Calina woke to find they'd shifted in the night.

She was now on her back, with Matt's head resting on her chest. His broad shoulders blanketed her, and she couldn't resist stroking her hand over his warm skin and running her fingers through his hair.

She was reminded of the footage she'd watched from the cabin - when they'd woken up the morning after Matt's confession, they'd been in this exact position. She traced a finger around the shell of Matt's damaged ear and echoed one of the lines he'd said to her that day.  "We're apart for a few days, and look what happened."

She didn't add the second part - 'I guess the sensible option is for us never to be apart again' - because she knew that they would be parting again soon.

And she hated the idea.

She continued her idle strokes of Matt's skin while she stared out the window. Crisp winter sunlight streamed into the room, transforming it into a bright and airy space. There was a slight chill in the air, but she was so warm beneath the covers and underneath Matt's weight.

And so at peace.

This is where she belonged. She only wished she could stay forever.

"Eight."

The deep grumbled word took her by surprise. Her hands froze and her breathing stopped. "What?" she choked out, afraid to believe the truth.

"You said 'We're apart for a few days, and look what happened.' We were apart for eight days."

She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing tight as sudden tears escaped her eyes. Despite her wordless attempts to reassure him last night, she'd been so scared that he would never regain his hearing.

"Hey," he said, shifting further up the bed so he could face her. "Why are you crying?" He wiped away the moisture with his fingers, and kissed her damp cheeks.

She shook her head. "I'm just happy." She traced her fingers over his ears again. "Is everything really okay? You're really back to normal?"

Matt cocked his head, and she recognised it as his 'listening mode'. He stayed that way for a few long moments, as if testing his range. Then he smiled. "Two kids are having a snow-ball fight outside the coffeeshop you used to go to, while their mom orders hot chocolate at the counter. They're squealing with laughter."

"Matt...that place is over a block away."

He just shrugged. "I guess everything's back to normal then."

He shook her head in wonder at his abilities...then punched him in the arm.

"What was that for?" he laughed.

"That was for scaring me last night! Do you have any idea what it felt like seeing that building explode, knowing you were inside?"

"Probably the same way I felt hearing that you were in a coma after being shot."

She opened her mouth to protest...then snapped it closed, knowing he had a point.

"Thank you, by the way," Matt said, his voice suddenly serious. "For finding me, and getting me home. You seem to have a knack for always being in the right place at the right time to save my ass."

"Ditto," she whispered, meeting his serious tone. "Thank you for coming to the cabin and waking me up."

He ran his fingers through her hair. "I didn't do much."

Calina shook her head. "I saw the footage. You talked to me all night. I am absolutely positive it was your words that brought me back."

Matt's fingers stilled in her hair. "There was footage?"

"There was a camera set up in the room to monitor me while I was unconscious."

He leaned back, his weight now braced on the arms resting either side of her shoulders. "And you watched it? All of it? You heard...everything I said?"

Calina couldn't interpret his tone. Was he embarrassed? Angry?  Did he regret saying it, and want to take it back?

She bit her lip and nodded, her heart fluttering with nerves.

"So, um, what did you think?" he asked, his voice unusually hesitant. And that's when she realised - he was nervous too. He was unsure of her feelings. He was as scared of believing in this thing between them as she was.

She cradled his face in her hands, and stroked her thumbs over his temples, ready to tell him how she felt...but the words wouldn't come. She swallowed hard, struggling to force down her fears and insecurities.

And then her thumb grazed over a faint scar hidden in his hairline. She traced over the raised line, wondering if it was a result of the beating he'd taken at the hands of those kidnappers months ago...or if it was from another one of the countless times he'd been attacked. She remembered the feel of his other scars beneath her hands last night. His body was a monument to years of suffering and pain. He'd fought and bled for this city, over and over, because he thought it was the right thing to do. He'd been blinded and orphaned and abandoned. He'd lost people and lost battles, but still he fought, every night.

He was amazing.

Brave and wonderful and kind.

And he deserved to know that he was loved.

Her fear disappeared, and she smiled up at him. "I love you, Matt Murdock."

———

Matt had been bracing himself for rejection.

Which didn't really make sense given everything they'd shared last night, but a lifetime of being abandoned by the people he cared about had set a precedent that was hard to overcome.

