Matt Murdock - Blog Posts

April Showers bring M-AU Flowers Challenge 2024 - Masterlist

All fills for this Challenge were written around a pairing that had less than 15 works at the time of the Challenge.

Sick Fic : soup and tea and rum and coffee / Clint Barton x Frank Castle / 538 / Teen and Up Audiences

Caught in the Rain : Caught in the Rain / Clint Barton x Foggy Nelson / 2358 / Teen and Up Audiences

Green Magic : Messed up Minds / Clint Barton x Matt Murdock x Natasha Romanov / 456 / Teen and Up Audiences

Hurt/Comfort : Broken / Clint Barton x Danny Rand / 2037 / Mature

Bugs & Insects : Clint Barton and the Stupid Fucking Thing / Bucky Barnes x Clint Barton x Rhodey Rhodes / 1441 / Teen and Up Audiences

Loss : You're allowed to hurt / Luke Cage x Frank Castle / 304 / Mature

Flower Language : What Flowers tell me about you / Frank Castle x Matt Murdock x Foggy Nelson / 1523 / General Audiences

Wedding Guest +1 : Worried and Excited / Clint Barton x Charles Xavier / 739 / Teen and Up Audiences

Picnic : One free Afternoon / Clint Barton x James Rhodes / 1390 / Teen and Up Audiences

Farmer's Market : Not a Date / Karen Page x Marci Stahl / 1425 / Teen and Up Audiences

Stargazing : Let me Show You the Stars / Erik Lehnsherr x Matt Murdock / 2592 / Teen and Up Audiences

Regency Road Trip : Passenger Princess / Clint Barton x James Rhodes x Tony Stark

Fairies/Fair Folk Pretend Relationship : Not the way you think / Bucky Barnes x Pepper Potts, Bucky Barnes x Tony Stark / 1119 / Teen and Up Audiences

Gardening : Gardening... / Clint Barton x Matt Murdock x Foggy Nelson / 652 (WIP) / Teen and Up Audiences

@augustwritingchallenge

WIP Warriors Round /-ish?

It is that time again. (It is always that time)

Let's do 300 Words/Vote

I stg, don't make me give you a poll just for one project again next time.

WIP GAME

Tagged by: @auofgoldandfantasies Thank you!

Rules: make a new post with the names of all the files in your wip folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have wips

I have like... endless amounts of WIPs, so, behold:

We're doing this like last time and I'll make it nice and colorful for reasons. Everything that is purple is posted or partly posted and everything that is red is part of some sort of collab with other people.

Alright, here we go:

Bangs:

Double Kill

Multiversal Mess

Pod_Together Soulmates AU

Support you all the way

Not just a Mask

Different Kinds of Love

Bad Decisions

Building a Relationship

Does this count as a Polycule?

Familial Love

Talking about Romance

Domestic WinterHawk AU

Love Bites

No Prompt Left Behind

Foggy 157, 158, 187 Monster/Demon under the Bed

Matt 157, 158, 187 Monster/Demon under the Bed

Multiversal Mess

7: Daredevil Fanfiction

Podfic

Every Last Piece

Safe Place

WSBB

Posted WIPs

25 Reasons Clint Barton is not crying anymore

26 Ways to break Matt Murdock's heart

Amputee!Clint

Comfortember 2023

Hawkdevil AU

Matt recognises the WS

Now I wear my scars just like tattoos (scar)

Nur Ein Echo der Zeit

Soulmarks and metal arms

Sound and colour

The crossover one

The one with the breakup

the ones no one asked for

To see the bruises

Tortuga Inn

Vampire AU

WarHawk

unposted WIPs

(Don't) know who you are

A Pack of Wolves

Cover Up V2

Coverup

Doctor!Tony

Don't try to fix us

Double Shot Coffee

Facial Difference

I will only slow you down

Nightmares

No Voice, still on T

Snow Fall

Stolen Keepsake

The blind Hawk

The deaf and the blind and the deafblind kid

The one they will hate me for

Firefighter AUs

AUgust 2024

Random Oneshots

Nipple Piercings

Be my Doll

Panic Attack Matt

Bucky Tentacles P*rn

Last Minute Gift

Bucky's Trigger Words

Bedtime Stories

Blanket Nest

Branded Bucky/Bruce

Cutting

Diet Culture

I don't like you

Sometimes I wish I can strangle you

Matt didn't cry

Music Festival

Oral Sex

Sin

Support

soft

too loud

the prank

WarHawk Smut

Matt goes Deaf

Scars

A Quick note at the end, as you may have noticed, there are two docs called "Multiversal Mess", so if you're interested in either (or both) of them, please specify which folder you're referring to, since it's not the same fic.

And as always, please don't hesitate to send me asks about this game, or really anything else, I always love answering them!

No pressure tags: @heretherebewolves @flowerparrish @endlesstwanted @ravenmold @evenfallwriter and everyone else who sees this and is interested!

Hi, I have been summoned.

I have feels for this too.

Jack had the upper hand; he had control over the ring, and everything was going right.

But Matt had underestimated Creel.

And in his hazy state of what was probably at least a moderately severe concussion, so did Jack.

Creel landed a calculated hit, breaking out of the corner, then another to push Battlin’ Jack into the opposite corner and a third to knock him off his feet.

Jack hit the mat, but the smack of flesh on plastic-covered rubber wasn’t what took Matt’s breath away.

It wasn’t the sound of ribs creaking with the impact or the smell of blood spilling from yet another cut on Jack’s face either.

Tell me more about Double Kill for the wip ask game?

Double Kill is a collab with @42donotpanic for our Kill A Character bingo... Maximum feels and sadness. He sobbed, and nobody could fix him. He screamed, and soon even those that were supposed to care seemed to stop. His grief was unfixable, and it was better to spend time on the people the nuns could fix. 

It was in the dark and cool of the night he’d find himself sneaking out to sit beside his father’s grave, the soil damp under the dew. There was little point in trying to sleep, he knew by now it was futile.

WIP Warriors FFB Edition 1

So, apparently one WIP Warriors isn't enough, so now there is Fandom Free Bingo Edition too...

Also I was more or less dared to make it 500 Words/Vote...

Yes, I should be doing other things, why are you asking?

WIP Warriors Round 7

Since y'all don't appreciate this series enough and keep not voting for it, I'm making this tumblr poll a Different types of Love special edition.

That's what you get.

50 Words/Vote

WIP Warriors Round 6

The WIP Warriors doesn't care that I have a thousand other things to do, so here is the next round and the next poll.

150 Words / vote. Please go ham.

EVERYONE LOOK AT THIS BEAUTIFUL ART I GOT!!!!

Don't listen to Cyn when she says it's not perfect, because it very much is!

I love the art and I enjoyed working together for the bang a lot, even if it has been a while since.

