//After their first meeting, Matt goes to meet Hayley where she works, and they decide to share a coffee at the shelter. An incident happens with another abusive spouse, and Matt experiences a day in her shoes.//
Several weeks after their first meeting, Hayley resumed her life at the shelter. She welcomed new clients, helped some of them find a new place to live, or gave them the strength to press charges and get restraining orders. She was satisfied with the result of her boldness at Murdock and McDuffy's law firm. It felt like a victory, and as soon as she came back and told Sandra about the restraining order placed on Kurt, she felt as if justice had been served. Kurt kept his promise, not because of the law but because he was afraid of Hayley. He knew that if he didn't behave, she would find him, and she might kill him. It kept him away from his wife and allowed her the space to heal. Hayley kept it to herself, but she enjoyed meeting Matt Murdock. Something about him was delightful. She couldn't quite figure out the man, but knew there was more than met the eye. He wasn't /just/ a blind lawyer; something more, some fire was burning inside him, and she could feel it. Besides, he was a handsome man, and she found herself daydreaming about his smile, his focused face, and the nice little head tilt he had. It made her groan, and she decided to shush this thought away because he probably had forgotten about her by now.
That day, a hot and sunny day, Matt walked to the shelter. He wanted to meet with Hayley again and see how she carried herself at work. She caught his attention in a way he didn't anticipate. She left a lingering impression on him when she came to his office and didn't try to hide the truth. She was calm, composed, determined, and very charming. He couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly caught his interest in her, but he found himself unable to shake her off his mind. He had to meet her. He pretended that it was a follow-up to Kurt Gabel's case. He wanted to make sure that he didn't violate his restraining order, but deep down, Matt knew that it was unlikely, and the real reason he wanted to visit the shelter was that he wanted to meet Hayley again. He didn't text her -when he should have-, he didn't even call, he simply walked to the shelter in hopes of finding Hayley. She was at the front desk, her gorgeous afro neatly turned into two big Dutch braids. She was wearing a white tank top and a pair of jeans with white tennis shoes. Her face lit up -and Matt felt the subtle change in her heartbeat- when she saw the blind lawyer, and she grinned.
"Mr. Murdock? Did you come to see me?" -Her voice was a purr. It sent shivers down his spine, and he couldn't help but smirk a little-
"I wanted to see if my client came back and caused trouble." -half-lie. She lifted a brow and chuckled-
"Not a chance! He couldn't risk facing me again." She grinned and waited for Matt to finally reach the front desk. "You've come all the way to the shelter. I wouldn't want it to be the only conversation we have. How about we have some coffee?"
"Here?" -She hummed - "I guess you have a place where we can sit?"
"Yes. Melania would take my shift so I could rest for an hour. Please, let me take you to the room." She stood up and grabbed his arm.-
She turned him to his left and started to walk. Right when they did, a door unlocked and someone left the room. He could smell a perfume, some cherry scent with a relatively cheap cologne. A warm voice echoed through the walls. He tilted his head a little bit to focus on the new presence near them. He assumed it was Melania. A hoarse voice, a little more mature than theirs. She was in her 50's maybe.
"You didn't tell me that you had a boyfriend, Lee! Look at this sweet piece of a--"
"He's not my boyfriend. He is a lawyer! Mel, please! Behave!" -She scolded the woman, who gave a hearty laugh. Hayley rolled her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm sorry about this. Mel likes to tease me."
"She seems like a kind woman, and you seem to care a lot about her, too."
She opened the door of the recessed room and gently guided him to the table in the center of the room. She then went to the coffee machine and prepared one cup for him. Matt sat on the chair while she turned around and crossed her arms above her chest-
"Mel is the one who gave me a second chance... I mean, she's the one who welcomed me here and offered me the job." -He noticed the slight panic in her tone. Did she let something slip up? He decided not to say anything about it but kept a mental note of it-
"Is she the director?" -She shook her head and hummed her negative reply- "I see. So you two met, she offered you the job, and you two struck a friendship?"
"Kinda. Mel motivated me to take this job. I admire her kindness and warmth. She genuinely loves her job and the positive impact she can have on someone's life. It's still dangerous because she deals with lunatics at times and very angry people, but she never wanted to give up. I admire it." -Now that his cup was ready, she quietly walked to the table and served Matt his coffee. She then returned to the table and prepared her own cup. "Can I ask you a question?" -He hummed a positive reply, and she turned, glanced past her shoulder at him- "Why did you become a lawyer?"
"I wanted to defend good people and punish the bad guys. It's as simple as that."
"Did you think Kurt was a good guy when you accepted to defend him?" -He smirked and shook his head.
