Calina's next opportunity to see Matt came a few days later.

She was in Manhattan picking up a few extra firearms with Katya. The other Widow had a contact that had sourced the unregistered weapons from the black market. He charged a fortune, but it was worth the additional cost to keep their purchases under the radar.

After stashing the bag of guns in the trunk of their car, Calina handed Katya the keys. "You go on ahead. I have an errand to run."

Katya rolled her eyes. "I wonder what 'errand' you could possibly need to run in this part of the city?"

Calina shrugged and smiled. "I have a delivery to make."

It was the truth. One of Matt's favourite Chinese restaurants was around the corner, so she planned to grab him lunch and deliver it to his office.

She was taking a gamble that he would a) be in his office, and b) not be with a client, but she couldn't pass up the chance to see him again.

Twenty minutes later, arms laden with enough kung pao chicken and Szechuan Beef to feed an army, she skipped up the stairs leading to Nelson, Murdock & Page.

———

Matt leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms out in front of him. He laced his fingers together, twisted his forearms and felt the satisfying crack of his knuckles. The tenant dispute case that Foggy had 'assigned' to him had turned into a class action lawsuit against one of the most despicable slumlords in the city, and he'd spent the last three hours reading through pages and pages of evidence.

'Nightmare' didn't even cover it.

The three of them were now spending all their time and efforts trying to win the suit. Time and effort that could have been used to follow up on Calina's lead and track down the mysterious pheromone manufacturer...

But this cause was just as worthy. Dozens of families had been taken advantage of, and were now trapped in tenancy contracts for mould-invested apartments. They were losing money, and their kids were getting sick. It was exactly the kind of case Nelson, Murdock & Page was created for - getting justice for the most deprived and powerless in the city.

And if they failed the legal way, Matt had a backup plan. Daredevil had been out at night gathering dirt on the landlord and his company, and he wouldn't hesitate to hand it over to the cops and get the guy put away for decades. But for the families to see some compensation, they needed to win in the courts first. So Matt shook out his tired hands and went back to reading.

But just ten minutes later, his concentration started to wane. He'd been successfully ignoring his hunger pangs all morning - it was his own fault for skipping breakfast and only having a light meal before patrolling last night - but the faint scent of Chinese food filtering in from the street outside was making that task almost impossible.

He took a deep breath, inhaling the delicious aroma of chilli, garlic and ginger, and his stomach let out a loud rumble in response.

He breathed again, and the smell became stronger - it was in the building now, no longer on the street. Matt lifted his head, tracking the scent as it travelled up the stairs, figuring one of the other offices must have ordered takeout.

Which was a very good idea.

Matt took out his phone and started punching in the number to his favourite restaurant, having memorised the contact information years ago. He could blame that on being blind - it was easier to memorise numbers than to search for them - but, really, he just ordered too much takeout.

He'd lived off the stuff for years. Sure, he could cook, and he liked being able to cook for others. But when it was just him, it was easier to order in. He'd only really had consistent home-cooked meals when Calina had lived with him. She used to enjoy finding recipes and trying them out - with him as her willing taste-tester.

"I don't know why I was so wary of cooking for myself when I came to New York," she'd told him one night as she diced a carrot and added it to the stew she was preparing. "Its just a lot of knife skills, and the application of physics and chemistry. And I know about all of those things."

Matt grabbed a left over slice of carrot from the chopping board and popped it in his mouth. "I think a lot of chefs would disagree with you there. They regard it as more of an art than a science."

"I don't see the distinction," she'd argued. "Art and science are too entwined to be separated like that. They're just two sides to the same coin."

"How so?" Matt asked, leaning back against the counter top, settling in to enjoy the conversation. He loved to hear Calina's thoughts on the world, and the surprising way she often viewed it. He wondered whether it was because she'd been so alienated from it for so long, or whether it was just her. Her unique and fascinating brain that gave her these insights.