(also, please go read Cyn's fics too, I am obsessed and her AUgust works are a big part of why I started writing Dumpster Bros in the first place)

HOLY COW I MEANT TO POST THIS MONTHS AGO This is art for @42donotpanic's fic Seeing the Darkness - Hearing the Silence! We were paired together for the Marvel Rare Pair Big Bang and I completely forgot to post the art after... so at this point it's just fan art for this incredible story!! It's not my proudest piece, this story deserves something a lot better, but I hope it still captures a bit of the concept! (please go read the fic, I love everything that 42 writes with these characters, they are utterly fantastic and know the characters so well!!)

WIP Warriors Round 5

After a little bit of delay it's time for the next Round.

Let's try something new again: each vote will be worth 200 words.

So, pick whatever you want to read more of first, or just pick something random to make a writer write on their WIPs.

Writing Patterns (Tag Game)

Rules: list the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern!

Thank you @stripedscribe and @mutuallyprime for tagging me in this!

1. Foggy Nelson had never been a scaredy-cat. (Not how this was supposed to work)

2. When Foggy comes home late, be it because he had a client meeting, met with some friends, or had other errands to run, it is usually to the same scene. (Hooks and Needles)

3. When Foggy heard footsteps out in his garden of petrified figures, he sighed. (Garden of Stone)

4. Matt knew that something was different the second he pushed the front door open. (You're Lucky You're Cute)

5. Matt was sitting on a rooftop. (Finding your mind)

6. “Why do you always dress masc?” Clint asked Bruce. (It's about feeling pretty)

7. Clint woke up. (This is not the end (Oh, how I wish it had been))

8. “What are you doing?” Foggy asks, looking down at Matt, who seems to have decided he is a monkey now and Foggy is the cosiest tree around. (The Minidevil)

9. Matt didn’t remember how or even when exactly it had started that they said it. (I've meant it all)

10. Clint was lying in bed. (The Color of Pain)

This is a pretty good image of the way I start almost all my works. There is not really a start to them, they just take someone™️ and takes them somewhere™️ or let them say something™️.

I also write mostly past tense, but have had a few present tense fics recently. Usually I start them that way for some reason and then have to fight my way to the end.

Tagging @cnwolf-brainrot @heretherebewolves @zekeyboy @foxywrites @flowerparrish and everyone else who reads this and wants to participate <3<3<3

WIP Warriors Round 4

It's hard to believe, but it's already been four weeks again and it's time for the next round.

Each Vote is worth 7 Sentences.

WIP Warriors Round 3

Has it been two weeks already? I can't believe it myself.

But while we all have been working on something else, the time has come for another Round of this.

In the last two Rounds of this challenge I made very good progress on all my posted WIPS and got a lot of new chapters on near-abandoned works into the world.

This round, I'm switching it up a little and all fics in the poll are unposted WIPs.

Some of them already have quite a few words, some are barely more than an idea. And all of them desperately need some love.

Keeping the crazy going, I will write 10 sentences per vote, so... go wild! Click some buttons!

Secret extra option: Don't you have exams? - Yes, shut up. /lh

OH! THEY ARE SO PRETTY!

college mattfoggy uhhh idk i like to think that they tried makeup at least one (or twice your pick)

FIC WRITING REVIEW 2023

Thank you @loki-is-my-kink-awakening for coming up with this!

Rules: Feel free to show whatever stats you have. Only want to show Ao3 stats? Rock on. Want to include some quantitative info instead of stats? Please do this. Want to change how yours is presented? Absolutely do that. Would rather eat glass than do this? Please don’t eat glass but don’t feel like you have to do this either.

(I just copied @voiceoffenrisulfr who copied @foxywrites thank you both for tagging me <3)

Before we start I want to note that I hope to post 6 more fics this year and make it to 100 posted works before 2024 ^^

Words and Fics

335,338 words published in 2023

70 fics worked on

62 completed fics

most productive month: July with 74,045 words

monthly words average: 27,945 words

Top 5 Pairings

Clint Barton/Matt Murdock [16]

James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton [13]

Matt Murdock/Franklin "Foggy" Nelson [6]

Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier [6]

James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark [6]

Top 5 by Comments

Purple and Red; all the same to me (AUgust Writing Challenge 2023) - 78

The quiet life - 17

Building a Relationship - 14

Safe Place - 13

3 Times Matt's date didn't take his blindness well (+1 where it wasn't the biggest surprise that night) - 6

Top 5 by Kudos

3 Times Matt's date didn't take his blindness well (+1 where it wasn't the biggest surprise that night) - 255

Couch already taken - 208

The Reporter and The Lawyer - The Devil and The Protector - 146

Daredevil: The Man with Trauma - 131

Fuck Ninjas - 122

Top 5 by Hits

The Reporter and The Lawyer - The Devil and The Protector - 2,251

3 Times Matt's date didn't take his blindness well (+1 where it wasn't the biggest surprise that night) - 1,725

Purple and Red; all the same to me (AUgust Writing Challenge 2023) - 1,724

Coming Untouched - 1,722

Building a Relationship - 1,529

Fandom Events in 2023

For this part, I'm only adding in Bingos that I was able to get a bingo/blackout for If you want to know more feel free to check out my masterlists in my pinned post <3

Bingos

[5/9] Any Fandom LGBTQ Bingo - Bingo

[5/5] July Break Flash Bingo - Black out

[9/9] July Break Mini Bingo - Black out

[25/25] July Break Bingo - Black out

[15/25] Marvel Rare Pair Bingo Round 1/2 - Bingo

[6/25] Masturbation Midsummer Bingo - DNF

[13/25] WinterIron Bingo - Bingo

[9/9] Writers Pride Month Bingo - Black out

Writing Challenge's

[30/30] Slash Mulitverse Daily Pride Prompts

[31/31] AU-gust Writing Challenge 2023

[5/31] Flufftober 2023

Upcoming Plans

Fic's I'm hoping to continue/complete next year:

[Clint/Bucky] Soul Marks and Metal Arms

[Clint/Natasha] To see the Bruises

[Matt/Foggy] Learning to Live again

[Clint/Bucky] Now I wear my scars just like Tattoos

[Clint/Rhodey] Bring them back (to get you back)

[Clint & Matt] Who even am I?!

[Clint/Matt] Hawkdevil AU

[Clint/Bucky] Domestic WinterHawk AU

[Clint/Matt] Building a Relationship

Writing Reflection

After I got back into writing fic this year it was something I really enjoyed all throughout this year. I discovered a bunch of fun challenges and servers, met many lovely people (sadly all online) and learned a lot. I have hyperfocused a lot, especially in the summer and I collected a boatload of prompts I would like to fill in the coming year.

I have a lot of fics already planned for the next year. There will be a lot of feels, fluff and angst/whump alike and I hope I can keep the run I had this year going.

