vigilant shit.”

“I’m sorry”

“No, you know what it’s fine.” He looks at my direction a bit confused “you weren’t Matt., then. You were Daredevil. And I was not your girlfriend. I was an FBI agent. Two different lives, four different person.”

“Do you have any mental problems I should now about.”

“See, that was Matt.” I smile “what I mean is that in our… other life we are supposed to be enemies. After all you steal my job and I hate that. But all this spiting and fighting and teasing while we are both in suits are good. We get better don’t you think? Trying to prove something.”

“As twisted as that is you may be a bit right.”

“Well I mean I get better, you seem awfully savaged, more than usual. Losing your proficiency?”

“Is it an agent talking or my girl?”

“Your girl” I smile and he grabs my hand kissing my knuckles gently.

“Well, like I said before I haven’t slept in four days and that’s an effect.” I stay silent waiting for him to continue and after a while the words come “can you stay with me? I need you close to me.”

“Sure I can” I snuggle next to him, forgetting about the job, the stress and the fight some agent has with some vigilante. We’ll deal with that in the morning, now it’s just boyfriend and girlfriend making themselves cozy in a shared bed.

#matt murdock #matt murdock x you #daredevil #matt murdock x reader #daredevil x reader #matt murdock x y/n #daredevil netflix #daredevil x y/n #daredevil x you #matt murdock imagine #daredevil imagine #matt murdock one shot #daredevil one shot #mcu #marvel mcu #marvel cinematic universe #marvel imagines #marvel imagine #marvel one shot

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zsuo · 2 months

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for @amberlynnmurdock

fbi!dex [2/?]

#zsuoedits #tvshowedit #tv show gifs #tv shows #userzsuo #daredevil #daredevil netflix #netflix daredevil #daredevil season 3 #daredevil edit #bullseye #benjamin poindexter #wilson bethel #nmcu #nmcu daredevil #daredevil born again #shows #fbi!dex

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literaturewithliz · 1 year

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KOTLC CHARACTERS AS AUTHORS (human AU)

Sophie is a fiction author. I feel like she was that kid who read to escape real life, so now she’s providing that escapism. She wrote a couple standalone books in the beginning of her career, but those never got much of a response. Then she wrote a six book long series that got more popular with each release. She’s won multiple awards for that series and has gotten multiple offers to get it adapted to the big screen but she’s terrified it’ll turn out like it did for Rick Riordan the first time he tried that.

Keefe writes romance. Idk why, I just get the vibe from him. Anyways, think The Fault in Our Stars or The Hating Game. He’s extremely popular in the reading community, and you know who he is even if you’ve never read one of his books. He’s the author that makes you cry at 3 AM.

Fitz writes realistic fiction. Like, the realistic fiction that targets middle grade. There is not one school library in the UK that doesn’t have at least two books he’s written. I feel like he sets up a lot of meet and greets around the UK and US because his favorite part of his career is meeting the kids he’s inspired. He didn’t go to college for creative writing. He went to med school and got a doctorate because Alden said he wanted Fitz to become a successful doctor. Shortly after actually being a doctor, he realized how much he hated it and started writing during the night to escape his life.

Biana writes books about fashion. I feel like she’s a fashion designer and her social media blew up with a bunch of questions from followers, so she decided to write a couple of books explaining all of her personal techniques and skills she’s learned at college. People who create dresses and outfits for celebrities have read at least ONE of her books.

Tam is a poet. He’s written so many award winning poems that you’ve probably read a poem of his without realizing it. He writes depressing poems, mostly. Think Emily Dickinson. Every once in a while he’ll write really happy poems inspired by his sister or lover. He’s the poet who wrote the poem your middle school teacher had your class do an analysis on and you actually understood what he was talking about.

Linh writes mental health books. She’s gotten her PhD in psychology and feels bad that she can’t reach everyone with mental health issues, so she tries her best by writing a book. Eventually, that goes viral and she’s written a couple more books about mental health. I feel like she eventually got the courage to write about her and Tam’s childhood and the mental abuse her parents subjected her and Tam to. That helps a bunch of kids in their situation keep going.

Dex writes dystopian fiction. Think The Hunger Games or Matched. Really well-thought out plots that make you question your government system. He’s gotten a lot of his books adapted to movies and has made a lot of money off of his work. However, he also has a job being a hacker for the FBI, so there’s that. He’s really stressed but can’t make himself stop doing either of the jobs because he loves what he does.

Part 2?

#kotlc #kotlc headcanons #sophie foster #dex dizznee #keefe sencen #fitz vacker #biana vacker #linh song #tam song

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fandomfail · 4 days

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Ten songs I've been listening to!

I was tagged by my good friend @puzzle-paradigm and I must answer the call 1. Rabbit Hole" by Deco*27, covered by Rachie

"My my my, you’re just a little freak (Like I thought!) / Why why why, you’re just the same as me (Oh my god!) / Right right right, it’s time to start the show / Once more, deeper into this rabbit hole we go."

2. "Born to Run" by American Authors

"I'm gonna live my life like I'm gonna die young / Like it's never enough / like I'm born to run / I'm gonna spend my time like tomorrow won't come / Do whatever I want / like I'm born to run."

3. "Honey, I'm Home" by GHOST sung by Dex.

"A vivisection of me / Done by God, for all to see / Say, "Hello! Honey, I'm home!" / Three voices come all alone."

4. "World's Smallest Violin" by AJR

"I'll blow up into smithereens / And spew my tiny symphony / All up and down a city street / While tryna put my mind at ease / Like finishing this melody / This feels like a necessity / So this could be the death of me / Or maybe just a better me."

5. "Love is the Strangest Game" by Minyt

"Cause love / is the strangest game / And you / You’re so fun to play."

6. "Hair Lockets" by Nicole Dollanganger

"When you're old, grey, and diseased / I'll still have parts of your young body / The one you lived in when you loved me / The rest of you now decomposing."

7. "Kiss the Girl" by Ashley Tisdale

"Ooh, ooh / Kiss the girl, ah / Kiss the girl / La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la / Go on and kiss the girl (kiss the girl) / La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la / Go on and kiss the girl."

8. "Ruru's Suicide Show on Livestream" by Shinsei Kamattechan

"Jumping into the Chūō Line / Being called a nuisance all her life / She was always there / The girl went ahead and died / Even if you ask the FBI/ You'll never know her message / She was always shouting."

9. "Animal in Me" by Solence

"When I look in the mirror / I know what I see / The animal in me / One with the demon / One with the beast / The animal in me."

10. "Cure" by Alien Stage | STUDIO LICO

"Even if your cold words / Carve scars beneath my eyes / May they linger on your tongue / You can break me apart / Notice my pain / And mend me right now / To quiet my fears / I'll drown in you."

Challenging @zola-no-kanojou, @sacrificialkittie, and @bobsquatley to do this! If you guys want to!! no pressure!!!

#also puzzleparadigm i will kill you this was murder on my hands #though my grievance is more with tumblr's TERRIBLE FORMATTING than you #love youuuuuuuuuuuuu

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amberlynnmurdock · 1 month

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I Want You

Pairing: Ben Poindexter "Dex" x Reader

Summary: Dex comes home from a late shift at the FBI to find you sleeping on his side of the bed.

Genre: 18+ CONTENT. SMUT. This is literally pure smut lol. Read with caution and also wrap it before you tap it, this is FICTION lol.

A/N: IDK where this smut came from but this might be the dirtiest I've written LOL. Might be slightly out of character, but I imagine any "light-hearted" Dex I write is before the events of Season 3. There's also MILD angst and MILD fluff if you squint, but LOTS of smut LOL. Enjoy my Dex lovers, so glad I've found you all <3 also this is barely edited I literally just knocked this out

Words: 1.8k

Dex is working late tonight—later than usual. Later than he’d like to, knowing you were alone at his apartment, waiting for his arrival. He hoped tonight would’ve been an early night but as expected, to his dismay, the SWAT unit was called in for a job and there was no chance Dex would be able to get home to you before you fell asleep.

I’m sorry he texted you, the heavy feeling he always got when he knew he would be disappointing you They need us tonight.

It’s okay you replied, and Dex read it in your sing-song voice I’ll be here waiting. Wake me up for a kiss.

Dex’s mouth twitched in a smile as the elevator lifted him to his floor, where you were most definitely lying in his bed already, making a mess of his fitted sheets. The only clutter he allowed in his life was the mess made by you. He leaned against the wall of the elevator and sighed; he wouldn’t let his exhaustion get in the way of making sure he gave you a kiss goodnight.

His shoulders were sore from the job tonight, aches and pains all over his back. His bed was practically calling his name and you, the keeper of his comfort. When the elevator dinged, he sauntered to his apartment door and quietly opened it so as to not make any sound. He didn’t want the door opening to wake you—he wanted his lips to take care of that.

Dex places his keys carefully on the hook and shrugs his denim sherpa jacket off. He opens the door to his bedroom quietly and sighs in contentment as he sees you sleeping soundly. He rarely got good sleep, so it was satisfying to see you deeply in it. It helped him most of the time.