"Touché, Miss Blackwood. I didn't think he was a good guy, and if I had my way, I wouldn't have agreed to take him as my client. My associate did, and in this very situation, /you/ assaulted him."
"I know. I couldn't argue self-defense even if I wanted to. You would have been justified in defending him in this specific case." -She turned around with her cup in hand and walked to the table. She sat next to him, literally in the chair close to his, so their thighs could brush against each other. Matt noted that she didn't care about invading personal spaces. He didn't mind because of her intoxicating jasmine scent. He didn't mind because he could have a better feel of her since she was so close to him.- "Also, you can call me Hayley. I think we know each other well enough to skip formalities."
"Well, Hayley, you can call me Matt." He gave her permission to be familiar with him. "It's never as black and white as we want it to be. Is Kurt a good guy? I don't think so. I think he's an asshole and a dangerous individual. I can't encourage you to do what you did because I believe in our justice. I'd rather we follow the law than play vigilantes."
"Like Daredevil?" -She took a sip of her coffee and tilted her head to the side so she could have a good look at Matt. He tilted his head to the side so he could "stare" at her face.- "What? Can't we talk about him?"
"I never said that. I'm just curious about what you think." -He took a sip of his coffee and gave Hayley a smile- "He has his supporters and his detractors. I am curious about where you stand when it comes to Daredevil."
"Well... Daredevil is one of the very few to actually try and protect this city. He is the one who fights criminals and crooks at night, and the streets are safer with him. I can tell by the way he does things that he actually believes in the justice system because he doesn't kill and instead delivers the bad guys to the police. I have to say, I admire his optimism."
"You don't believe in the justice system?" -he questioned, one of his eyebrows raised. She shrugged and shook her head-
"Not when it comes to the poorer and neediest of us. It's great when you have money, really great when you have influence, but for all the Sandras in this country, there is no justice." -She pointed out, before she took another sip of her coffee.
"I wouldn't be so definitive, Hayley. You could be surprised by our Lady Justice." -He felt her shrug, and she gently put her hand on his arm. "I wonder. If you spend time beating up abusive spouses, do you have time for a social life?"
"I could ask you the same, Matt. Since you're busy fighting for justice, do you have time to date or even to have friends?" -She grinned and took another sip of coffee-
"I am seeing someone, yes. My associate actually made us meet." He admitted. "Her name is Heather. She's a wonderful woman, and I feel lucky she chose to give me a chance." -He felt a little bit of disappointment in the sigh she let out. It intrigued him, but he pretended he didn't hear anything. " I do have friends. I lost...I lost my best friend a year ago to the supercriminal Bullseye. My other friend, Karen, left the city. You can say that my associate is a friend as well, but I haven't been out in a long time. And you?"
"I am very sorry about your loss. I am sure your best friend was a good soul. I can tell that you're still mourning their death." She said, gently putting her hand above Matt's. He didn't withdraw his hand, instead, he appreciated the warmth and the kind gesture of Hayley to him. She kept talking, so the atmosphere wouldn't get heavy. "What a lucky girl this Heather is. You are very handsome, Matt. Not just handsome but also with a very kind heart and a good spirit. I'm happy for you." She was genuine, yet he could tell she was a bit disappointed in her tone. It made him smile, and he shrugged his shoulders- "As for me, well, the only friend I have is Mel. Other than that, I do not have a social life. I haven't had a date in ages and... Well, it's alright." She quickly dismissed the conversation and steered it in a different direction.- "I'm surprised you came to see me. I have to say, it's quite pleasant."
"I wanted to see you again." -he bluntly said, before he bit back a groan because he didn't know why he actually came.- "
Hayley blushed, unable to come up with a clever comeback. She wanted to say something, but because he was spoken for, she bit her tongue. She enjoyed his company. Something about Matt was comforting, but she bit her bottom lip because nothing could happen between them. He was just a lawyer who was curious about the shelter. They were just having some small talk about vigilantism. She ran her hand through her massive hair and chewed on her bottom lip. Somehow, his question hit a nerve she didn't realize existed before. She never considered having a social life before, mostly because she didn't want people to get close to her and be hurt because of her past. Did she want to have one? If asked, she would shrug it off and say she didn't want but deep down, Hayley wanted it. She wanted more. She sighed and took another sip of her coffee.
She couldn't admit to her nighttime activities. She couldn't admit to being a vigilante who specialized in breaking the bones and beating black and blue abusive spouses of her clients. It wasn't welcomed, and she couldn't possibly put herself at risk. With Fisk in power, there would be little room for her to manoeuvre in the darkness. Besides, she didn't want to bring unwanted attention on herself and risk being noticed by the H.A.N.D. On top of it all, she also didn't think she deserved to be loved, so of course, she shrugged the whole idea of companionship out the window and instead decided to focus on what mattered to her, protecting those in need.