A big thank you to everyone who supported me along the way, be it with ducking/spaghettiing fic ideas, sprinting with me, participating in challenges, commenting, sharing or even just reading and liking my fics. You folks mean the world to me and I love every single one of you. Take care and remember, as long as you do what you love you get a good grade in fandom <3

Tagging: @stripedscribe @ravenmold @endlesstwanted and everyone who wants to participate (totally not a cop-out because I lost track of my tumblr, no)

Last Line Challenge

Tagged by @flowerparrish

Not actually the last thing I wrote, but the last unposted thing.

From an unposted Matt/Foggy College AU:

Foggy sighed, and Matt knew he had caught onto the pause that was Matt thinking about his old mentor. But even though Foggy didn’t know what he wasn’t saying, they had known each other long enough for him to know that asking would just make the problem worse.

Tagging @foxywrites @schildmehdchen @0nelittlebirdtoldme and whoever else is interested.

Autumn Aesthetics: Heavy Rainfall on the Roof

@slumberpartybingo

Daredevil: The Man with Trauma

Summary: Not all of the cities Heroes are too big fans of the Avengers Movie night. When it's time to watch horror movies, the situation escalates.

Pairing: DumpsterBros ( Clint Barton & Matt Murdock)

Word Count: 2363

Rating: Mature

Tags: Carrie (2013), Horror, Trauma, Avengers Movie night, Matt Murdock needs a hug, Disturbing Themes

Written for:

@slumberpartybingo Halloween Flash : Frightening Films: Carrie

Who needs a Hero

Summary: Foggy is finally meeting the Avengers. But he only has eyes for one man.

Pairings: Foggy Nelson x Happy Hogan

Word Count: 1695

Rating: General Audiences

Tags: Meet-Cute, First Meetings, Background Clint/Matt, Fluff

Written for:

@burdenedwithpointlesspurpose

@flufftober : (…) at first sight - Day 9

Flufftober 2023 - Masterlist

Daily Prompts:

2: Family, Friends, Loved Ones : The past, the present and the pain in between / WinterIron / 844 / Teen and Up Audiences

6: Corn Maze : Fall Traditions / HawkDevil, Bisholova (QPR) / 830 / General Audiences

9: (…) at first sight : Who needs a Hero / Foggy Nelson x Happy Hogan / 1695 / General Audiences

Prompt Extras:

Have your characters share the last table at a café : Interference / Clint & Bucky / 1317 / General Audiences / Trans Clint, NB Bucky

Candles, Lanterns, Fairy Lights : Home / WinterHawk / 1012 / Teen and Up Audiences

Wearing Each other's Clothes : Sunday Pancakes / HawkDevil / 1539 / Teen and Up Audiences

@flufftober

Fall Traditions

Summary: Kate and Yelena have invited their friends to go on a day-trip with them. Clint doesn't quite understand how a mace made out of corn is supposed to work.

Pairings: HawkDevil (Clint Barton x Matt Murdock), Bisholova (Kate Bishop x Yelena Belova (QPR))

Word Count: 830

Rating: General Audiences

Tags: Corn Maze, Hedge Maze, Clint Barton has ADHD, Clint Dyslexic Clint Barton, Misunderstandings, AU - No Powers

Written for:

@flufftober : Day 6 - Corn Maze

@marvelrarepairbingo : N4 - Hedge Maze

Summer Fic Reading Bingo - Masterlist

gen fic

mistaken identity

road trip

fic written by someone who follows you : I Like To Listen To You Talk About Him / endlesstwanted / 3680 / T / Bucky Barnes x Rhodey x Sam Wilson

time travel

crossover fic

rec'd by a friend

pets

werewolf AU : This Is Not Gardening (You Can't Fool Me) / Faustess / 1611 / G / Clint Barton x Rhodey x Tony Stark

mythical creature AU

fic from your first fandom

historical AU

FREE SPACE

daring rescue

sports AU

Future AU : (Artificially) Bright Future [!Moodboard] / DarthBloodOrange (DepressingGreenie) / 100 + Moodboard / G / Steve Rogers x Tony Stark

long fic (>25,000 words)

fic with no comments yet

ghosts

angst : Evaluation / CNWrites / 3182 / G / Bucky Barnes x Clint Barton

fix-it fic : for a thousand more / lavenderlotion / 2094 / G / Erik Lehnsherr x Charles Xavier

remix fic pair

slow burn : Love You a Latte / Ruby_Casablanca / 7470 / T / Matt Murdock x Foggy Nelson, Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers, Karen Page x Natasha Romanov

high school / college AU

new author (<1 year)

@ficreadingchallenge

Soooo... I might have forgotten to write down the end date, so I'll have to DNF this :C

I really like the idea of this, I just didn't really read much this summer (but i wrote a lot, so go read all my fics ;P)

Once again asking, because all of these are really interesting, and i loved your fics! I'm really interested in 'Blind Hawkeye and Deaf Daredevil' 👀

Okay, I can't say too much about that one, because it's part of something else.

But it's pretty much what it says on the tin.

This is a universe something between Comic and MCU canon, Matt and Clint are Vigilantes and work with each other and the other Heroes.

They know each others identities, Matt knows Clint is Deaf and Clint knows Matt's blind. Everything pretty standard until there.

But that's where I'll just let two snippets speak for themselves:

Matt's POV:

When Matt woke up and opened his eyes, the morning sun was shining right into his face and blinding him. He squeezed his eyes shut again and threw an arm over his face with a groan. He lay motionless, cursing the morning light, before noticing something was wrong. It took him a moment to realise that he was not supposed to be able to even see the light, much less his bedroom or the city outside. Slowly, he pulled his arm away and gave himself a moment to adjust to the unfamiliar sensation of light shimmering through his closed eyelids. After a few seconds, he turned away from the window before he dared to open his eyes again. When he did, his brain couldn’t quite translate the new signals yet, and everything just looked like blotches of light and dark and different colours. Matt blinked a few times, trying to get his eyes used to the brightness and focus on his surroundings. Very slowly, things started to make more sense. Blotches turned into shapes, and shadows turned into depth. After a while, Matt was able to recognise his surroundings, even though everything was still a little blurry. Still distracted Matt decided to get up and make some coffee to try to fully wake up before he called anyone. Maybe everything would make a little more sense then. He sat up in bed, pushed the covers off him, and swung his legs out of the bed with a soft thump when his feet hit the ground. Except there was no thump.

Clint's POV:

On the other side of the East River, in Bed-Stuy, a car horn pulled Clint from deep sleep. He jumped internally and opened his eyes at once. When he was greeted with pure darkness instead of the familiar sight of his bedroom ceiling, he started to panic. The car outside honked again, and a few seconds later, people started to shout. Overwhelmed by the noise, Clint grabbed at his ears and tried to rip his hearing aids out. The panic threatened to suffocate him again when he found nothing. The blonde turned and tried to drown out the sounds with his pillow, but it only muffled them and added the rustling of fabric and filling to the mix. Clint began to hyperventilate as memories of the circus, of fights that were loud enough for him to hear even without aids, and of people yelling at him for not understanding them combined with the strange mix of auditory overload and a complete lack of visual signals.  Quickly, he spiralled.