Not wanting to get in bed without cleaning himself of the night’s job, he stalks to the bathroom and shuts the door before turning the light on so it won’t wake you. After a five-minute hot shower and brushing his teeth, Dex throws on a thin white shirt and boxers and then opens the door again to find you sleeping soundly still.

He stays in the doorway, watching you sleep. He often did this for peace of mind. When his thoughts got too loud and he began to feel himself spiral, just your presence alone was enough to bring him down. Help him sleep. You always did. Your hair was sprawled on his pillow—you were sleeping on his side, as you always did when he came home late—and you held the covers close to your chest. You looked perfect. He almost didn’t want to wake you up and ruin this image of you, but he had to do what you requested.

Dex sits in the crook of space you left as you’re sleeping in a fetal position, legs close to your chest. The bed dips a little when he sits and he gently runs his fingers over the side of your face, caressing your skin carefully. It only takes him four times of doing this until you stir in your sleep.

“Dex,” your eyelids are heavy but you force them to open to see Dex’s soft expression looking down at you, a smile on his face. “You’re home.”

“I am,” Dex whispered. “You wanted me to wake you.”

“I know,” you reach up lazily and cup his cheek in the palm of your hand, thumb grazing just below his bottom lid. “Kiss me.”

Dex’s eyes are half closed as he leans down to meet your lips. When your lips finally touch, his eyes close, and the kiss consumes every fiber of his being. The noise that constantly buzzed in his head, for a moment, was silenced by your soft lips. His attention was drawn to your fingers twirling in his dirty blonde locks as you pulled him even closer. Dex opens his mouth and dashes his tongue on your bottom lip, a way to ask you to let him in. You open your mouth in return and let his tongue glide against yours as you breathe in his fresh scent.

“Come here,” you pull back and push the sheets off you for Dex to join.

“This is my side,” he jokes as he slides underneath, brings the covers over the both of you again and hovers his entire body over you. “Give it back.”

“Take it back,” you smirk, your haze of sleepiness fading as the weight of Dex on top of you energizes you. He’s just taken a shower—you can tell by the way his thin white shirt clings onto his hot, soft damp skin. His shirt is so thin you want to rip it apart to feel his warmth on yours. You just might by the way you’re gripping his collar.

Dex laughs, understanding your nudge. He pulls his shirt from the back and off him. It’s only then he realizes you’re already ahead of the game and completely naked in his bed.

“__…” your name falls from his lips as he feels your soft skin pressed into his bed. Dex runs his hands from your neck to your collarbone and stops there to kiss you between the crook of your shoulder. He leaves a trail of kisses along the length of your neck before kissing your lips again. If there’s anything he’s good at, it’s knowing exactly where to kiss you.

“Dex,” you sigh into his kisses and close your eyes. You find his strong hands and guide them to where you need to be touched most. You place the palms of his hands over your breasts and Dex gently kneads them as he pulls back from kissing you. It was a wonder how something so beautiful he was allowed to touch.

But something shifts in his demeanor. Something he knows you like. Without fail he kicks your legs apart so he’s fully over you now, pressing his hard cock between your legs. You take a shaky breath, feeling your arousal grow so much you need him sooner than later. You look up at Dex and he’s already staring down at you.

His eyes are as dark as the room but you can’t ignore the intense gaze he gives you—so intense you felt like he was pulling your soul out of your body and claiming it his. In a way, he already had it. You were all his. You swallow hard, never getting used to the way he looks at you like that, and reach up to grab him by his jaw to kiss you. Dex sucks on your lips and holds you by your waist. You find the band of his boxers and push them off.

“You want me?” That little voice of doubt Dex just can’t ignore comes through in this intimate moment, and he wants to kick himself for asking it. He asks as his lips trace the skin of your neck anyway, pausing to anticipate your reaction. You affirm him, like you always do.

“I want you, Dex,” you breathe, and Dex sighs in relief. He pulls back, a much softer gaze on you, but his eyes still so dark. “I love you.”

It’s those three words he pretends not to hear—pretends like they couldn’t save his life. But they do, they always do. And he’s brought back down to reality as he gently pushes your legs further. His cock is throbbing between his legs now but he won’t give either of you the sweet relief you need—not before he teases you just a bit.

Dex trails his fingers down your stomach and circles your clit gently with his thumb, watching your face for your reaction to his touch. Where do you like it? How does his thumb make you feel? A beautiful expression softly etches on your face that tells him you like what he’s doing. You want more.

Dex slides two fingers inside your warm wetness and it takes everything in him to bite back a moan. He clenches his jaw as he slowly pushes in and out with his fingers in your pussy, going deeper and deeper with each stroke. He curls his fingers to hit the spot you so desperately need to be touched. Goosebumps raise on his skin as he watches your face contort with pleasure.

“Dex,” you demand his name. “I want you.”

Dex slides his fingers out your pussy and cups the back of your neck with his hand to kiss you slowly—he needed this as much as you did. And without warning, Dex lines his cock with your warm pussy and slowly pushes himself inside you.

“Fuck,” you moan softly in his ear as his length stretches your tight pussy. Dex takes a deep breath as he settles inside you, caressing your neck and pushing even deeper. And then he starts to move slowly, pulling all the way out before harshly pushing back in. The bed begins to rock with every thrust he makes, every grunt he suppresses, and every moan you let out. You spread and wrap your legs around his waist, pushing him even deeper, feeling the tip of his cock touch your sweet spot inside. You’re completely soaking all over his hard cock, surely getting the bed wet. Dex had a way of fucking you so good it was hard to think of how to return the favor, but he loved to please you like this, he loved to be in charge of your pleasure. Dex pounds his cock into you slowly, feeling your tightness and wetness all over him, he focuses on your breathing to know when you’re about to come.

“__,” he whispers your name. “Say you want me.”

“I want you,” you whisper breathlessly, feeling yourself come all over his cock, the sounds of sex filling the space between you.

“Keep saying it,” Dex’s voice is hardly above a whisper as he feels himself almost come undone. His pushes his cock all the way inside you, earning a moan slip from your lips.

“I want you, Dex,” you say breathlessly, squeezing your pussy on his cock. “I want you. I want you. I want—“

Dex shuts his eyes and clenches his jaw as his final thrust coats your soft and warm pussy, filling you with his cum. He continues his pounding slowly with each last pump of cum he spills inside you and holds you close to his chest to keep you from shaking.

“It’s okay,” your chest is heaving, and your entire body is shaking. “I’m okay.”

Dex completely pulls out of you, and you feel the space he’s left—empty. Dex looks at you with concern, his heart pounding against his chest. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, Dex,” you smile, pushing a sweaty strand of his hair back. “I’m more than okay.”

“Okay,” Dex nods, catching his breath finally.

When Dex gets up to fetch a towel from the bathroom, you wrap yourself in his sheets and claim his side of the bed as your own. When Dex comes back, he smiles to himself. He crawls into bed—into your side—and wraps his strong arms around you. He watches you fall asleep again and only lets himself nod off when he can’t fight sleep anymore.

#ben poindexter #benjamin poindexter #dex #ben poindexter x reader #benjamin poindexter x reader #bullseye #bullseye x reader #wilson bethel #wilson bethel x reader #daredevil #daredevil born again #bullseye smut #ben poindexter smut #benjamin poindexter smut

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petertingle-yipyip · 1 year

Text

MAD AT GOD - MATT MURDOCK

Season Three - All Around Me

tags: @americaarse @ironprincessstranger @johnmurphys-sass @dusstory @astrobees @mayasaurus--rex @woowwwee // one // three // masterlist

Pairing: Matt x Reader (Unlabelled), Dex x Reader (Casual)

Word Count: 9,683

Summary: Looped back in, Y/N has to make sure she holds on to what is starting to matter again. With rumors swirling of a copycat Mask, that grip gets desperately tighter.

The next day, you and Ray were right back at the prison despite your complaints. You two were led through the halls until one of the more tucked away cells, meeting with a recently stabbed Wilson Fisk.

Too bad they didn’t kill him.

You stood by the door with hands on your hips, your thumb brushing the handle of the knife towards the back of your belt that was perfectly hidden under your jacket while he talked to Ray. You tuned in and out of the conversation until Fisk’s fake concern for his life caught your attention like the ring of a bell.

You moved suddenly, slamming your knee against his chest and forcing him back until he laid against the bed. You were quick to flick your hand and keep Ray calm, rather uninterested in your action, as your other hand found the superficial stab wound Fisk was so concerned about. You pressed your knuckle into it as you spoke.

“Nothing would make me happier than for you to die right here.” You spoke lowly, pressing your weight further and your knuckle deeper. “I could kill you, right here, and no one would bat an eye.”

“You’d lose- lose everything.” He coughed in a panic and you smiled.

“Who do you see coming to your rescue?”

“You and I- We need each other. You need your secret protected.”

In a swift movement, you pulled your knife and shoved it into his original wound but you felt the tension as your blade sunk in from a new angle. He let out a loud cry and reached for your wrist but you twisted the knife, feeling the building pressure of blood that would spill once you removed the blade while the other hand was up to halt every emotion within a small range of the hallway.

