// Finally, after spending some time observing Hayley, Matt decides to visit her. He doesn't know what to expect, but he feels compelled to visit her. Something has shifted between the two of them.//
Matt followed Hayley from afar. After their encounter during the attack on his office, he couldn't take the woman out of his mind. He was surprised by her fighting style, and although she did not confirm it, he knew she had been trained by the H.A.N.D. Now he wanted to see if she was still used by the organisation or if she had gone rogue like he did. Matt followed Hayley around, keeping a low profile with a hoodie, baseball cap, and black sunglasses rather than his red ones in case people recognised him. He let his beard grow enough to mask the shape of his chin, and he investigated. Her days seemed to have a routine. She would wake up, have breakfast, and head to work. She was friendly with others, more than he imagined her to be, given how silent and withdrawn she was at home. During his week spent observing her, she was training, meditating, and reading. From time to time, he could hear the echoes of a podcast she would listen to, but rarely did she put the TV on. She did it every three days to listen to the news she couldn't catch on her podcast, but that was it. She listened to true crime podcasts as well as crochet ones, which made Matt smile a little. That didn't prevent her from leading a very lonely private life. Aside from her coworker Melania, who called from time to time to check in on her, and her close neighbours, she sometimes helped because they were elderly, and she had no friends. During the day, He would hear her warmly welcome new clients or wave goodbye at old ones.
Matt also observed her at night, this time dressed as Daredevil. He would watch her don her costume and pay a visit to abusive spouses. Contrary to Daredevil's beliefs, there were women among the people she went after, and while they weren't nearly half the number of abusive spouses, they still were part of it and were treated the same as the men. Another belief that was shattered for him was that Hayley didn't brutalise these people the minute she saw them. Instead, she confronted them about their abhorrent behaviours and first tried to make them repent. On every occasion, the result was the same. They refused, accused her, insulted her, and tried to hit her, but they always missed because they were no match for her. She tried to reason them one last time when they became physically violent with her and only when it didn't work (as it always did), did she resort to beating the living crap out of them. He watched her inflict pain, but not to the point of risking taking the lives of her targets. Matt had to fight the urge to intervene; part of him understood her motivations and would have probably done the same (only to feel guilty afterwards), but another part of him wanted to stop her. Some laws had to be followed, and she couldn't appoint herself the judge, jury, and executioner of these violent people.
One night, as he was patrolling the sector, he noticed that her window was open. Remembering what she told him, Daredevil slipped into her apartment through the open window. He cleared his throat and announced his presence loudly before he heard a reply from her. She was in the living room, reading a book, and invited him to come over. As soon as he walked into the living room, he noticed the warmth and nice jasmine scent that had filled the air. She was sitting on the couch, wearing nothing but a silky bathrobe he could only guess using his abilities. The fact that she didn't even try to cover herself and didn't seem to be embarrassed by the way she was dressed somehow tickled Matt, who couldn't help but blush slightly. She grinned at him and gently patted the sofa so he could sit on it next to her. He realised that it was quite a simple room, with just a couch, a small table in front of it, a TV fixed on the wall, and a library with all the books she was reading. It was simple and cozy, and he felt that she was making some efforts to make him feel comfortable.
"I'm not going to hurt you, so you can put your batons on the table. You can also remove your cowl if you feel comfortable. Your secret is safe with me." She reassured him. He listened to the sound she made by shifting around on the sofa and putting her legs on the small table before her. She put the book on her chest and looked at her ceiling. "I was wondering when I would see you. Today is not the first with my window open, you know?"
"Awww, really? I missed an early opportunity?" -He chuckled and quietly sat on the couch.-
"It's alright. I am just glad that you made it here tonight." -She bit her thumb and moved her leg so she could lay her feet on the couch.- "Do you...Do you want to drink something?"