From there, a lot of questions have to be answered and problems to be solved and Clint and Matt both have to face a whole new challenge.

But like I said, I don't want to give away too much just yet.

Thank you so much for asking again (and feel free to ask for as many more as you like)

AUgust 2023 - Masterlist

All fills will be posted as chapters in Purple and Red; all the same to me

Prompts:

Sightless : Clint & Matt / 2098 / Teen and Up Audiences / No warnings

Immortals : No Relationship / 1388 / Teen and Up Audiences / Implied, but unspecified Character Death

Writer : Clint x Matt / 3096 / Teen and Up Audiences / No Warnings

Runaway : Clint & Matt / 2677 / Teen and Up Audiences / Trans!Clint

Pet Sitter : Clint x Matt / 2150 / General Audiences / Swapped days with Domestic (6)

Domestic : Clint x Matt / 1414 / General Audiences / Swapped days with Pet Sitter (5)

Boarding School : Clint & Matt / 2822 / Teen and Up Audiences / Internalised Ableism

Robots & Androids : Clint & Matt / 1404 / Teen and Up Audiences / No Warnings

Cleaning Crew : Clint & Matt / 1093 / General Audiences / No Warnings

Exiled : Clint & Matt / 1507 / Teen and Up Audiences / Ableist Dystopia, Institutionalised Ableism

Doppelgänger : (Clint x Matt)² / 3021 / General Audiences / Self-Worth issues

Book Store : Clint & Matt / 3203 / General Audiences / No Warnings

Behind the Mirror : Clint x Matt / 2059 / Explicit / Like 75% Smut, SFW-ish summary in the end notes

Wizards & Witches : Clint x Matt / 1304 / General Audiences / A little crack-y

Ancient History : Clint x Matt / 904 / Mature / very vague, inaccurate christian mythology, SFW-ish

Road Trip : Clint & Matt / 359 + Art / General Audiences / No Warnings

Fallen Angel : Clint x Matt, Clint x Bucky / 2723 / Mature / Major Character Death, Grief, Depression

Time Travel : Clint x Matt x Bucky / 1051 / Teen and Up Audiences / No Warnings

Shapeshifters : Clint x Matt / 521 / Teen and Up Audiences / Alcohol Consume

Reconnection : Clint x Matt / 2982 / Teen and Up Audiences / No Warnings

Coaches : Clint x Matt / 3130 / Teen and Up Audiences / casual Ableism

Celebrities : Clint & Matt / 824 / Teen and Up Audiences / No Warnings

Plumber Shipwrecked : Clint & Matt / 1184 / Mature / Past Physical Abuse, Slavery

Crime : Clint & Matt / 1324 / Teen and Up Audiences / Now Warnings

Eldritch Horror Sculpture Artist : Clint x Matt x Bucky / 4898 / Teen and Up Audiences / Trans Clint

Lighthouse : Clint & Matt / 834 / Mature / Abuse, Slavery, Human Trafficing, Semi-Explicit Violence, Suicidal thoughts

Fantastic Creatures : Clint x Matt / 1480 / Mature / No Warnings

Royalty : Clint x Matt / 2380 / Teen and Up Audiences / No Warnings

Dark : No Relationship / 1147 / Mature / Violence, Murder of unnamed characters, disturbed Clint

Afterlife : Clint & Matt / 9916 / Teen and Up Audiences / MCD, Implied past SH, implied suicidal thoughts

Two of the Above : Clint x Matt / 2364 / Teen and Up Audiences / No Warnings

@augustwritingchallenge

To Touch the Star(s)

Fills: Crossover of two fandoms with the same actor - @julybreakbingo Flash Card

Recently, I finally watched Stardust for the first time and (unsurprisingly) crushed on Tristan the whole time.

And anyone who knows my works knows, that I'm obsessed with Matt Murdock.

So, who better to use for this Prompt.

Sadly life and Uni have come between me and this fic, but I still wanted to use it for JBB. And since we talked about Mood boards the other day, I used the opportunity to try it. (I love it, there will me more in the very near future)

So, take this as a little teaser for a story I will be working on as soon as I have a little more time.

WIP game: coffee shop au, please!

(All of these look really interesting! 👀)

I'm not completely happy with the execution, but the basic Idea is a Coffee Shop AU (duh), probably no Powers, where Clint, Maya Lopez, Bucky and probably others work in a Café that specializes in accessibility. It's close to the University and Foggy has been going there for a while. He recommended it to Matt mostly because he's trying to set him up with Clint and that's where the story starts right now.

Like I said, I'm not happy with it yet and I still have to figure out the logistics and accommodations a Café like that would need.

But anyway, here's the first few paragraphs:

On a cold morning in early December, Clint was standing behind the counter of Double Shot Coffee. The typical morning crowd was already mostly gone, and Clint finally had a moment to drink his own coffee and chat with his coworker. Bucky had taken over the morning shift for Maya, and since their schedules usually didn’t line up, they had a lot to catch up on. While complaining about a professor who wouldn’t stop bugging him, Bucky stopped mid-sentence and signed "Bell." Clint looked over to the door and saw a young man enter. He was wearing a warm winter coat and dark-tinged glasses. At first, Clint was confused about the sunglasses on a cloudy day until he noticed the white cane the man was holding in his gloved right hand. He frowned and turned to complain to Bucky, but the latter was on his way to one of the tables to help a customer. Clint didn’t have a choice but to take the new guy's order himself. It wasn’t that he had a problem with blind people, because he really didn’t. The thing was just that he really didn’t want to talk today. He took a long sip of his coffee, preparing to talk to the guy. As usual, he didn’t wear his hearing aids; the café specialised in accessibility, after all, so he didn’t need them most of the time. The only times when he regretted being so uncomfortable just talking to his customers were situations like right now, when he had blind customers and no one was around to deal with them but him.

Sound and Color - Masterlist

Sound and Color

The sound and the colors of Leaves : 2467 / General Audiences / Matt and Clint bond over their mutual love for fall and leaves and their disabilities

The sound and the colors of Snow : 3959 / General Audiences / Matt helps Clint get the support he needs and they take a walk through wintery NYC

The sound and colors of Flowers : 2531 / General Audiences / Matt and Clint are working together as the city warms up.

The sound and colors of Sunshine : 3570 / General Audiences / Matt and Clint suffer in the heat and talk about Family.

Different Kinds of Love - Masterlist

Building a Relationship

Summary: Clint Barton and Matt Murdock meet in a Bar. They are just two normal guys, talking and laughing together and slowly falling in love. Except one of them is Deaf. And the other is Blind. Oh, and both are some kind of superhero. But they don't talk about that until it's too late and they are already head over heel in love.