And he wouldn't have blamed Calina for wanting to guard her heart after he'd kept her at arms length for so long. But after a few moments of silent deliberation, she'd smiled...and gifted him those three amazing words:

I love you.

He felt a smile stretch over his face, so big and wide that she gasped in response. "You have dimples," she said in delight, running her thumbs over the small hollows in his cheeks.

He dipped his head to rest his forehead against hers. "Say it again."

"You have dimples."

He laughed, and it was his turn to sound delighted. He gave her a quick kiss on the nose in response to her teasing, then resorted to begging. "Calina...please. Say it again."

She lifted her head off the pillow, and brought her lips to his ear. "I love you," she whispered.

"Again."

She giggled. "I love you."

"Again."

"Hmmm, no."

"No? What do you mean, no? Are you rationing your declarations?"

"No. But I'd like one in return. While I'm conscious, this time."

"Ah," he said, "I see." He rolled off her and onto his side, then pulled her against him, drawing one of her long legs over his waist, until they were perfectly fitted together. He smoothed her hair behind her ear and dragged a finger down her neck. He tried to gauge where her eyes were, so that he could meet them with his gaze. "I love you, Calina Balashova."

"Good," she breathed. "I'm so glad."

He smiled and leaned forward, capturing her lips with his. He kissed her - so, so gently - wanting the reverence of the act to tell her how precious she was to him.

But just like last night, the kiss soon transformed into something less...pure.

They're were both so starved of touch. So starved of each other. She ended up on top of him, her breasts pressed against him and her hair forming a silken curtain around them as they kissed and kissed and kissed. He stroked his hands down her back, over her ass until he reached her thighs. Then he pulled her legs to either side of his until she was straddling him again.

She grinned into the kiss, recognising the position, and settled down against him. But she was a little too high up for the stimulation she craved, so he pressed his hand between her legs from behind. It was just a quick glancing touch - a promise of more to come - but it made her moan. A beautiful, guttural sound that fluttered through her throat and spilled between his lips.

He was hard in an instant. He groaned in response, then grabbed fistfuls of her hair and leaned up to deepen the kiss even further-

And that's when her phone rang.

She froze, then tried to wriggle free but he followed her up to a seated posture. "Ignore it," he mumbled against her lips, taking advantage of their new position to palm one of her breasts.

The phone kept ringing.

Calina shook her head, finally breaking the kiss. "I need to get that - it might be Foggy. I texted him when I found you last night, and he said he would check in this morning."

"Foggy can definitely call back."

She laughed, but there was suddenly a stilted quality to it. She scrambled off the bed and raced into the living room to grab her phone. She connected the call with a breathless, "I'm here."

"Is he there with you?" Matt heard Foggy ask.

"Yes," Calina replied. "We made it back safe and undetected."

"How is he?"

"He's fine. No permanent injuries."

"That's good. I'm glad he's alive and unharmed. That means I get to kill him myself."

Matt groaned again - for a completely different reason - and fell back on the bed. He knew Foggy would be pissed at his unauthorised excursion last night - especially after it turned out to be a trap - but he wasn't in the mood for a lecture right now.

He was in the mood for something much more enjoyable.

He crawled out of the bed and stretched, feeling the aches from last night's collision with the rooftop stretch and burn. Then he tapped on each ear, making sure there were no lingering effects from the blast.

Everything seemed clear.

He'd felt such an intense wave of relief this morning at waking up to the sounds of New York, instead of the incessant ringing noise that had plagued him last night. He'd lain there for ages, eyes closed, just enjoying the hum and bustle of all the life in the neighbourhood around his apartment.

And he'd listened to the beautiful thump of Calina's heart beneath his ear, and the hum of the blood in her veins, and the rush of air in her lungs, knowing he'd never, ever get tired of the sound of her.

He padded out into the living room to find her sitting cross-legged in one of the arm chairs, still talking to Foggy. He bent over the back of the chair to press a kiss against her neck, bared by the messy bun she'd put her hair up into.

She scrunched her shoulders up as if it tickled and shooed him away.

He made himself busy, brushing his teeth and grabbing a drink of juice from the fridge. By the time he'd downed the glass, Calina was off the phone and in the bathroom. He parked himself outside the door, and the moment she opened it, he pulled her into his arms.

He pressed her against the wall and nuzzled into her neck, the scratch of his stubble catching on her soft skin. She shivered at the feel and melted against him...before suddenly tensing up.