“I don’t need you for anything.” You said sharply. “You will owe your life to me.”

You yanked the knife out, wiping it against his clothes, before you tucked it away and took your place beside Ray. You dropped your hand and your control before folding both hands neatly behind your back and under your jacket to keep the blade out of sight. Their conversation finished quickly and you headed back to the bureau, where you were almost instantly pushed into a meeting with your SAC, DA Tower and an officer you didn’t know. They argued about whether or not Fisk should be removed from the prison and every word made your stomach twist into knots.

By threatening to reveal your past, it wasn’t hard to figure that he was playing the FBI. He was going to manipulate the system, just like before to avoid jail and when he got Frank out. But at least the Frank thing was helpful to you.

It was beyond clear to you that he was willing to get anyone out of his way so his rise to power would be seamless, meaning he wasn’t cooperating with the FBI. He wasn’t trying to make New York safer or turn over a new leaf. He wanted competition out of the way and the FBI was the perfect opportunity to do it. It was easily a show of dominance, to flaunt that the federal government was in his pocket. With that, no group in New York would challenge him.

No group in New York, maybe. But a lone woman with nothing left to lose…

“What about you, Agent Y/L/N?” Tower asked you. “You’ve been rather quiet, given your current involvement. I’d love to hear your opinion.”

“Can I speak frankly?” You asked and he nodded, though the glare from your SAC was practically burning a hole in the side of your head. “I absolutely hate him. I helped put him away for a reason and I’d rather shoot myself right here than see that man walk out of that prison. I’ll admit he gave the lead on the Albanians, but I don’t trust anything out of that man’s mouth. He’s a crook and a liar and a killer. If you ask me, let the prisoners kill him.”

“I am curious, why did you work so hard to defend Frank Castle then?”

“They’re not the same and you know that.”

“No, but Castle was a murderer. His cri-“

“Do we really want to talk about Frank Castle’s story? Let’s not speak ill of the dead.” Your brows raised in accusation but Tower conceded with a nod.

“By letting Fisk out of prison, even if it’s federally monitored house arrest, all that does is bring him that much closer to the toys and the games that were taken away.” You explained simply. “You’re bringing a bully back to the playground and he’s not gonna stop pushing others in the sandbox.”

Regardless of what you had to say, it was decided that Fisk would be moved. Hattley asked you when Dex got back and since he had gotten ahold of you that morning, she told you to call him in to get him caught up. You and Dex were going to lead the SWAT unit that was going to oversee the transport. You complained to Dex the whole time you were fitting your equipment into place and all he could do was laugh, given you couldn’t tell him the entirety of your history with Fisk.

Matt would’ve understood.

You were more than annoyed as you and Dex sat in the lead car.

“You’re still gonna pout about it?” He chuckled slightly. “Listen, I don’t like it either, Y/N/N.”

You frowned slightly at the nickname, though it was different from what your other friends would call you.

“But we gotta do our jobs, right?”

You made a small noise of agreement rather than arguing as your phone rang. You didn’t feel like digging through your pockets for it so you just tapped your implant.

“Hey, were you able to come by tonight?” Foggy’s voice rang in your head. “Karen came and went already.”

“Where? Come by for what?” You said quickly, turning away from Dex so it looked like your hand was holding the phone to your ear.

“The deli.. Remember, last time I came by, I told you about my family thing and how Mom and Dad and Theo wanted to finally meet you.”

“Honestly, I thought it was an empty invite.” You laughed nervously. “I’ve been kinda shitty to be around.”

“Yeah, but I’m not gonna give up on our friendship. When have I ever given up?”

“Does Nelson and Murdock count?”

“Low blow, Y/L/N.” He laughed slightly.

“I’m actually stuck at work on this transport but if you have time tomorrow night, maybe we can get together.”

“Okay. Yeah, that works… I need to talk to you about something important, too.”

“Cool. See you tom-“ A sudden explosion behind you drew your attention as Dex slammed the brakes. “Gotta go.”

“You got my six?” Dex asked as he hopped out the car.

“Don’t I always?”

“Wasn’t sure if you were too busy socializing.”

“If you weren’t such an ass, maybe you would be too.”

You flipped your implant to your work frequency and hurried out, following behind Dex.

As you two got closer, you saw more and more of your team going down. You heard the faint shouts in Albanian and you were tempted to fake a gun jam, allowing them to take out Fisk. But you kept going as Dex did, remembering it was still your job and it’d be more satisfying if you used your own bullet to kill him.

You and Dex cleared the scene easily, alternating between you and him taking the shots. What always impressed you about working with Dex was his ability to shoot through things or use ricochets. He tried teaching you some of it, but those sessions usually ended with one of you in the other’s beds.

Two came out from behind the car and claimed to surrender as you and Dex approached. They were scared of you and your partner, but you felt the determination of two men sneaking up behind you. You stepped around Dex as he fired, allowing you to take quick shots at the other two.

Fisk climbed out of the car but you both had your guns drawn. You stepped to him and kicked at his chest, slamming him back against the SUV. You pressed your gun against his forehead and the bitter taste settled on your tongue, the yellow fog radiating off him. You groaned loudly as you heard the sirens nearing, deciding it wouldn’t work out for you to kill him now. Not with your issued gun at least. Instead, you slammed the gun against his temple and watched him fall limp.

You tucked your weapon and went back to Dex’s side, following him back to your SUV once Ray and his crew got there to collect Fisk. You stayed a moment to show Ray which agents were still alive but hurried off before he could ask too many questions

“You weren’t gonna stop me..” You spoke simply as he drove quickly.

“You wanted me to?” He glanced at you with a small smirk.

“Guess I just kinda expected it.” You shrugged, knowing that Matt would’ve.

Not everything is about Matt. He’s dead. Let it go.

“You know what you’re doing, Y/N. I trust you.”

“Why?” But you already knew it was your own game you’d been playing since the moment you met him.

“Don’t know.” He said honestly. “Just going with my gut, maybe.”

You hummed in response and the conversation died after that. You two checked the entirety of the lobby before the convoy arrived with Fisk.

“You guys have a status on anyone?” Ray asked after Dex gave a brief rundown of what happened.

“Two going into surgery. Five dead, all for this pathetic son of a bitch.” You answered, having listened in on the ambulance chatter on your way over.

“Donovan!” Fisk called eagerly.

“Stay back.” Dex announced simply.

“We’re his attorneys!” The vaguely familiar man reasoned.

“Congratulations. Stay back or I’ll charge you with obstruction.” You repeated firmly, pushing past to get him to the elevator.

The ride up was quiet but Ray was quick to pull you and Dex aside.

“Check in with the SAC. Both of you.” He said pointedly.

“You’re joking.” You tried to push past him but he pulled you back.

“We just lost five agents. The debrief can wait.” Dex added.

“You know the deal. Take her with you, follow protocol, and get back here ASAP.”

Dex said nothing but grabbed your arm. You followed his lead without protest, though your skin was warming under your gear.

The next morning, your phone was ringing nonstop. First Karen, then Foggy. Then Foggy again. Then Foggy again. Then Karen, Foggy, Karen, Karen. You ignored all of their calls and messages, sitting in the media room with Dex and another agent. They talked about the agents that were in surgery last night, and the apathy from Dex was an uncomfortable emptiness. You tapped your implant after Fisk’s lawyers asked to turn the cameras off.

You sat in your chair with your arms crossed, leaning back with eyes closed as you listened in. Fisk yelled about Vanessa, how her being in Europe was dangerous because Exodus has people across the country that could get to her. You chuckled to yourself when you found out Marc’s rumor of her heading to Barcelona was right, and it didn’t sound like Fisk’s people knew she was being watched. You’d have to thank him for helping with that. Maybe pay a visit to London in the near future.

The other agent left for a bathroom break, which caused Dex to turn to you. You felt him turn your chair towards him so you lifted your head and opened your eyes, only to see him giving you a small smile.

“Yes, Agent Poindexter?” You asked with raised brows.

“You alright?” He asked, which made your brows furrow in confusion. It wasn’t like Dex to check in on people like that and the words felt strange to hear. “Been pretty quiet today..”

“Mhmm, just a long night.” You answered carefully. “You?”

“Yeah.. We gotta go down and cover couple of the guys’ for lunch. We get out at a decent time tonight, wanna get drinks?”

“Can’t. Cashing in a rain check with a friend from college tonight. Maybe tomorrow?”

You two waited until the other agent came back before heading down and switching shifts at the elevator. Disappointed in the lunch options, you were searching for the number to one of the bodegas in your neighborhood to call in a better sandwich when your phone was ringing from Karen again. A guy was coming up to the elevator so you gestured for Dex to deal with him as you stepped aside to take the call.

“By the way you two are blowing up my phone, I’m guessing you’ve heard.” You said simply, though her anger was easy to feel through the phone.

“And what? You just weren’t gonna tell us?” She asked angrily.

“I’m sorry. Let me just risk my career and give out confidential information on a high-risk target to two very public local figures.”

“You’re supposed to be our friend first, Y/N!”