Chapter 1: A Blind guy walks into a bar : 623 / Strangers to Friends / @mfbingo

Chapter 2: Classified : 1394 / Taking Care of Someone / @marvelrarepairbingo

Chapter 3: Saturday morning : 1787 / Body Dysphoria / @lgbtqbingo

Chapter 4: New Routines : 983 / Moving in together / MRP Bingo

Chapter 5: Vigilante and Agents : 1677 / FREE SPACE / @anyfandomgoesbingo

Chapter 6: All the talking : 1819 / FREE SPACE / LGBTQ Bingo

Chapter 7: Waffles : 1955 / FREE SPACE / MRP Bingo

Chapter 8: Jealousy : 3990 / Someone needs a Hug / MRP Bingo

Chapter 9: Baby Agents : 3463 / Kiss on the Forehead / LGBTQ Bingo

Chapter 10: Bullies : 1381 / Hopelessly Outnumbered / MPR Bingo

Chapter 11: Who I used to be : 5610 / Comfort from a Panic Attack / MF Bingo

Chapter 12: Fuck Transphobia : 5394 / "Misgendering me on purpose, and you're proud of yourself?" / @lgbtqbingo

Chapter 13: Double Date : 2412 / Double Date / @fandom-free-bingo (Valentines Edition)

Chapter 14: Happy Days : 2752 / Allo-Ace Couple / @fandom-free-bingo (pride edition)

One-Shots:

Firsts : HawkDevil / 3852 / Explicit / Sexual Attraction, Physical Attraction, Trust

How you (don't) see me : HawkDevil / 3242 / Mature / Physical Attraction, Touch, Semi-Sexual Intimacy

Just for the sex : Matt Murdock x Natasha Romanov / 1643 / Explicit / Physical Attraction, Platonic & Sexual Relationship, Casual Sex

More than one way to fuck : HawkDevil / 4081 / Explicit / Sexual Attraction, Experimentation

Marvel Rare Pair Bingo 2022/2023 - Masterlist

B1 : Exchanging Gifts : / / /

I1 : Meteor Shower/Shooting Stars : Family / Chapter 2: Sad Family / Morgan Stark & Nate Barton / TW: Mentioned Canon Main Character Death

N1 : "Here we belong fighting to survive in a war with the darkest powers" : / / /

G1 : X Marks the Spot : / / /

O1 : Soothing/Healing Touch : Comfort / Clint Barton & Bucky Barnes / 1551 / General Audiences

B2 : Not looking for Love but Love finds them : / / /

I2 : Hospital Stay : / / /

N2 : Found Family : I recognize myself in you  / WinterHawk (Clint Barton & Bucky Barnes) / 5018 / Mature / TW: Eating Disorder

G2 : Where we don't have to hide : / / /

O2 : Coffee Shop AU : Nelson Brews / Matt Murdock & Tony Stark / 781 / General Audiences

B3 : Sex on the Beach : The Hammock / CastleHawk (Clint Barton x Frank Castle) / 1701 / Explicit

I3 : Melted Ice Cream : / / /

N3 : FREE SPACE : Building a Relationship / Chapter 7: Waffles / HawkDevil (Clint Barton x Matt Murdock) / 1955 / Teen and Up Audiences

G3 : Blanket Fort : / / /

O3 : Cooking a Meal Together : / / /

B4 : Hoplessly Outnumbered : Building a Relationship / Chapter 10: Bullies / HawkDevil (Clint Barton x Matt Murdock) / 1381 / Teen and Up Audiences

I4 : Taking Care of Someone : Building a Relationship / Chapter 2: Classified / HawkDevil (Clint Barton x Matt Murdock) / 1394 / Teen and Up Audiences

N4 : Hedge Maze : Fall Traditions / HawkDevil (Clint Barton / Matt Murdock) / 830 / General Audiences

G4 : Someone needs a hug : Building a Relationship / Chapter 8: Jealousy / HawkDevil (Clint Barton x Matt Murdock) / 3990 / Teen and Up Audiences / TW: Alcohol

O4 : Moving in Together : Building a Relationship / Chapter 4: New Routines / HawkDevil (Clint Barton x Matt Murdock) / 983 / Teen and Up Audiences

B5 : Roaring Twenties : / / /

I5 : I need you : How you (don't) see me / Hawkdevil (Clint Barton x Matt Murdock) / 3242 / Mature

N5 : Masked Ball : / / /

G5 : Image Prompt (see below) : Sunrise / Dumpsterbros (Clint Barton & Matt Murdock) / 1465 / General Audiences

O5 : Tickling : / / /

@marvelrarepairbingo

Badges:

LGBTQ Bingo - Masterlist

Body Dysphoria : Building a Relationship / Chapter 3: Saturday morning / HawkDevil / 1787 / Teen and Up Audiences

Would you be so kind - Dodie : Who even am I? / Chapter 2: Looking Forward / Dumpster Bros / 4541 / Teen and Up Audiences

Coming out Party : Boy Cake / Avocados / 5582 / Teen and Up Audiences

Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier : Sleepy Cuddles / Cherik (Charles Xavier x Erik Lehnsherr) / 460 / General Audiences

FREE SPACE : Building a Relationship / Chapter 6: All the talking / HawkDevil (Clint Barton x Matt Murdock) / 1819 / Teen and Up Audiences

Mutual Masturbation : As You Are / WinterHawk (Clint Barton x Bucky Barnes) / 4308 / Mature

Genderfluid!Bruce Banner : It's about feeling pretty / Avengers / 3241 / General Audiences

"Misgendering me on purpose? And You're proud of yourself?" : Building a Relationship / Chapter 12: Fuck Transphobia / HawkDevil (Clint Barton x Matt Murdock) / 5394 / Teen and Up Audiences

Kiss on the Forehead : Building a Relationship / Chapter 9: Baby Agents / HawkDevil (Clint Barton x Matt Murdock) / 3463 / Teen and Up Audiences

@lgbtqbingo

This this this this this 🥰

perhaps love

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Reader

Summary: 5 times Matt didn’t realize he was in love with you + 1 time he did.

Warning: none!

Note: this is me indulging myself in a fic after listening to one (1) song for months over and over until i’m slowly getting sick of it. enjoy!

1.

Matt followed closely behind as you happily explored the ground beyond. He tilted his head over his shoulder nervously, silently listening to Foggy trail behind him, a little too slow for his liking. For once he was extremely grateful that his enhanced hearing gave him the upper ground.

“Matt! Foggy!” you hollered. Matt winced. Okay, maybe not that much. “I’m flying!”

“Holy fuck,” Foggy cursed underneath his breath. He slowly nudged him along to move faster. Matt rolled his eyes, at last. “What the hell are you doing? Get down!”