He leaned back. "What's wrong?"

She looked up at him and licked her lips nervously.

"Calina?"

"I- I need to tell you something."

———

She couldn't keep it from him any longer. Not that she'd been consciously hiding it from him - she'd meant to tell him last night, but he'd started touching her...and all thoughts had escaped her. The same thing had happened this morning. She'd been all set to tell him, then he'd kissed her...

And her brain turned to mush.

But he deserved to know now, before things went any further between them. Before they took that final intimate step. She had a feeling it would be a million times harder to leave after that.

"Calina?" Matt prompted. "What is it? You're starting to scare me."

"I need to go."

He took a step back as if stunned. "What do you mean?"

"I can't stay. Here. In New York. It's not safe."

"You're leaving?" he asked in a pained whisper, the sound of it breaking her heart.

She reached for his hand but he pulled away from her, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You're leaving." A statement this time, his voice flat.

"I don't want to. Believe me, Matt. I don't. But-"

"But what? Explain it to me. What exactly is the danger? Because you know I can protect you-"

"It's not me I'm worried about."

Matt frowned at her, looking more confused. She tugged his arms free and led him over to the couch - to their couch. She pulled him down next to her and draped her legs over his lap, prepared to use her full body weight to stop him escaping if she had to. "How much did Yelena tell you at the cabin?"

Matt scoffed. "The bare minimum. Someone found your safe house and you had to run - that's about it."

"That's not exactly true. They always knew where the safe house was. They always knew where every single one of us was." Calina explained about capturing Volkov and interrogating him, and how he told them about the tracking nanites. "Every moment I spent here with you, thinking I was starting this amazing new life - this life that was mine - they were watching me. Monitoring me. I was a dot on a screen flitting about between this apartment building and the coffee shop and the dance studio and the library...and all the time they were watching. Watching and waiting for the moment when they could swoop in and take me back. Take us all back. We've always just been these...things...to them. Not human beings with our own thoughts and feelings and dreams. Just...property."

Matt rubbed her bare leg, his rough hand providing a calming touch. "So what happened?" he asked. "I assume you were able to remove the nanites since you have another safe house now."

"Yes, through something called plasmapheresis." She told him about the procedure, and how her exchange had to be cut short when Volkov's men descended on the mansion. "That's why I was in such a bad state after being shot. I was running on empty to start with. And then the infection hit me like a freight train-"

"Wait, what infection?"

She glanced up at him, and realised that she'd never explained why it had taken her so long to come see him. "I got really sick after you left - I spent most of the last week in bed wracked with fever. I only really recovered a couple of days ago." She reached up to cup his cheek. "And I only found out yesterday that you'd visited me in that cabin." She couldn't believe that only 24 hours ago she'd been in Maine, oblivious to Matt's feelings for her. And now look where they were - half dressed and unable to keep their hands off each other.

Matt closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers. She stroked his cheek and scratched her nails through the stubble on his jaw. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "If I'd known - and if I'd been able - I would have been here so much sooner."

"When you didn't call...I thought it was over. I thought I'd never see you again." His voice was soft, but the hand gripping her thigh was anything but - as if he was subconsciously trying to pin her in place and keep her from disappearing on him again.

It was no wonder he'd looked so devastated when she'd told him she was leaving.

"You will see me again, Matt. I promise," she vowed. "But Volkov knows that I lived here for months. And now that he's lost track of us through the nanites, this would be the obvious place to start searching for me. I can't stay here. It would put you - and everyone in this building, and all of my sisters - in danger. I can't take that risk."

Matt sighed. "You're forgetting that it would put you at risk too. That's all I care about."

She smiled at him. "You're such a liar. You care about everyone. If Volkov's men suddenly started ransacking this building, terrorising all the residents, you would move heaven and earth to stop them. Because that's who you are. Its one of the things I love about you."

He smiled, as if still getting used to those words.

"It won't be forever," she said. "Once we find Volkov and neutralise the threat, I can come home. Then we can be together."

"That could be weeks, Calina. Months, even."

She looked away as he voiced one of her fears, but then tried to put on a brave face. "I hope not. We're all pretty invested in getting our freedom back so we're working flat out trying to find him."

"Let me help."