“And are you calling me as my friend or as a reporter? Because I know you came poking around the hotel with those protestors this morning.” You countered. “I couldn’t tell either of you without risking my job and I didn’t even know until it happened. I’m trying to take this seriously but I can’t do that if you are gonna be breathing down my neck..”

“How did he get out?”

“No comment.”

“And you didn’t try to stop it?”

“Wasn’t up to me.”

“Don’t give me that shit, Y/N. You easily could’ve stopped this.”

“Nobody wants me to interfere with things unless it’s their idea and I’m sick of it! I’m sorry that you had to find out however you did but I won’t apologize for doing my job.” You glanced around at Dex and you noticed the man he was dealing with was oddly familiar, despite the downward tilt of his head and shadow from his hat covering his face. “Look, unless you have something else to talk to me about, I have to go.”

“No, you don’t get to do that.”

“People died, Karen. Good agents that just wanted to do their jobs. Now those people are dead and that bastard is this much closer to my neighborhood. I have more important things to worry about than your hurt feelings.”

“Y/N!”

You shoved your phone away and moved back beside Dex. You grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand off his gun, earning a small glare from him. You turned back as the man left without a word and you couldn’t piece it together. His frame was hidden by a bulky coat and the hat shadowed his face. He said nothing so you couldn’t place a voice and any emotions from him weren’t any help, only a slight panic that he’d been caught haphazardly covering up some sort of longing.

“Who was that?” You asked as you watched the figure disappear around the corner.

“Some homeless guy trynna bag a free room probably.” He shrugged. “Who cares?”

“Oh.. That why you were gonna shoot him?”

“If he came any closer, yeah.”

You sighed loudly and offered a pointed look, to which he raised his eyebrows expectantly. You rolled your eyes and decided not to bring it up again. Your disappointing lunch was quiet, you choosing not to talk much even though you had the company of your partner. It was obvious - even to Dex - that you were annoyed so you kept to your own tasks for the most part and he let you. Until the night part of your shift, when you and Dex were stuck with dinner supervising.

“It’s Special Agent Poindexter, isn’t it?” Fisk tried, though he got no response from Dex and chose to ignore your warning glare. “You saved my life last night.”

“Yeah, we all make mistakes.” He answered coldly, and you cracked a small smile. He turned to you and gave the same expression, seemingly relieved that you weren’t completely shutting him out.

“I’m sorry for the loss of your fellow agents.. Losing them to protect someone like me must be particularly difficult for the families and their loved ones.. I’d offer my condolences but I imagine it brings them greater comfort to hate me.”

“Don’t we all.” You mumbled and rolled your eyes.

“Unless you feel otherwise.” He tried looking at Dex. “That my words might bring any positive effect.”

“Ignore him.” You warned your partner.

“If so, please share that, from what I witnessed, they were incredibly brave.”

“Might wanna eat faster, convict. Meal’s over in five.” Dex said instead.

“I owe those fallen agents a debt that I can never repay.” Fisk continued.

“Ты, должно быть, шутишь.” You groaned and pushed off the wall. “I swear to God, one more sentence. One more.” (You’ve got to be kidding me.)

“I also owe the two of you.” Fisk continued.

You sighed to yourself and made a move to cross the room, but Dex reached out and caught your arm. You offered him a sharp glare but he didn’t let go.

“You can’t be serious.” You said quietly. “He’s baiting you.”

“Just let him talk.” Dex replied in the same hushed tone. “He’s just trynna get a reaction out of us.”

“I’ve never seen talent or synchronicity quite like you two… May I ask where you two acquired your skills?” Fisk pressed.

“Quantico, same as every other FBI agent.” You spoke flatly, refusing to back down from Dex’s stare.

“I believe there is more to it, Agent Y/L/N.”

You yanked your arm free from your partner’s hold, giving a slight shove to his chest before you crossed the room. You put a hand under Fisk’s tray and flipped it, smearing his dinner across the table. You pulled the plate and bit down your laugh as you walked away with Dex right behind you. You dropped the tray off and did your last few tasks before having to head over for your joint meeting with the psychologist. But as you waited in the hall with Dex, you had to make a point.

“Why did you want to listen to him?” You asked with a slight accusation in your words.

“I didn’t.”

“You did. And for a second, it almost looked like you were listening.”

“Why are you so pissed about it anyway?”

“Because he was baiting you! He was getting in your head and you let him!”

He scoffed in disbelief. “C’mon, Y/L/N.”

“I’m not an idiot, Dex. And you’re not that hard to read.”

“If he got into anyone’s head, it was yours.”

“I knew what was happening. I’ve dealt with him before so I know exactly what he was trying to do.”

“Yeah? What was it then?”

“You impressed him during the ambush. Now, he wants you on his side that way if something happens again, he knows he’ll be fine. He knows the only people that can beat him right now are you and me, since vigilantes in this town can’t get close with the FBI around. And if he gets you to side with him, that just leaves me…”

“You?” He laughed and you ground your teeth at his mocking tone.

“Yes, me. I know how you fight, Dex. I know exactly how to beat you.”

“So that’s why you wanted to be partners?” He tried to joke but you glared at him. He turned to face you with an unbothered grin. “So you could kick my ass?”

“I’m being serious.”

“I know.” He nodded with the same stupid grin, which got him smacked in the arm. “Ah! Okay! Okay, listen..” He put his hands on either of your arms. “Nothing is gonna happen cause I have you as my own personal pain in the ass to make sure. Does that make you feel better?”

“No, because you’re being condescending.”

“I’m not.” He laughed and you smacked him again.

“You’re new and exciting to him, like a new toy, and now he knows you’re dangerous. Those are the same reasons he tried to convince me a while back.”

“I’m sorry. What?”

“I didn’t go for it.” You shrugged.

“Why didn’t you tell me that before?”

“There’s a lot to my past you don’t know that I’m not obligated to tell you.. Just trust me when I tell you that you don’t wanna get lumped into his bullshit.”

“I got it, Y/N. Alright? You don’t gotta worry about me.”

You hummed in acknowledgment as the door opened and you were ushered in, him calling both of you in at the same time. You sat in silence for the most part, waiting until the doctor addressed you specifically. Instead, something Dex said caught your attention.

“Respectfully, if I were wearing a mask, the press would be calling me a hero.” He said angrily and you shifted in your seat, the scars of your mask around your eyes now burning with the thought and your jaw clenched. “Instead, I’m sitting in here with you trying to justify protecting myself and my partner.”

“Y/L/N.” The doctor said and your attention lifted. “Anything to add, y’know as the partner in question?”

“They faked a surrender. We gave them a chance and they faked it.” You shrugged, hoping no one would address your reaction to Dex’s comment about the masks. “They had two coming from behind that would’ve killed us both. We were protecting ourselves. I don’t care to be a hero and I don’t care to be liked. But I’m damn sure not going to sit here and be judged for doing what I was supposed to do.”

“I’m not your enemy. I just…” He sighed and glanced between you both. “Alright, let’s cut the psych bullshit since neither of you wanna respond to it. Just tell me for real. How are you?”

“It’s hard.. It’s really hard.” Dex answered and you almost laughed at the apathy of the rehearsed answer.

“I’m alright.” You said with a small shrug.

“This is the first time you’ve been noted using lethal force, Y/L/N.” He stared at you and you almost laughed. “And the first time you’ve had to fire your weapon on duty since your rehab.”

“I’m FBI SWAT.” You answered plainly, as if it should be obvious. “Before this, private security. Before that-“

“Before that, a lawyer. A paralegal and disabilities assistant.”

“Point is, I’ve fired a gun before. It doesn’t bother me to shoot.” Your hand absentmindedly landed on the wrist brace and you had to quickly pull yourself from those memories.

“Events like this tend to exact a toll. Repeating traumatic experiences compounds that toll creating a pressure.”

“Until one day we go postal? Yeah, we get it.” Dex cut in. You gave a small head tilt in agreement, thinking of the times your vision was coated red. Maybe you did need more than just Curtis’ support group.

“The point is you need to process this stuff.”

“I process it.”

“You have a support system?”

“Other than her?” Dex patted your leg and you kicked lighty at his shin. “Yeah, but I think she’d rather be called Julie.”

“How does that work? Tell me about her.”

“She’s a bartender, professional listener too. We get dinner most nights. Today’s Tuesday, so pizza night.” He smiled slightly, though you were mildly confused. He’s always had a soft spot for Julie, but as far as you knew, they didn’t really talk. “Julie gets broccoli and sausage, extra cheese. I tell her about my day, the good and the bad. I know it’s not healthy to hold this stuff in so I talk to her.. I tell her everything, and she doesn’t judge me or blame me.”

You noticed how carefully he told the story. He never said Julie did anything in return. She didn’t listen when he talked. She didn’t tell him about her day. You wondered why he would lie.

“Sounds like a good one.”

“Yeah, she is.”

“And you, Y/N? Can I call you Y/N?”

“I have a church.” You answered carefully, still trying to figure out why Dex was making up his relationship with Julie. “The pastor and one of the nuns there, they just sit with me most mornings and we talk. About my life and what I’ve lost. What I’ve gained. Who I’ve become.”

“And religion, it helps with everything?”