“What are they doing?” Matt asked warily. Having either one of his friends drunk always split into two possibilities; he never knew whether he was up for a laugh or a trip to the ER.

“Climbing the fucking flagpole,” Foggy grunted. He sounded both exasperated and amused, but his step was a little too slow from the drink he had earlier.

“Jesus.”

Keeping an eye on drunk you was one thing, but coaxing you to slowly climb down the flagpole was a whole another feast. Foggy yelled at you to climb down, which only earned him a snarky remark and a waterwork on your part. Matt was unable to hold back laughter after that, silently wondering what the hell did they put in the punch bowl back at the house party.

“Just climb down, please,” Foggy said exasperatedly. “We’re too broke for a trip to the ER.”

Matt shook his head, smiling. “Do you want chicken nuggets?” he hollered at you.

That seemed to catch your attention. You sniffed loudly, spreading and contaminating the air with your salty tears. “Chicken nuggets?”

“Yeah,” Matt said. “I have a lot of chicken nuggets back at my dorm. But you have to carefully climb down, okay?”

“Okay,” you sniffed again. “Promise?”

“Promise. Be careful.”

You hummed, slowly making a tentative step to climb down from the flagpole. Foggy hovered nearby on the left, so Matt took the right side. His heart hammered his ribcage painfully, the air suddenly felt stale and stagnant as you took a painstakingly slow pace to climb down the flagpole.

Matt heard it a second too late—a slice in the air, split into the stagnant air as you lose your grip on the pole. Matt leaped without thinking, letting his cane fall to the ground to catch you before you were able to meet the same fate as his cane. He felt his heart jump out of its pants right into his throat, suffocating him.

“I told you to be careful!” he chided, suddenly angry at your clumsiness. He knew that was irrational, you probably won’t remember anything by the time the sun was out, but he was seeing red.

But that only made you laugh—no, giggling. Your hand clumsily patted his cheek. “I love your glasses.”

Matt huffed as he hoisted you up to your feet, hands shaky with how hard his heart was beating now. Foggy handed him his cane and probably gave him slight odd looks now. He prayed that he was also drunk enough to doubt this exact memory tomorrow or chalk it up to a very nice coincidence.

“I told you we’re too broke for a trip to the ER!” Foggy joined him to scold you. He shook his head. “That was terrifying and dangerous. Don’t do that again.”

“Sorry,” you mumbled, but a wide smile on your face made the whole ordeal both felt insincere and ridiculous. “Matty,” you tugged his sleeve. “Have I told you I love your glasses?”

“Yes,” Matt mumbled, patting his chest to calm his erratic heartbeat. He pressed his lips to form a tense line, perplexed that his heart hadn’t calmed down yet from the rush of adrenaline. “Let’s get you back to your dorm.”

“But I love your glasses!”

“I know.”

Matt shook his head to snap him out of his stupor. He was just surprised. He was just scared—terrified of what just happened.

2.

You rushed into his dorm without knocking. Matt had heard you approaching before you were anywhere near his door, but he still had the decency to put a faux surprise on his face. He turned around from his chair, listening to you sauntering in like you owned the place, and sat on his bed.

Matt rolled his eyes. “Hello to you too.”

You grunted at him, pressing a pillow against your face.

“Knocking is polite, you know,” he teased. He frowned when it met with silence, and his frown deepened when he felt salt in the air, and then your quiet sob muffled by his pillow filled his every wall.

“Hey, hey,” he slowly approached you, sitting on the edge of his bed. “It’s okay. You’re okay now, I’m here.”

That only made you sob harder. Matt climbed his bed into the empty spot next to you, gently placed his hand on your back in a silent question about whether you wanted to be touched or not. You lifted your head in a silent answer, slowly melting into his embrace, and sobbed against his shoulder.

Matt squeezed his eyes shut, stroking your back in a vain attempt to soothe you. He didn’t know who he did it for—to soothe you or him, distracting himself from the very sound he knew he hated the most in the whole wide world.

“I broke up,” you said hoarsely.

“What?”

“I broke up with James,” you repeated. Matt had to physically restrain himself from scowling at hearing the name he wasn’t exactly fond of. “It didn’t work. We didn’t work. No matter how hard I try we—” you inhaled sharply. “God. God I’m fucking hard to love, aren’t I?”

Matt furrowed his eyebrows. “Who said that?”

“It just… I don’t know. I spent so many times, so many things with him, you know?” you started to teared up again, voice shaky with tears. “I felt like I poured all of my soul into loving him but he didn’t even try to give the same thing. It almost felt like I was an afterthought—god, I actually felt so lonely when I’m with him, you know? Maybe I’m just too much.”

“Don’t say that. You’re never too much, not to me.”

Matt let you collapse your head into his shoulder again, absentmindedly making a circular pattern on your forearm. He couldn’t remember when was the last time that piece of shit actually made you happy instead of eliciting tears after tears. At one point he was convinced you were dating an onion.

“I can’t do this anymore,” you sniffed. “God, I’m going to die alone with twenty cats! Nobody’s gonna love me besides my family,” you wailed loudly.

“We can die alone together with twenty cats if you want,” Matt said, rocking you gently back and forth. “I love you, okay? You’re not gonna die alone. Not while I’m here.”

“I want to retire to the countryside someday,” you said. “Will you join me live in the countryside, Murdock?”

Matt huffed a laugh. “As you said, I’m a city boy through and through. But I’ll visit you every weekend.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“That’s more than enough.”

Matt grabbed your hand and squeezed it. The tears hadn’t dried up completely, but you were no longer actively sobbing or wailing anymore. He rested his cheek atop your head, feeling the familiar feeling of your hair tickling his skin and the smell of your shampoo invading his senses.

The door creaked open and Foggy walked in. He opened his mouth to make a dry remark about how often you stayed in their room—as he always does—only to stop when his eyes caught the sight of you.

“Who do I need to fight?” he demanded.

“No one, Fogs.”

Foggy immediately took a seat on Matt’s bed, his hand silently reaching for you. You shifted slightly on your seat, adjusting so you were comfortably sandwiched between him and Matt. “Seriously, who do I need to fight? What happened to you?”

“I broke up with James,” you said, shaking your head.

“What did he do to you? Where is that bastard now?”

“It’s not worth it, Fogs,” you firmly said. Matt imagined that you furrowed your eyebrows tensely, and he suddenly got overcome with a huge desire to press his thumb between your eyebrows to smooth them out. “Let it be.”

“Fine. But if he does something stupid after this, it’s on sight,” Foggy sighed, pressing his back against the wall. “You can do a lot better, you know? He’s a bit of an ass anyway.”

He’s a major ass, Matt silently thought.

3.