"People tend to separate art into the creative realm, and science is relegated to the rational," she explained. "But an artist needs an element of rationality. They can really only succeed if they know the science underpinning their creations - how colours mix together, how perspective informs composition, how language can convey an idea. And scientists use imagination and creativity to explore nature. The greatest discoveries in physics came from someone imagining the world beyond what they could see and feel."

Matt smiled remembering that conversation. They'd spent all of dinner debating the topic and all the tangential topics that had branched from it. And they'd spent night after night like that, learning about each other over dinner, finding out about their differing opinions and the similar ways they thought, until he became just as infatuated with her mind as he was with her smell and the softness of her skin.

God, he missed talking to her.

The two brief encounters they'd had since Christmas has been just that - brief. Too quick to do more than say hello and goodbye, and assure themselves that the other was whole and unharmed. Too quick to really say anything of substance.

Matt shook off those thoughts. If he went down that path - of wondering what she was doing, of remembering that kiss on the rooftop last weekend, of imagining a future where they were free to be together and talk for hours on end - he would never get any work done. He'd learned over the past few months that to be effective at anything in his life - being a lawyer, or a vigilante, or even a decent friend - he needed to stash thoughts of Calina to the back of his mind.

He resumed typing in the number for the Chinese restaurant, then called out to Foggy and Karen before pressing the dial button. "Do you guys want Chinese for lunch? I'm gonna order something."

"Um, I thought you already had," Foggy responded, sounding confused.

Matt listened to what was happening beyond his desk and realised that while he'd been distracted thinking of Calina, someone had come to the office door - with the Chinese food he'd been smelling.

He got to his feet and ambled out to the main reception area. Foggy was rummaging in his wallet for cash, while Karen was taking bags of food off the delivery person. "Are you sure its for this address?" Foggy asked.

"Yep. Nelson, Murdock and Page. The most prestigious law firm on West 49th street."

Foggy paused, and Matt could sense his friend frowning. "Right," he said slowly.

But Matt just smiled and strode forward. Because he recognised that voice. Despite the drop in pitch and the strange accent she was putting on, he recognised Calina's beautiful voice.

He would know it anywhere.

He slipped between Karen and Foggy, took Calina's hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. "Hey, sweetheart."

"Calina?" Foggy spluttered.

"Hi, Foggy. Nice to see you again."

"I- I didn't recognise you. Sorry. Hi."

"That's kind of the point of a disguise." She smiled up at Matt. "Although I knew I'd never fool this guy."

"Disguise?" Matt asked. He'd noticed straightaway the ball-cap pulled low over her face, but there must be more to her get-up if Foggy hadn't recognised her. He plucked the hat from her head and ran his hand through the loose waves of her hair. It felt shorter. And styled differently. "New haircut?" he guessed.

"Yes..."

He rubbed a strand between his fingers, feeling the strange new texture. "And dyed?"

"Very good, Counsellor. Now that I'm spending time in the city again, I thought I should try to be more incognito.

"What colo-" He caught himself before he could finish, remembering the conversation they'd had months ago. The one in which she spoke of her looks and how she liked the fact that he didn't know anything about the superficial aspects of her beauty.

So as much as he was curious about her new hair colour, he dropped the question. "Nevermind."

He sensed her smile widening, and she squeezed his hand in gratitude - as if she knew what he wanted to ask, and why he changed his mind.

She probably did. It was proof of the connection they shared - this ability to silently communicate, to be on the same page, thinking the same thoughts...it was proof of how right they were together.

Matt kissed the back of her hand again then stepped back, allowing the real world to intrude on their little bubble.

"Sorry, Foggy, what did you say?" he asked, knowing his friend had asked something while he'd been concentrating on Calina.

"I asked if you guys wanted to be alone. Karen and I can head out for lunch and give you some privacy."

Calina shook her head before Matt could answer. "No, I brought enough for everyone."

She took the bags back from Karen and headed for the conference table, where she started unpacking the cartons.