“No, not religion.” You laughed slightly. “The people help. The church itself was where a friend of mine used to go before he left. It’s just a special place, I guess. Safe.”

“Alright..” The doctor nodded slightly. “You’re both clear for duty but I want check-ins for a while, every other day.”

You were headed out when Dex matched your stride.

“Want a ride?”

“No, I’ll walk. Thanks.”

He sighed and grabbed your arm, turning you so you’d stop and face him.

“What are you mad about now?” He asked with a sigh.

“I’m not mad about it, dumbass. I’m just thinking about why you lied about Julie.”

“What does she have to do with anything?” He asked tightly and you watched his jaw clench.

“We both know what your relationship with her really is. Claiming to have dinner with her most nights when you’re also sleeping with me most nights is gonna get us both caught up.”

“Right… So I should’ve said that I bang my partner a couple nights a week?”

“God, you’re an idiot.” You groaned and shook your head.

He took a deep breath and crossed his arms. Before he could answer, you heard the call for backup to the parking garage from your implant. You shoved past him and hurried down the stairs, pushing through the stairwell door just in time to catch the man beating on one of the agents who was clearly no longer a threat.

You hurried over and got behind him, hooking your arm around his neck. You dropped to your back and pulled him with you as you turned to push him facedown. You pinned a knee between his shoulder blades and planted the other foot by his head, which you immediately realized was a mistake when he yanked you by your ankle. Once you fell off, he was quick to roll to his back so he could kick out at your chest.

You threw your hips up as your back hit the concrete so you rolled all the way through before running at him again. You used the closest car as a jumping off point - setting off the alarm in the process - and slammed a knee into his chest and forced him back against the nearest pillar. The sight of the familiar black mask called a red haze of rage to cross your vision.

Copycat or not, Matt Murdock or otherwise, didn’t make a difference. You took the chance and funneled all your recent rage into your offense.

You threw hard punches at his face, alternating sides and seeing some make his head bounce off the concrete behind him. Some of your shots went off course and your knuckles hit the pillar instead. When you felt his hands grip your sides, you balled your hands into the front of his shirt as he turned and roughly slammed you into the nearest car. Your head bounced off the roof and the windows splintered behind you before he tackled you to the ground.

Your fingers reached for the mask, some part of you desperate to know the truth. To know for sure if that was Matt Murdock you were up against and extinguish that little flicker of hope in your chest, once and for all. He batted your hands away each time so the next time his hand hit yours, you were quick to grab his wrist and twist outward. You planted your feet and pushed off to flip you two over, spinning your body to flatten a knee against his throat. You reached behind you but your shirt was tucked too tight to reach the shock discs you had stored at the bottom of the vest you wore underneath. Your moment of hesitation allowed for him to get both hands under your knee and shove you away.

By the time you had your bearings back, which was only a few seconds, he was gone.

“Клянусь Богом, если это ты, Мэтт, я сам тебя убью..” You sighed, examining your knuckles and noting the blood splatters across the pillar. (I swear to God, if that’s you Matt, I will kill you myself.)

You moved to it and rubbed your sleeve against it, smearing it off and staining your arm. You glanced around and picked up a shard from the shattered window before you yanked it across the bloodstain on your sleeve, slicing the material and your arm to explain the stain. You pressed your arm against the wall and once your own blood covered your assailant’s, you pressed to turn your implant on.

“I need… medics to the.. to the parking garage. The assailant is gone... Multiple agents down.. At least nobody’s dead this time..” You said calmly, faking heavy breaths in between as you dropped to the ground against the pillar.

Back at the church, Matt was reeling. Y/N was working with the FBI to protect Fisk. He wondered why she left Anvil. How did she end up with Fisk? Why didn’t she try to stop it? And why was she stopping him?

He talked with Sister Maggie about what he had found out.

“He’s claiming to have changed over a woman.” Matt said with a slight bitterness to his voice. How was it fair or just that Fisk could have the woman he loved when he had to hurt his? When he now had to stand against his. Again.

“Well if there’s anything that can redeem a lost soul, love would have to top the list.” Maggie answered knowingly.

“Even for a monster like Fisk?”

“You’re talking to a nun, kiddo. Love and redemption are pretty much our sales pitch.”

“Well I'm not buying.”

“She still comes by, you know. Even after that little boxing debacle. Not too late to talk to her.”

“No, I don’t think she’d be happy to see me.” Matt sighed.

“Why not?”

“Cause she’s kicked my ass twice already.” He laughed slightly.

“Mmm.” She hummed, almost in delight. “You say that like you didn’t deserve it.”

“I’m just.. I don’t know, maybe I’ll just stop him, for good this time. Then we can..”

“Just be careful you don’t become the monster.”

He went out that night, finding Foggy at a bar. He heard Y/N’s voice through a phone call as she promised she was on the way, saying she had to finish with the medics before she could leave. Matt didn’t remember hurting her that bad but maybe when he tackled her, it aggravated her old rib injury. Maybe she was beginning to develop a concussion, which he would have to find a way to apologize for if that was it. Regardless, he didn’t have time to dawdle on the thought since she was already coming. Even if his heart wanted to hammer his feet to the floor and make him face her.

The conversation went about as well as Matt expected. He thought it better that Foggy was pissed at him, then maybe he wouldn’t want Matt around. Maybe he wouldn’t tell Y/N or Karen that they had talked.

“You’ll have to get passed Y/N.” Foggy called as Matt tried to leave. “Karen told me she’s part of the FBI detail that’s protecting Fisk.”

“Yeah, I know.. I’ll handle it.”

“I hope she kicks your ass. Maybe that’ll knock some sense into you. As much as she hates doing that, she’s gonna hate that you’re hiding from her even more.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t tell her then.”

“I’m not gonna keep this from her!”

Matt heard her voice outside, muttering about not changing her shirt and something about blood. He was nearing panic and his pulse was thumping in his ears.

“She won’t believe you.” Matt defended, trying to end the conversation so he could sneak out without Y/N seeing.

“She deserves better than that.”

“Yeah, I know… Just stay out of this. You and Karen.”

“And what if Y/N tries to stop you?”

“She won’t.”

“It’s her job now! You don’t get to take that from her!”

“If you tell her I’m coming for him, then you take it from her.”

“You’re an asshole.” Foggy complained and Matt decided he wouldn’t stay any longer.

He headed out and brushed past Y/N, careful to keep his head down and turned away. It may have made it obvious that he didn’t want to be seen but he didn’t care. As long as he got away. As long as he didn’t have to hear her say his name.

You hurried into the bar and glanced around, almost running into the man leaving. You offered an apology but he said nothing, just shoved past you with his head down. You made a face to yourself before finding Foggy and rushing over.

“Hey.” You smiled and he offered an uneasy smile in return. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.. Nothing, uh- What happened? You okay?” Foggy rushed to answer and you felt the anxiety vibrating off him.

You paused to order your drink quickly before facing your friend again.

“Yeah, there was an incident at the hotel and I got sliced.” You rolled up your jacket sleeve to show the bandages. “Which sorta leads into what I wanted to talk to you about…”

“Fisk is out.”

“Conditionally, but yeah…”

“And you’re part of the team that protects him.”

“Yeah… Karen tell you?”

“Yeah..”

“I’m sorry. I tried to stop it. I even tried the conflict of interest card and I would’ve told you if I could but-“

“It’s not your fault, Y/N/N.” Foggy sighed and you could tell something else was weighing on him, though you had to admit it was nice to hear your old nickname again. “I know you did everything you reasonably could to stop it.”

“You’re definitely more forgiving and understanding than Karen was. But maybe that’s just cause we aren’t really getting along right now in general.”

“When you talked to Karen, did she tell you anything else?”

“No, she kinda just yelled at me… I don’t blame her, considering I yelled right back. Why?”

“You ever hear about the Kazemi family?”

“Uh… No, I don’t think so.”

“Well they’re a rich family and I guess they got attacked the other night but someone stopped it.”

“Was it a guy and his daughter?”

“Yeah.. Is it a good thing that it sounds familiar?”

“A little, but probably not. The other night, I was leaving the bar and I felt this panic. I went to check on it and there was this guy…”

“Man in the Mask copycat?”

“Yeah! You’ve seen him?”

You felt a new sliver of hope break through and it made your chest feel tight and your stomach twist.

“No.. But Karen thinks it’s him.”

“Between you and me..” You leaned in closer. “And you can’t tell Karen… Same guy tried to ambush the hotel tonight. I tried to get the mask off but I missed. Do you think it’s really him?”

“I don’t know.. Do you really want it to be? I mean, you have this new life with the FBI. You got Dex- that’s your partner, right?” Foggy gestured to you and you nodded. “You just got over all that Central Park carousel stuff.“ He motioned vaguely to your wrist and your other hand covered your brace defensively. “Do you want him to be back right now? Would it be good for you?”

“Do you?”

“He was my best friend. If I could have him back, I would. But I’d want the Matt we had before all of this.”

“I get it.. Everything was easier before we started this.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” He sighed.

“Yeah, but it’s true, right?”

He pressed his lips into a line as he nodded.