Matt banged his fist against your door frantically. His throat was raw from calling your name behind your door, repeatedly trying to get your attention. It was a wonder none of your neighbors had tried to kick him out yet, but he couldn’t find himself to care anyway. You failed to show up at work today, and after he, Foggy, and Karen were unable to reach your phone repeatedly—all directed to voicemail—he made the decisive decision to sprint to your apartment.

The only salvation and reassurance you did not magically disappear from the earth was the sound of your heartbeat from behind the door.

Your door opened at last, and he immediately knew something was amiss as you croaked, “Matt?”

“Hey,” he breathed, suddenly feeling light. The anxiety that shot up through him suddenly dissipated, like a knife being pulled out from a stab wound. “You didn’t show up at work today. You didn’t answer any of our calls—”

“Oh, shit,” you slapped your forehead. “I’m sorry, I think my phone died.”

Matt extended his hand quietly, pressing the back of his hand into your forehead. He hissed when his skin met your balmy one, a frown found a place on his lips. “You’re burning up,” he said. “Let’s get you back to bed.”

Despite your initial protest, you made little to no effort swatting him away. Not that any of them would work, anyway. Matt tucked you to bed, pulling the blanket up to your chin.

“Are you cold?” he murmured softly, gently propping your leg up into his lap to put on a sock on your cold feet. You hummed half-heartedly, already slipping back into slumber. “Have you eaten anything today?”

His question met with another half-hearted answer, but Matt still made his way into your kitchen anyway. He was not exactly a stranger there; he burned the layout of your apartment into memory just well enough. He scrambled through your fridge, thankful that you went grocery shopping a few days back.

Matt roused you awake to feed you some of his chicken soup—a recipe his father left him, a legacy, a memento of a happier and simpler day. You were annoyed for being woken up from your sleep, made sure to make a few grunts and annoyed huffs all directed to him, subtlety was never your strongest suit. But you relent anyway when Matt stayed equally as stubborn, the smell of the soup eventually wins you over.

“Go back to sleep now,” he said softly, satisfied that you were warm and fed and had swallowed some medicines. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“Promise?” you yawned, snuggling closer to your pillow.

Matt sighed, a small smile tugged his lips before he knew it. “Promise,” he brushed your hair gently.

“Okay,” you sighed loudly. “If I wake up and you’re not here, I’ll fight you.”

“Sure. If you can reach my neck.”

You shoved him gently as a response, too exhausted to verbally bite back from his teasing. Matt lingered until he was sure you were fast asleep before he made his way to your living room to ring Foggy.

“Matt?” you walked the length of the living room with your sock-clad feet. Matt jumped to his feet immediately, meeting you in the middle. “Matt, there’s a giant spider in my room.”

Matt gently grabbed your shoulders, slowly guiding you into his embrace in a protective stance. He tilted his head, a mindless attempt to hear better, and couldn’t find any living being aside from you and him.

Not that he ever paid any mind to bugs in the first place.

“There isn’t any spider,” he said softly. “Let’s go back to bed.”

You shook your head stubbornly, firmly gripping his sleeve. “There’s a giant spider in my room!”

Matt blinked. He wasn’t sure if he couldn’t hear bugs crawling in your walls, or if this was your fever speaking. He sighed quietly, gently tugging you back to your room and back to your bed.

You didn’t voice out any protest, but your clutch on his sleeve was getting firmer and firmer the closer you were to your room. Matt wordlessly tucked you back to bed and laid down next to you.

“Matt?” you called. “Don’t leave me.”

“I’m here,” he reassured you. “It’s okay, go back to sleep. You’re safe.”

“Fight the spider for me.”

Matt chuckled. “Always.”

Matt shut his eyes, the sound of your steady heartbeat slowly lulled him to sleep. He found himself silently wishing and praying to be able to stay here, protect you from countless giant spiders, for as long as he could.

4.

“Do you ever think about taking a fanny pack with you?”

Matt blinked. He slowly put down his fork, ingesting your question and dissecting it one by one until it made sense inside his brain. “A fanny pack?”

You hummed, completely ignoring his bewildered expression that he was sure painted as clear as the day on his face, or completely oblivious. Which was unlikely.

“I don’t think your funky suit has any pockets,” you said thoughtfully. Matt would find the whole thing funny that you were sincere and serious with your question if he wasn’t so surprised. “But of course, you ought to put horns on your helmet. Couldn’t say no to living up to your reputation.”

Matt huffed, a laugh escaped him before he could register it—more bewilderment than mirth. He had come clean to you about who he was a few days back. It only felt right after Foggy had found out, and leaving you in the dark, no matter how much the thought of you finding out and meddling in both of his lives terrified him to death, felt incredibly wrong.

You took the news with stride—if a prolonged silence could count as one. But Matt knew you enough to know that the truth had been slowly seeping into simmering water for a while. It was a matter of time before the kettle whistled, and he dreaded the day it happened.

“Why would I need a fanny pack?”

“So you can bring a water bottle with you. Some granola bars to snack,” your voice sounded far away. He hated it. “Dehydration is a serious thing, Matt.”

Matt pursed his lips, caught in between amusement and wariness. “You think about this a lot, don’t you?”

“Can’t get it out of my head.”

Matt toyed with his ramen quietly, the only sound that settled between you and him comfortably was the wind blowing from the rooftop. The kettle was coming into a whistle anytime now.

“I’ll be fine, I swear,” Matt said. “Don’t you worry about me.”

You threw your hands in the air. “That’s not the point Matt!” you yelled, voice cracking with upcoming tears. “What if—what if you hadn’t had time to eat some dinner before you go? What if you’re hungry during your patrol and couldn’t find anything to eat? What if you’re thirsty after leaping from building to building and fighting, I don’t know, some bank robbers?” you jabbed a finger into his shoulder. “No human can go longer than three days without water!”

Matt stayed silent, patiently listening to your rambling about the importance of proper hydration. He felt a smile slowly forming on his face despite himself, despite the tears that slowly ran down your face, and despite the fact that you were yelling at his face. The words of your ramble—slipped with fret and scolding here and there—made his heart sing, flutter with the wind.

He still had the decency not to chuckle and tried to take your words into his heart and put it in the highest consideration. The whole fanny pack idea was an instant no, but he ought to figure out how to stay properly hydrated from now on.

“Are you done?” Matt asked gently with a smile.

You must have thrown him the nastiest look you could muster. “Yes,” you said sulkily. He just knew there was a prominent pout appearing. “Don’t laugh! I’m serious!”

“I know, I know,” he coughed to masked a laughter slowly bubbling up. “I’m sorry. I know you’re worried. But I can’t bring a fanny pack with me, stealth is my key and a fanny pack would defeat the whole purpose.”

“You still need to eat,” you sounded dejected, and it took everything inside him not to scoop you up to brush away all the sadness. “And most importantly to drink water regularly.”