"I'm fine. How about we--" -He cut himself short and scratched his beard with his forefinger. She turned around to face him, both feet still on the couch- "I have been watching you for a week." -Why was he so straightforward? Matt bit his inner cheek and tilted his head to the side, as if he was looking away from her- "I wasn't trying to be creepy, I wanted to know you better."
"Oh, I know that you were watching me. I spotted you a while ago, but I let you do it. I figured that you wanted to know who I was, what I do. I am sure you found out that I was leading a very boring life."
"A boring life? Come on, Lee... I mean, Hayley."
"It's okay. You can call me Lee." -She smiled at him and wrapped her arms around her knees- "And yes, a boring life. I am just doing my job. I beat up abusive spouses, and I read books in my living room. I don't go out, I don't go on dates.. I am boring." She chuckled. He liked the sound of her voice.-
"Well.. I know boring, and you're not boring at all." He tilted his head to the other side, and it felt as if he was staring at her.- "I have to say, I thought that you genuinely just went in a started to throw punches." - That made her laugh, and she put her left hand on her plump lips- "I'm serious! Ah.. I'm serious! I thought you broke windows or kicked doors open, and you just started to punch without saying a word."
"Ahahah oh my god! Matt! Ahah, I could.. I could have done it, yeah. I might have done it when I started. I was less patient than I am today, and I thought- I thought that coming at them with a flying punch was the solution. I realized that it didn't work well, I mean, it was silly of me to attack them without giving them any context." -She paused and stroked her chin for a brief moment- "I guess it felt good..." -She admitted in a faint voice.-
"I can relate to this. I remember how it felt the first year of being Daredevil. I was ruthless. I didn't care about breaking bones and beating goons and criminals within an inch of their lives."
"You were angry." -Not a question. A declaration. He pinched his lips together and furrowed his brows- "I was angry too." -It soothed him somehow that she admitted to being angry too. It felt good to have someone who could relate to him and wasn't judging him for his violent start or encouraging him to become more violent either-
"You were angry?" -She hummed her reply- "What were you trying to beat up?" -He didn't expect her to answer truthfully. His senses told him that the young woman's heart was starting to beat harder and faster. She passed her tongue on her bottom lip and shrugged-
"Do you really want to know?"
"I do. I want to know, Lee." -She rolled her eyes and leaned her forehead against her knees. She tightened her grip on her knee and lifted her head again-
"Alright. Alright. I had hit rock bottom when Melanie talked me into getting a job at the shelter. I was.. I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel, Matt. I had so much red on my ledger, and I thought that I would never be able to wash it clean. I thought... that maybe if I died it would be washed, but I just couldn't give up on living. I just couldn't do it...I wanted to live. So, when I was punching abusive spouses, for me, it felt like punching away all the evil I did." -She chewed at her bottom lip- "I was mad at myself, Matt. I still am."
"I'll ask you once, and I hope you will answer truthfully. When we fought each other, I could tell it had the H.A.N.D. signature all over it. Were you.."
"Yes! I was raised by the H.A.N.D." -She cut him short and pinched her lips together harder- "You figured that out alright. No. I'm no longer theirs. I ran away. Sort of." -She confessed in a light groan- "How do you know them? I assumed that you fought them before."
"I was raised by Stick. He taught me everything I needed to know about the H.A.N.D. And, yes, as Daredevil, I ran into them."
"Okay."
She knew he did more than just "run into the H.A.N.D. She was there when they tried to take over Hell's Kitchen. They knew where she was, and a few were dispatched to kill her. When she realized that the H.A.N.D. was seemingly destroyed by Daredevil, she celebrated, believing that she was definitely freed from the H.A.N.D. It felt as if a heavy weight was lifted off her shoulders, and she wouldn't have to look over her shoulder for the rest of her life. It felt nice for the short moment it lasted. Soon enough, she realized that some members of the H.A.N.D. survived. They escaped and regrouped, and soon enough, the H.A.N.D. rose from the ashes. And the new leadership wasn't different from the old one. She wasn't safe anymore.