“Would you want him back?” He asked softly,

“Honestly…” You paused to think, staring at your glass while you swirled the contents to watch the liquid slosh over the ice cubes.

Did you want Matt back? You thought so. But could you handle Matt being back? That would probably mean he’d want to go after Fisk, which would force you to choose to potentially bring back Exodus to help him - given that he’s revived his own vigilante image - or choose your job and stop him. You’ve stood against Matt before so it was anything but an unfamiliar concept. But to stand against him for the sake of Wilson Fisk, for the sake of a man you wanted to put a bullet in every waking minute you were at that godforsaken hotel. It was a complete reversal of what Exodus stood for, of what you stood for. If the old you, the one who existed when you first came to town, could see you now protecting Fisk, she’d kill you herself. And you couldn’t deny that you would’ve deserved it.

Just because you wore an FBI badge and title didn’t mean Exodus was no longer part of you. It didn’t mean you wouldn’t do what you had to.

“I still love him and I miss him everyday. But it’d be a really shitty time for him to come back.” You laughed weakly, gently nursing your drink. “There’s too much with the Fisk thing to deal with him. He’d want to do something stupid like try to take him down. I’d end up helping him because we all know who between all of us can actually finish this if it comes down to it. Next thing you know, I’m on the run with a new identity and New York isn’t home anymore…”

“You’ve thought this out.” Foggy offered gently.

“Ever since I saw the copycat, I haven’t been able to get the thought out of my head. I’m a little relieved that I haven’t gotten back to normal. It doesn’t hurt when I think about the maybe… Maybe he’s back. Maybe it would bring something back in me. Maybe I’m not lost forever. That’s the one that really scares me… But then no one ever showed up. He never came home. He never even called. I gave up on the idea cause I kinda had to, y’know. I mean, we hardly had any time together anyways.. But now that maybe, just maybe, he’s alive. I don’t know, Foggy..”

“Would it help if he was alive?”

“If the Man in the Mask is back-“ You rubbed the side of your head, unintentionally pressing on the scar for your implant. “-then there’s gonna be some expectation for Exodus to return, too. Not from him, exactly, but the Kitchen. It’s been him and I almost since the start. And I don’t think I can-“

Your sentence was cut short by what you heard in your head. Your device connected to the audio back in Fisk’s hotel room. Your body ran cold when you realized he knew and it felt like you had been sucker punched.

‘So the Devil is back… Which means Exodus can’t be far behind.’

‘She can’t make a move without the FBI seeing. Neither of them can. Y/L/N was the one to take him down in the parking garage.’

‘We need to convince them sooner rather than later. We need something to entice Ms. Y/L/N.”

“Hello? Y/N?” Foggy tried, waving a hand in front of your face. Your attention snapped back and you smacked the scar quickly to silence the device. “What happened?”

“Uh… Sorry, I just- I thought I heard something. Listen, Foggy, if you know something, I need you to tell me.” You urged. “I need you to tell me right now.”

“Y/N..” He sighed.

“Foggy, please.”

“He told me to stay out of it, said for me and Karen to stay on the sidelines and that if you were involved, he’d figure it out.”

“So he is alive?”

“Maybe? I don’t know. It was just some note.”

“But who wrote it?”

“I know that you-”

“Who else knows?”

“I don’t know.”

You sighed in frustration and knocked a fist against the bar top. You quickly swallowed the contents of your glass and dropped a twenty on the bar before getting up.

“Y/N, wait.” Foggy tried.

“I’m sorry, but I have to go. If he’s really alive and if he’s going after Fisk, he’s going to get himself killed. Fisk is already trying to get in my partner’s head and I can tell you right now, he thinks the Devil is back.”

“What?”

“The copycat went for Fisk’s lawyer. Now Fisk knows and he’s counting on me and him coming for him. I need to get back there and figure this out.”

“Y/N!” He called after you, halting your steps. “I know I can’t stop you… Just be careful.” He sighed.

“I promise.” You nodded before heading home to figure everything out.

The next morning, you were on the phone with Dex as you were heading out. You just stepped outside your building when you realized you left your wallet on your table. You hurried back up, a lecture in your ear from your partner, but stepping inside made you freeze.

Your door was unlocked, you could’ve sworn you had locked it when you left. You always did. There was a heavy coat thrown over the sofa, one that seemed reminiscent of the guy from the hotel and was still warm from wear, and a pair of glasses on the table near your door. Sunglasses that were too round to be yours. You stepped into the bedroom and found your closet open, Matt’s suits pushed apart with an empty hanger on the bar but his few remaining canes all accounted for.

Someone - probably Matt - had been in your apartment. You shivered slightly at the thought but had no time to sit and obsess on it. You grabbed your wallet and left, making a point to lock the door.

But when Matt stepped into your shared apartment moments after you had left, he could tell your life was different. Physically, everything was more or less the same. The place was a bit dustier than he remembered, but he figured that was just due to your new busy schedule. What he couldn’t ignore was the smells of different colognes, scents he would never wear. The smells were stronger in the bedroom and he instantly knew that you had entertained nightly visitors in his absence.

He frowned to himself but that expression turned to a small smile when he realized the scents were woven into the opposite side of the bed. His usual side now smelled of your body wash and shampoo while your usual side smelt of your partners. Despite the bile in his throat and knots in his stomach from the idea of you sleeping with someone else, he found a bit of comfort in knowing that you didn’t let them on his side.

That had to mean something.

You walked into the hotel with even less pep in your step than the day before, if that was possible. You felt rather deflated but you knew you needed to be at work. You needed to watch Fisk, to keep Dex from picking the wrong side. Your list of unstable men to keep an eye on seemed to grow everyday - even though some were crossed off - and you began to question the type of people you attracted.

If you had to create that list in real life, it’d look just as messy as your thoughts.

Marc’s name would be there, then crossed off, then back again with an arrow that pointed to a sidebar for Steven’s name with a small question mark over the arrow. Then Matt would make the list. Daredevil, later crossed off along with Matt and a small ‘dead’ by their names. Then Frank, who’d also be crossed off with ‘dead’ then rewritten with ‘alive!!’. Billy Russo, aggressively crossed off. Dex and Fisk, both with angry faces next to them. And Matt would make the list again.

“Y/L/N.” Ray called as you stepped into the media room. You tossed Dex your jacket and headed into the next room, passing Ray’s wife with a polite exchange of smiles. “Heard you got a little beat up yesterday. You alright?”

“Yeah.” You nodded and rolled your sleeve to show the bandages, suddenly glad you didn’t heal it yourself. “Wanna see?”

He chuckled slightly and came over, unraveling the bandage carefully. He made a small noise at the sight of the slice and helped you cover it up again.

“It doesn’t hurt?” He asked as you repositioned your sleeve.

“Nah.” You shook your head. “It tugs a little bit, but they cleaned it up real nice. I’m not worried.”

“Good.” He nodded. “I’m glad you’re alright.”

“Thanks.” You smiled slightly, feeling the genuineness of his words. “Yeah, I’d hate to have to sit this one out.” You added sarcastically.

“And here I thought you didn’t wanna be here.” He joked.

“I don’t.” You agreed with a laugh. “But I'd rather be here than home.”

“That’s good to hear.” He patted your shoulder. “I think… But he’s been asking for you.”

“Who? Him?” You gestured to Dex behind you.

“No… Him.” He gestured to the suite on the other side of the wall.

“Oh great.. And here I thought I’d enjoy coming to work today.” You mumbled and backed away to head into the next room. “He say why?”

“Nope. And I didn’t ask. He’s had his lawyer all morning so no one knows what he’s saying.”

“Even better. How’d he know I love going in blind?” You rolled your eyes. “Bring him?” You nodded to Dex.

“Up to you.” He shrugged.

You tilted your head back and forth in thought before shaking your head. You gave Dex a tight smile in acknowledgement before heading into the room. You walked in and found only Donovan standing in front of you.

“What does he want with me?” You asked simply.

“I think you know, Agent Y/L/N.” The lawyer answered calmly.

“I will put a bullet in both of you before anyone else can even get to the door.” You warned and crossed the room briskly, grabbing the man by his jacket and giving a small shake. “What does he want?”

“How would that look? You’re the only one armed here.”

“You’d be surprised at how well I can make things look like a suicide.”

“I had hoped we would have more time to build up to this.” Fisk announced from the second level. You shoved the lawyer away and faced Fisk. “There’s something I want you to see.”

He came down calmly, hands folded behind his back. You took a small step back and your hand hovered at the gun at your belt. As he got closer, he held a phone out to you. Before you took it, you saw a dimly lit scene that shifted to red flashes. You saw the blur of movement so you snatched the device and took a few steps away to see, and potentially hide your reaction.

What you saw made your hands burn.

There was no denying that it was Matt. The way he moved, the way he took the hits but got up. It was without a doubt the man you loved. The man you’d die to protect.

It was Matt Murdock.

“What the hell is this?” You turned on Fisk, clutching the phone so tight you thought you were going to snap it. And maybe you wanted to. “Where is this?”

“I know that you know the Devil is back. I assume you knew who he was the whole time.” He spoke calmly. “What I don’t know is who’s side you are on.”