"With all due respect to your skills - and I know you have a lot of them - I'm not sure what you can do." She cupped his cheek and stroked the delicate skin beneath his eyes, trying to soften her words with her touch. "Besides, you have your work cut out for you here - you still have to find out who's behind those pheromones."

Matt groaned and dropped his head back against the couch. "And I'm back to square one on that. They've figured out we were tracking them, so they relocated and blew up the old lab. Now we have nothing."

"There must be financial records for the building you could look into? A different way to trace them?"

Matt lifted his head up, as if just remembering something. "Actually..."

"What?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he levered himself off the sofa and crouched down by his suit, which he'd left crumpled on a heap on the floor last night. He removed something from his belt and turned around to show her. "I stole one their devices last night."

He passed it to her as he sat down again. She turned the metal container over in her hands studying it. It was sleek and relatively simple, with a canister at one end and a button at the other. It looked likes something Apple would make if they started designing asthma inhalers. "Interesting," she murmured.

"What is?"

"This device. It's made of an expensive-looking alloy. And the design is...refined. Someone put a lot of thought into how this looks."

"Why is that interesting?"

"Because it tells me a lot about the person behind this. For one, they have money. A lot of it. This isn't some prototype cobbled together from scraps. They wanted something that looked good. That represented them. And they had the money to make it happen."

"Okay, so they're rich. That doesn't exactly narrow it down."

"No. But it also tells me that they're vain. Narcissistic. As well as being a sadist for wanting to create something like this in the first place. That's a really bad combination, Matt."

Matt took the device and ran his fingers over it, mapping its shape. "That is interesting." He smiled at her. "Have you moved on to reading psychology books now?"

She returned his smile, but hers was bittersweet. "No. This what I was trained to do - get inside people's heads. It makes it easier to impersonate them. Or manipulate them."

Matt stroked a hand down her thigh. "Well, you're using that training for something positive now."

Calina shrugged. "But you're right. It doesn't make it easy to narrow down a suspect list."

"Analysing the contents might. I just have to figure out a way to do that."

Calina perked up as she realised there was a much more practical way for her to help. "We have an older Widow on the team who's a biochemist. She could analyse it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, she's actually the one who developed the mind control serum. As penance for that, she's been helping us take down the last of the Red Room. I'm sure she'd be happy to work on this if I ask her to."

Matt didn't reply straight away, so she glanced across at him. He looked uncertain. "What is it?" she asked.

"Are you sure we can trust her?"

Calina straightened up. "Why? Because she's a Widow?"

Matt grabbed her hand. "No. I didn't mean it that way. I'm worried about this tech falling into the wrong hands, and you just told me that she has a history of being on the wrong side of this kind of thing..."

"I only told you that so you'd know she has the expertise to deal with this. She wasn't aware that her formula was being used to control us."

"But she knew it was being used to control somebody."

Calina frowned and tried to pull her hand away, but Matt held on tight. "I'm sorry," he sighed. "I shouldn't have said that. In my defence, I'm really not good at accepting outside help. But I trust your judgement. So if you trust hers, that's good enough for me."

Her frown stayed where it was as a pernicious thought crept into her head. If Matt was so wary of trusting Widows because of their background and the things they'd done in the past...did that extend to her too?

Did he trust her?

And could she blame him if he didn't? She'd lied to him - multiple times. She'd just admitted that she was trained to manipulate people. She was a killer. A thief. A spy.

Why would he trust her?

"Hey," Matt said softly, tipping her chin up with his finger. "Are you okay?"

She tried to smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He sighed, obviously not believing her. He scooped her up with an arm under her legs and dragged her onto his lap. He held her close and and kissed her neck. "What's wrong," he asked.

Calina pulled at a thread on the hem of her shorts as she debated whether to tell him...

No. She needed to know. She had a feeling this would eat away at her otherwise. "Do you...do you trust me, Matt?"

It was his turn to frown. "I just told you I did."

"No, you said you trust my judgement. Do you trust me?"

He turned her face towards him again, and kept his hand on her cheek as he spoke. "Of course I do. Calina, I love you."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I trust you."

Another kiss to her cheek. "I respect you."

One to the tip of her nose. "I admire you."

To her chin. "I feel everything for you."

He slanted his mouth over hers and kissed her deeply, as if trying to convince her of his truth.

And...it worked. When she was in his arms like this, with his whole body focused on her, and his beautiful words ringing in her ears...she believed him.