Instead, he settled by grabbing your hand and squeezing it gently. “I promise to always eat some dinner before I go and drink plenty of water before and after patrol. How’s that sound?”

“You still need to drink after fighting too.”

“I’ll find a way. You know I’ll always find a way.”

“Promise?”

“Promise,” Matt squeezed your hand again. He slowly crossed his heart with his finger. “Cross my heart.”

And later that night, when he found a piece of granola bar right underneath his suit, he knew that perhaps your worry wouldn’t completely melt away—not even with the most sincere promise. Matt found himself smiling widely that his cheeks started to hurt, over a granola bar and no less, feeling his heart painfully blossoming a feeling he still yet to find the name.

But he knew, deep down, his heart was singing your name.

5.

Matt listened to the sound of your footsteps roaming around his kitchen. He stood silently, hovering on the furthest corner of his kitchen counter, waiting for his tea to steep into perfection. You had come knocking on his door first thing in the morning—he was sure the sun was barely out yet, he barely had a wink of sleep himself.

It was his birthday today. He barely even remembered his own birthday, long after he lost his father, the idea of celebrating had never been appealing. But here you were, roaming in his kitchen, rummaging through his fridge like you were the one who spent all the money that goes to all the stuff inside, chopping and staining his kitchen counter as if you owned it. You were determined to pull a birthday celebration for him, even though it only consisted of a small lunch get-together with Karen and Foggy.

Matt couldn’t find himself to mind.

He liked it even.

Little words had been exchanged between you and him. Matt had learned long ago that you have a distaste for talking when you were cooking and insisting on doing so only means inviting his own demise. The sound of your footsteps, the mumble of commentary about certain ingredients underneath your breath, and most of all your steady heartbeat were more than enough.

“Matt,” you called for him, breaking his train of thought. It was hard to get Matt startled, but again, he didn’t expect you’d start a conversation mid-cooking. “Matt!” you tried again.

“What?”

“I’m going to turn on the blender,” you said. The sound of the lid closing followed after. “You might want to put on your headphones.”

Matt pursed his lips. You had given him a noise-canceling headphone as a gift for Christmas a year ago. He didn’t hate it necessarily, on days when it was rough and everything was too loud it helped tremendously, but having himself relied on his hearing for years only to have it numbed out felt extremely jarring.

Not to mention it brought back certain memories he didn’t want to think about.

“Should I?” he asked, pulling his tea bag out of his cup. “I think I can manage.”

“It’s loud. You took a lot of beating last night, I don’t want to give you a headache.”

“No, I’ll be fine,” Matt shook his head.

“But—”

“If it hurts my ear I’ll put it on, okay?”

“You tell me if it gives you a headache.”

“Okay,” Matt smiled. Always so stubborn, you are. “I will.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Okay,” you relented. You rarely dispute his claims when it comes to certain things, this included, and Matt was more than grateful. “Maybe don’t stay in the kitchen with me while I turn this thing on.”

Matt squeezed your shoulders as he walked past. A lot of words slowly pushed out of his mouth, a jumble of incoherent sentences bouncing inside his head yet nothing meaningful he could grasp. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but he ended up settling with only, “Thanks for the heads up.”

+1

“Put this thing on when you go out,” you said as you draped something around his neck—scarf?—and patted his shoulder proudly. Matt practically could feel pride and happiness radiating off you from this close proximity, and he couldn’t help but smile.

“What’s this?”

“Scarf,” you said, confirming his suspicion. You gently nudged him up to move within the queue for the new bakery that had just opened near your place. Matt had volunteered to come with you after Foggy and Karen both refused your request, not particularly fond of the long line.

He was grateful for the long line, though. Winter had started to give a little taste of its presence lately, the temperature had been dropping steadily this past week. The cold weather outside made this warm bakery a lot more hospitable, but Matt already dreaded the walk back from here.

“Is this an early Christmas gift?” Matt asked, running his hand through the soft fabric of the scarf. The smell of your perfume lingered on every inch of the fabric.

You hummed. “I planned to give it to you on Christmas, but I finished it early.”

“Finished?” Matt shot his eyebrows into his hairline. “You made this?”

“I did! Here, some cool stuff I did, something you won’t find anywhere else,” you eagerly grabbed his hand to trace his new scarf. You were practically vibrating with excitement. “Do you feel it?”

Matt furrowed his eyebrows slightly. “Yes? What’s this?”

“I sew your name to your scarf, so if you ever happen to lose this somewhere, they can return it to you,” you said proudly, completely oblivious to the way the air knocked out of his lungs at once. “And this,” you brought his hand to trace a bump on his scarf. “I think you know this one better than I do.”

Matt gasped loudly, his fingers shakily traced the bumps you had directed him into. Matthew Murdock. You sew his name in braille on his scarf.

It felt like a punch in the gut, a sudden brute attack that made his lungs collapse all at once. Matt swayed slightly, feeling completely light at the way his stomach flipped out of nowhere. He kept tracing his name over and over, in awe at how perfectly it all assembled together.

“I love you,” he blurted out before he could stop himself, the words now spilling out of him uncontrollably. Matt took a long shaky breath, completely drowned in the sea of feelings that flooded him without warning. He didn’t think he could stop now the words were out in the air. “I love you.”

He heard you inhale sharply. “I—”

“No, listen to me,” Matt shook his head. He gently cupped your face, relieved that you didn’t pull away, and aware of how warm your cheeks had become. “I love you. I’m in love with you. I think I always have, I don’t know. It’s always been there, for as long as I can remember,” he sighed. “I also don’t think I can stop now.”

Matt shut his eyes. You deserved a lot better than a makeshift love declaration. He needed to pluck the stars in the sky and lay them on your palms, swam entire oceans, and conquer every single mountaintop. But even then, even if he dragged the moon to your feet and showered you with good-smelling flowers, it wouldn’t be enough to show how much he loved you.

You let out a laugh, soft and fluttering gently in the air. “You’re an ass, Murdock. Are you seriously making a love declaration to me in the middle of a line in a new bakery?”

Matt huffed a surprised laugh. “I feel like you need to know.”

“You’re right, I do,” you covered his hands with your own and gently put them away from your cheeks. You entwined your fingers with his together and melted seamlessly. “But you’re being unfair right now. Because you’re totally kissable, and I can’t kiss you.”

“What’s stopping you?”

“I don’t like sharing,” you said, swinging your hand and his together gently. “I don’t want these people to see me kissing you. I’d rather kiss you alone.”

Matt felt a wide smile blossoming now. “We can always step out of the line and go somewhere quiet.”

“No, we’re already here. I want my cake,” you punched his arm playfully. “But I’ll kiss you as soon as we’re out.”

Matt was positive he was grinning widely right now. “Promise?”

“Promise,” you tiptoed to plant a kiss on his cheek. “Oh, I love you too, by the way.”

And just like that, he was nothing but a goo that bore his name underneath your touch.