“Whose side?” You laughed, throwing the phone to the floor. You stomped the screen and heard it splinter beneath your heel. “I side with myself! I have no loyalty to anyone but myself, remember?”

“He was gone. Presumed dead.” Fisk taunted and your vision gained a slight red haze so you closed your eyes and turned your back. “Where did he go, Agent?”

“Shut up.”

“Was it your fault? What happened to him. Did you do it?”

“You think I’d turn on him?” You turned to face him.

“You turn on everyone, don’t you?”

“Shut up!”

“He ‘died’ because of you!”

“I fought him for it!” You screamed, throwing your hand and feeling a wave of heat release. You cursed yourself for the moment of weakness before collecting yourself.

“But he was better than you.” Fisk continued. “You should’ve fought harder.”

“Why did you show me that?” You gestured to the broken phone you still stood on. “What do you want from me?”

“The Devil is alive and he is coming for me. I ask you, without the FBI’s watchful eye, without the presence of your partner… Is Exodus alive as well?”

“You’re afraid.” You realized the faint yellow surrounding him. “If the Devil lives, and if Exodus joins him, you know you can’t win.”

“I have someone in mind.”

“You go after Dex and I swear to you, I will break every bone in your body.” You warned fiercely. “And that’ll be after I break Vanessa in half.”

“I’ll kill you before you get close.”

“I don’t need to. I still have eyes on her, remember? I give the word and she’s as good as dead.”

“The same can be said about your precious Matthew Murdock.” He threatened lowly. “Franklin Nelson… Karen Page…”

“You touch them, and I will burn this hotel to the ground with you in it.”

“Tell me, Agent. Who do you choose to be?”

“I am revenge and consequence.” You spoke calmly.

“You used to be wrath personified.”

“I am wrath’s bruised heart!” You shouted. “What- what- what do you want from me? Hmm? You want me to be afraid that you’ll expose my past? I can make it so no one here gives a shit! You want me to beg you to keep my secret? I cower before no one! But I will say this. If you come after anyone I care about, I will kill everyone you’ve ever loved. And you will watch them suffer.”

You left the room after that, slamming the door behind you. You ran your hands roughly through your hair and let out a silent scream, tugging the ends and feeling the heat against your scalp. You let out a long sigh and ran a hand down your face before composing yourself and returning to the media room. You dropped into your chair and kept to yourself, saying very little to any of your colleagues. Dex offered lunch, and you shrugged in response. Ray offered to bring you coffee when he went for one and you waved him off. You couldn’t focus on anything other than the shocking revelations and threats of that day.

Matt truly was alive, and like a coward, he was hiding from you. Where you would find him, you had no idea. All you knew was that his dumbass went and picked a fight at a prison that was clearly still under the thumb of Wilson Fisk. And Fisk, having the audacity to challenge you into bringing Exodus back. As if Exodus would ever dare be on his side. Left you a lot to think about.

You didn’t know if it was just after lunch or just after dinner when Hattley and Ray showed up with OPR. You only cared for his arrival since he asked Dex to leave the room. Your brows raised and you watched your partner leave with interest, waiting until Hattley and OPR ducked into the office. Ray nodded for you to follow him out and you found Dex in the hall.

“Don’t sweat this.” Ray told you both.

“What is this?” You asked, peaking over his shoulder towards the room you left. “What’s going on?”

“OPR wants a private interview with Fisk.. It would be inappropriate of me to tell you that the Office of Professional Responsibility has launched an internal investigation into the motorcade attack.”

“Why?” Your brows furrowed. Hadn’t you and Dex given the same retelling in your reports?

“It would also be inappropriate of me to tell you that there was a slight discrepancy between your report-“ He looked to Dex. “-and the forensics analysis of the shooting.”

“Yeah, it would be inappropriate.” Dex agreed flatly.

When Ray headed back into the room, you waited in the hall with Dex. Not for the first time since you had known him, but you felt an uneasy sense of wavering from him. You knew the man needed structure. He needed routine and rules to keep him on the straight and narrow. But this investigation threatened that and he knew it.

“Hey.” You offered and he looked to you quickly. “You’re practically buzzing.”

“Yeah, no shit.” He sighed. You reached and took his hand for a moment, allowing the gesture to give you a cover to take in some of that overwhelming energy.

“It’s gonna be fine, alright? I’ll stick up for you and do what I can.”

“And what if it takes you down, too?”

You shrugged. “Still have a law degree I can use.”

Along with other, more violent ways to spend your time.

“You’re a pain in the ass, yknow that?” He laughed slightly.

“Yeah, running theme with me I guess. Some people actually appreciate it though.” You gave a small smile before patting his arm and returning to work.

You stepped out of the media room for a breather later that night, taking a quick trip to the lobby for a tea. Although on your way back, you passed the agent you had left in the room. He said Dex switched with him, but you knew he was supposed to be relieved for the day. You hurried back and found the cameras had been shut off.

You slammed a fist against the desk before rushing into the suite.

“They’re questioning you for your exceptionalism!” Fisk said loudly as Dex stared at you like a deer in headlights. “You saved my life!”

“Shut up!” You shouted past Dex, though you maintained eye contact.

“They vilify and demean your acts of courage.”

“Sit down and shut up or I will put a bullet in you right now, I swear to God.” You warned, pulling your gun on Fisk as he stood. “Dex, out. Now.”

Fisk made some other comment about real heroes being dismissed before Dex finally left, leaving you and Fisk alone and your gun still raised. And the cameras were still off.

“Leave him out of this. I won’t warn you again.” You said firmly.

“If you won’t break, then I’ll break him.” Fisk said calmly as he sat back down.

“You want him to be your personal weapon. I won’t let that happen to him.”

“Isn’t that what you use people for? The Devil. The Punisher. Now Agent Poindexter.”

“What will it take?” You asked suddenly, shocking both yourself and Fisk. “Hmm? To leave both men out of your games. I need to protect them so… So name your price.”

“I’ve always known you were meant for something bigger than masks and costumes… Maybe this is the chance to find out.”

“So I join you, Dex and The Devil are off limits?”

“I am a man of my word, am I not?”

“No, I need to hear you say it.”

“Agent Poindexter and The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen will have my protection, if you agree.”

You were quiet as you thought about it. Faking compliance has worked for you in the past, but you figured he’d expect a double cross. You’d be kept on the outskirts. There was no way Fisk would be naive enough to let you into his inner circle without some proof of loyalty, some niche test that would only make sense to you.

“My offer will not last forever. I suggest you makeup your mind quickly.” He spoke calmly, but you could feel the underlying threat.

Before you could argue, you felt a deep wave of panic slam your chest hard enough to nearly knock you off your feet. You shoved the gun away and pushed out of the room, back into the media room to turn the cameras back on. You scolded Dex for letting Fisk get in his head and he offered an insincere apology for it. You smacked the back of his head and ranted about how nothing Fisk says can be trusted and how he was trying to manipulate Dex. Dex clearly didn’t care what you had to say so once the other agent returned, you left.

You practically ran home, hoping that the source of the panic would be there. The panic was Matt’s and that part was easy to recognize but it felt so far away that you had no idea what to do. You didn’t know where he was or what he was up to. You could only hope that he could handle it, that he would be heading to the apartment rather than whatever hole he was hiding in.

You could only pray that he was coming home to you. When you stepped into your empty apartment, the pressure building your chest hit a tipping point so you took a deep breath and screamed until you ran out of air.

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1rsoldiersince2012 · 4 months

Text

Bound by Law (Matt Murdock x Reader)

Words: 2284 (chapter 43)

43. my world was falling apart

"I said I will figure this out, Micheal, and I did. With some help, of course." Your lips twitch into a half-smile, and you shake hands with Teneke outside the hearing room in the corridor. His grip is strong and confident, matching yours. The accountant, almost turned criminal, just hours ago, but you managed to save him. His smile was your second-best reward, first, obviously being money.

"I'm still holding onto that favor, you know." Teneke's hand slips out of your grasp and he fixes his jacket.

"I've already done the paperwork, you can return home now." You start walking with Teneke matching your step. Glancing back, you notice Dex and Ray speaking in the doorway of the room you've just left.

"I'm sure Kelly missed me these days, it's been a bit tough when we got to know... I shouldn't say this."

"What? What's been tough?" You fix the strap of your briefcase, preventing it from sliding down your shoulder, and look at Teneke, he's suddenly flustered.

"I promised Kelly not to tell anyone, since it's still so early, but you just saved my ass..." His shoulders slump forward, but the smile doesn't leave his face, "We're having a baby! I know that it's not our age to have kids, but-"

"Hey, Kelly is a strong woman, you two will be great parents, age is just what's written in your passport," you two go outside and the cold wind messes your hair. Teneke stands on the sidewalk, stopping in front of you. You slightly poke his chest with your finger, "it's more important what's here, in your heart."

"Not only the best lawyer in the state, but also the one with the best advice. Thank you, y/n, truly." Teneke opens his arms, going in for a hug.