"I have to know something. How did you know it was me? You said my name, and it was as if the world crumbled around me. I didn't expect it. How did you know?"
"You... Ah!.. It's a blind man thing." -She curved a brow and ran her hand through her curly hair- " I mean, okay, you know that I am blind, right?" -She hummed her response- "Then you know that since I can't see, all my other senses are even better."
"Spit it out, Matt. Please!" -She chuckled- "What has betrayed me?"
"Your scent. You smell like fresh jasmine." -She blinked and chewed at her bottom lip- "Yes. I mean, I caught it the very first time we met. It was overwhelming, but in a good way! In a good way, Lee. I mean Hayley! I just... You smell like Jasmine, and it stuck with me!"
"I... I never thought I could... Ah.. Jasmine, you said?" -He could feel her heart beat faster against her ribcage and the muscles of her face turn into a sheepish smile-
"Yeah... It's... It's like your signature scent, something I know is only yours. It smells good! I mean, you smell good. Ah!" -He stroked his beard and slowly removed his cowl. He needed to feel more comfortable. She watched him in silence as his black curls appeared in front of her and he removed his gloves.
"You... like how I smell?" -She repeated, blushing uncontrollably and leaning into her couch. He nodded and whispered a little "yes" that made her sheepishly smile- "I.. I'm a bad host. Do you want to drink anything?"
"Yeah. A beer if you have some." -She stood up and went to the kitchen. It allowed Matt to remove his shoes. What was he doing? He acted as if he was going to stay for the night. He wanted to. He was drawn to Hayley, and he wanted to spend some more time with her. She requested he make himself comfortable, so removing his shoes and neatly placing them against the couch seemed like a good idea. "By the way, Heather and I are done. I called her sometimes after my apartment was destroyed. We had a lengthy discussion about what happened, and she refused to even consider that I was targeted as Matt Murdock by the Task Force. She also doubled down in front of Kirstin when she mentioned the attack on her office and her rescue by Daredevil." -He paused for a moment- "Either way, we're done." -He admitted, before shutting his eyes off and scratching his beard once again.- "I don't know why I'm telling you this. I guess I wanted us not to feel awkward."
"And why would we feel awkward?" -Hayley came back into the living room with two bottles of fresh Irish beer. She gave him one and then sat back on the couch.- "Do you feel that there's a sexual tension between us?" -She jokingly asked while taking a sip of her beer-
"Well... I would be a liar if I said that I wasn't attracted to you. I didn't come here because I was expecting anything, okay? All I'm saying is that I'm glad to be here tonight and to share a beer with you."
She smiled at him and chugged down her beer. The truth was that she felt it too. An attraction to the super handsome lawyer Matt Murdock. It was subtle, but it was there. She thought he was handsome, enjoyed how straightforward he was, and even his sense of humour. She thought he smelled good and dressed sharply. She looked at him as he was drinking his beer and tried to reason with herself for a minute. What would be the harm in just sitting on his lap? What would be the harm in just cupping both of his cheeks? What would be the harm to just -- and before she knew it, Hayley had put her bottle of beer on the small table before them and closed the distance between Matt and her. She straddled him, forcing the lawyer to hold onto his beer tightly while he wrapped his other arm around her waist. She studied his face, well aware that she acted on an impulse and there was no turning back. She didn't want to turn back. She slowly ran her fingers over his face, as if she were seeing his face with the tip of her fingers. He groaned and leaned into the couch, his free hand slowly moving down her back and onto her ass. He squeezed it and elicited a moan from her. The sound made him groan, and he felt his length twitch in his pants. He wanted her, and from the moment she straddled his lap, there was no turning back. He felt no hesitation on her part, and that only fueled his eagerness for her. Her breath brushed over his skin, and her lips slowly peppered kisses all over his forehead.
"You'd better stay overnight, Matt. I make killer pancakes." -She whispered before she pressed her lips to his.-
"I don't intend to leave. I'm all yours tonight, Lee."
-TBC-