"There's nothing to-- "She couldn't finish her sentence because they both heard a commotion coming from the front desk. "I have to go help Mel. I'm sure it's another abusive spouse." She quickly stood up and ran towards the front Desk. Matt stood up and walked towards the door. He could hear just fine what was happening, and it sent a shiver down his spine.
He noticed the distinct voice of a man, a drunk man, who was vociferating at Melania. She tried to remain calm, but he could see she was rattled by the scene before her. After all, a couple of weeks ago, she had been kicked in the stomach by one disgruntled spouse. Matt slowly walked closer to Melania, Hayley, and that man under the pretense that he was curious about it. In reality, he was assessing the situation. Melania was the furthest from the man, shielded by Hayley, who was standing tall. By listening to her heartbeats, he realized she was extremely focused, studying the man before her and anticipating his next move. There was not an ounce of panic or stress in her body, just intense concentration as she assessed the man before her. It reminded him of Elektra, and Matt blinked behind his glasses as he didn't understand why he would associate this woman with the H.A.N.D., despite the familiar feeling he had upon watching her.
The man kept shouting at them. A drunk and violent spouse. Typical of what they faced daily. Matt assumed that Hayley was so used to it that it didn't faze her anymore. The man became more violent and threw a bottle of beer at the two women. Before Matt could close the distance between them, Hayley grabbed the bottle and put it on the desk behind her. She then swiftly closed the distance between the man and her. She quickly grabbed his shoulder in an attempt to defuse the situation. It made the man blink a little bit. He then tried to punch her, but Hayley gracefully dodged the punch and hit his neck with the flat of her hand. The man choked a bit and gasped for air, but she didn't stop here. She quickly crouched and swung her leg around to make the man fall on his butt. He tried to kick her, but she blocked his leg with her arm. and then grabbed his leg, twisted his ankle as she moved, and sat on his calf and lower thigh. He screamed but was now neutralized, which gave Melania time to call the police and an unbothered Hayley to lecture the man.
"Let me go, bitch! Let me go!"
"In your fucking dreams, bozo! You attacked my friend; you are trying to attack your wife."
"She's my wife! She's MINE! I have the right to take her home."
"You don't own her, asshole! She sought shelter here, and I'll make sure that your ugly face doesn't come back." She cursed him, speaking in such a commanding voice that the man's screams were muffled by her. He kept wiggling underneath her, but she twisted his ankle some more, forcing him to stop moving and lie on the floor. She then turned her head to notice Matt was there. "OH, I'm sorry, Matt. I just had to handle a little problem for a while. I'm sorry we interrupted our conversation."
"It's okay, Hayley. You really acted quickly. I didn't expect you to deal with such violence with a calm demeanor."
"I'm used to it." She said with a little smirk.- "And I'm not afraid of drunkards like him."
"Did you train? You seem like you were using martial arts on him." -He suggested. She shrugged and hummed positively.- "Oh, I see. Well, even martial artists sometimes don't know how to react in real-life situations. I commend you for your quick thinking." -She chuckled and yanked her head back. Addressing Melania in a quiet voice, she requested a pair of zip locks to tie his hands together and have him sit on a chair. As soon as the maneuver was done, Hayley then walked towards Matt, stroked his vest as if to put him back together in a gentle way- "I suggest we stay here until the police come? I would rather not let that guy out of my sight."
"I think it's best if I leave you to this urgent matter." -he didn't want to impose. He could hear the disappointed sigh from Hayley, who shrugged her shoulders- "I know we were having a nice conversation, and I would love for it to resume."
"Are you being honest? Do you really want to see me again?" -She was genuinely surprised that Matt wanted to meet with her again and also strangely hopeful they could spend some more time together. Turned out that she appreciated their coffee break and wished for more.-
"Yes, of course. Why not?" -He said, his charming smile graced her features, and she couldn't help but feel her heart beat harder and her cheeks burn.- " I do have your number. Next time could be at an actual coffee shop."
She agreed to it and watched as he left the shelter. Her mind quickly shut down any thoughts she had about Matt Murdock. He was a nice man, a genuine man who believed in justice and was some to boot. However, not only was he already spoken for, but he was also not aware of her past and the trail of blood she left behind. Tonight, she was going on a prowl. One of the abusive spouses who came to the shelter was a corrupt cop who was now working for Fisk. She needed to pay him a visit in costume, in hopes she could intimidate him to stop stalking his wife. It was better that Matt Murdock had nothing to do with her and couldn't be impacted by her actions. yes. It was better like that.
-TBC-
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