You welcome the hug, feeling Teneke's hands firmly on your back but then a sound deafens you for a moment... A shot. Teneke's hands loosen, his smile fades and you watch in shock as his body slumps on the sidewalk, just outside the FBI building. You notice the blood patch on your coat, blood from Teneke's chest, and a red pool surrounding the non-responsive body of your client.

The time seems to slow down, perhaps you'd think that it stopped completely, if it wasn't for the gloved hands grabbing you by your shoulders, yanking your briefcase to the ground and pushing you inside a car, quickly driving off.

***

You can feel the wetness on your cheeks, since the cold hits it with more ferocity. Have you been crying this whole time? But how long have you been in this car? You couldn't tell because the world has been blurry from your tears ever since Teneke slipped out of your grasp.

"You think you can talk about us to feds?" The guy in front of you swings his gun before your face, trying to make you scared. And it works. You finally regain your senses and notice the men in the car. Thick Russian accent. "Teneke deserved that for snitching. You're gonna get your share too."

The SUV hits the curb and the one with a gun sends a glare to the driver. Two other men continue to look straight ahead, sandwiching you in the backseat. They were unpredictable, you didn't know what to expect when you'll finally reach the 'base' and what will the 'boss' say? Is he going to kill you? Drown you? Cut you open while you're still alive? Poison you and pretend that you overdosed? You could only imagine the variety of headlines in tomorrow's Bulletin. Will Urich write about you? Will he be satisfied that his story will become a success? Everyone loves a good murder... And a good suicide. So which one is it going to be for you?

He's here. The Devil. Appeared out of nowhere in... red suit? Well that's an upgrade since you last had to deal with him.

***

"He's here!" One of the kidnappers shouts, pushing you back onto the backseat with less strength than he used before, but you still hurt your wrist. Long hours spent locked in the car while waiting for the darkness to fall on Hell's Kitchen, you felt cold in every bone in your bone, making you stiff as a stick.

You watch in shock how he knocks out ten men and stands straight again, as if nothing had happened. As if it wasn't the battle that he, heavily outnumbered, was supposed to lose. You quickly look around and notice the lying gun next to you, and instinctively, grab it. "Don't come any closer!" You load the gun, pointing it at the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. Matt doesn't need eyesight to know that your hands are shaking terribly, that you're taking short breaths, not getting enough oxygen in your lungs. He knows you're scared, terrified.

"Put the gun down." Matt takes a step towards you.

"I said, don't come closer." You step back, making the distance the same as it was before.

"I don't want to hurt you, y/n." Matt risks another step, hearing how a drop of sweat rolls down your forehead. He can smell your anxiety, Teneke's dried blood on your light coat, ruining it for forever, and your dried, salty tears.

"Oh yeah, as if I'm going to believe a guy dressed like that, who's been stalking me since God knows when!" You support your right hand with your left, feeling the gun getting heavier with each second. Having your father teach you a little bit of how to use a gun, you believed that you could use it now, maybe not kill the devil, but seriously hurt him.

"You're gonna hurt yourself, please, put it down." Matt risks two steps, you take a deep breath and fire a shot to the right, hitting a concrete wall, Matt ducks down, not expecting such an aggressive move from you.

"I'm not kidding, asshole!" You step over a body, visibly shaking like a leaf.

"You don't wanna do this-"

"Why are you here? WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS HERE?"

Your voice rings painfully loud in the building, and in Matt's ears, he doesn't remember you ever behaving like that. Maybe that's what it felt like having a wild animal pushed into a corner.

"Answer me!" You shout again.

"I want to protect you." Matt says deeply, thinking over his possibilities. He could knock the gun out of your hand, but this may break your fingers, and he doesn't want to do it. He could just run at you, and hope you don't shoot him, but something in his gut was telling him, that you would not hesitate to do it.

"I don't need protection." You rasp out, firing another shot, now to the left, Matt ducks again, "I don't need anyone!" You say, feeling how tears were running down your cheeks, you were lying, you desperately needed Matt, the only one who shared something similar with you. "And especially, I don't need you!" You aim right at him, and pull the trigger, closing your eyes, but only hear a faint click.

Matt exhales loudly and hurries towards you, catching you just in time, before your knees hit the floor, you cry into his shoulder, involuntarily catching the smell of sweat and blood, that has soaked into his new costume.

"Shh, it's okay, it's okay." Matt gently rocks you, pressing you harder into his chest, when your cries become louder. "You're safe now."

You thought of yourself lesser than the trash bag, lying in Hell's Kitchen, but someone, Matthew Murdock, thought the world of you, but you had yet to understand it.

"They killed him." You sob, gripping him by his broad shoulders, feeling the rough material of the costume, the empty gun slides out of your grasp. "I held his dead body in my arms." You come to your senses, pulling yourself away from the Devil of Hell's Kitchen.

"Y/n..." He begins, but you're shaking your head like crazy.

"This... this is all your plan, right? You work with them. You work with him, right? Fisk? You're his puppet?" You take a big step back, and Matt feels as if you're rejecting him, not the city's vigilante.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're here to 'save me' so you could take me to him or just kill me on your way? You know what I did, of course, if Wesley knew, he told you too." You blabber, making more distance between the two of you. The only way out was... The was no way out of here. At least you didn't see any open doors or corridors.

"What Wesley knew, y/n?" Matt tries to come closer to you again, silently cursing himself for letting you out of his grasp earlier.

"Don't act like you don't know, Devil of Hell's Kitchen." You say the name with venom in your voice. "You're the problem of this city. You all are. Crazy rich men thinking they could just come here and destroy everything. And you-"

"Y/n-" Matt slowly slides towards you, holding his arms up, trying to reason with you.

"You're the worst of them all! You cost me that job-"

"He was gonna frame you! Benowitz didn't give a shit about your career, he was throwing you into the fire!"

"How did you know? Why do you care so much about me? I'm no one, I'm not the President, I'm not the city's Major." You hug yourself, hoping that your ruined coat could still make you warm.

"Just because you're not high in power, it doesn't make you unimportant."

"No, it does. In this city, everything is done with power and money. I think you know it better than anyone else." He's just a step away. He could grip your shoulder and lock you in his arms, and shake those crazy thoughts away. But he lets you talk. "Why did you bring me back to my flat? How did you know where I live? Are you stalking me?"

"No, I was after the Russians." Matt's voice is firm and deep.

"Sure, you can say all you want because at the end of the day, I'm just another crazy woman that you've saved. Great, enjoy your first page in tomorrow's newspaper, devil." You spit, turning your head to look for an exit once more, but then Matt grabs your elbow and harshly yanks you into his body.

"I'm here not to hurt you, trust me. Can you trust me, y/n?" He rasps out, listening to your racing heartbeat.

"You think you're above the law, but you're not," you try to look him into the eyes, but only see the red glass built into the helmet, "when the truth comes out, and you'll be behind bars, I'll be the first one to visit you, just so I could look in your eyes and say that you got what you deserved." Your breathing is erratic, you try to distance yourself with your palms pressed on his chest as much as possible, but his grasp on you is too strong. He hesitates for a moment before he dives to meet your lips, in a single, yet bruising kiss. The edge of his helmet, especially the nose, is pressing into your cheek, scraping your skin. You squirm, trying to deny his kiss, but vigilante's tongue still manages to make way into your mouth-

But then you step onto his foot with your high heel, finally freeing yourself, and slap his cheek, hurting your hand when it collides with his helmet, yet the impact with his skin is made, as the Devil grabs his cheek.

"You, stay away from me! Or I'll call the cops on you!" You make way towards one of the doors, pulling them, yet they don't open. Matt stands still, listening to you furiously trying to open one door after another, breathing heavily as panic engulfs you again, until, at last, you open the doors and disappear outside the building, your heels scraping the asphalt loudly. One guy groans, waking up after the harsh treatment from the Devil, but Matt throws a billy club at his head, knocking him out once again.

***

What has gotten into him? Why did he try to kiss you by force? The devil has truly possessed his mind; he's never been this reckless. Not with the suit on. Sure, getting rejected as Matt Murdock hurt, but getting rejected by a woman he loves... Love. Was this feeling in his chest, love? Is that what made him go through fire and blood to save you... Just to be someone you lash out on? And the thing you said... What have you done? What was so bad that you thought Fisk has sent the devil to kill you?

Matt now understood just how little he knew about you and how much he had to learn as both - devil and Matt Murdock. But now he had to go and be there for you. Without the mask.

***

"Y/n? Y/n!" Dex's voice brings you back to reality, causing you to lift your eyes from the ground. Only now you understood that you've been walking near the dock, counting your steps to calm yourself down. You finally notice him, wearing a bulletproof vest, and he runs up to you, almost out of breath.

You don't respond, you just physically can't force yourself to say a single word, so you welcome his arms, they engulf you like a shelter, protecting you from the strong wind, tightly pushing you against his bulletproof vest, and you feel him resting his chin on your head, leaving an air-kiss to your hair. "Come on, now, you're safe. I'm with you now. I'm here."

The sirens should deafen you again, but you don't hear them, don't see the flashing lights behind Dex, only see the darkness of Dex's jacket and the mint smell fills your senses, erasing today's horrors. At least for a moment.

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