"Any occasion in particular?" Foggy asked, helping her spread out the food. "You got another thumb drive full of revelations to drop off?"

Calina smiled. "Not this time. I just wanted to hang out with you guys for a while. The last time we tried...it didn't really go to plan."

Matt winced at the reminder of that night - the night Calina had tried to kiss him, and his stupid fears had ruined it. In a way, it had been the catalyst for everything that had changed between them. But he still hated the way he'd behaved that night.

Matt squeezed Calina's knee as she sat beside him, a silent apology.

She bumped her shoulder against his, telling him they were all good.

More silent communication.

More connection.

Matt smiled as he reached for the carton of wontons, then paused as he realised his friends were watching him - with matching big, goofy smiles on their faces. "What?"

Karen shrugged. "You two are cute together."

"All we've gotten for months is angst and drama," Foggy explained. "'Oh no, she left and won't pick up her phone' and 'Oh no, we have to be apart, how can I possibly survive?'. It's just refreshing to see the lighter side of the Matt and Calina story."

Matt rolled his eyes and chucked a spare pair of chopsticks at his friend. "Very funny."

"Ignore him," Karen advised Calina. "Tell us what's been going on with you? Matt said you're close to bringing down this Volkov guy."

Calina nodded. "Close, but we're not there yet. We're kind of in a holding pattern, just waiting for our moment. So we've been spending our time prepping and training."

Matt brushed his thumb gently over a bruise he could sense across Calina's upper arm. "Is that how you got this?"

She rolled her shoulder, as if it was stiff. "Yeah. You remember Inessa?"

Matt nodded and held a hand out at shoulder level. "The petite one."

"She may be petite, but she kicks like a mule."

Matt laughed. "I learned pretty quickly not to underestimate her."

Calina laughed. "That's right - she took you down."

"Wait, what?" Foggy chimed in. "When did this happen?"

"It was when Yelena kidnapped me to take me to the cabin Calina was staying at. And in my defence, it was Inessa and Katya together, and they had a tranquilliser gun."

"Excuses, excuses," Foggy teased.

"Speaking of excuses," Calina said, resting her fingers against the black eye only partially hidden by his glasses. "What's yours for this?"

"Just an over-enthusiastic car-jacker who got lucky."

"Nothing to do with the pheromone case?" she asked. "How's that going, by the way?"

A collective groan sounded out in the room.

"That good, huh?"

Karen wiped off her fingers and got to her feet. Then she spun the whiteboard in the corner of the room around to show a complicated collage of documents, photographs and notes. "We've been looking into the buyers of Arsonium bromide - who they are, how much they're purchasing and their stated reasons. Unfortunately, there are a lot of buyers."

"Its been slow-going and tedious," Matt growled.

Foggy sighed, used to hearing Matt's complaints about their chosen methodology. "It's slow-going and thorough. And for good reason. We've had experience investigating rich, powerful and well-connected people before. We need to do this carefully."

Matt nodded, reluctantly. He understood the reasons for caution - their firm didn't need to be on the radar of another Wilson Fisk-type character - but it had been months since the explosion in the lab, and weeks since Calina had gifted them with this lead and they were still nowhere.

Calina stroked her thumb against his cheek. "You're getting frustrated."

He nodded, cupping her hand against his skin. "Understatement."

"You'll figure it out. I know you will."

"Thanks." He turned his head to press a kiss to her palm. "And thanks for lunch."

He sensed her frown. "I'll have to do it more often. You look a little thin."

He shrugged. "It's just been busy around here."

"But you're taking care of yourself?"

He nodded, warming at the concern and caring in her voice. "I miss your cooking though. I miss our evenings together."

"Me too."

"And our nights. And the mornings."

She laughed softly, and tipped forward to rest her forehead against his. "Me too."

A text alert from her phone broke the quiet intimacy of the moment. Calina sighed as she read the message.

"Time to go?" he guessed.

"Yeah." She lifted her head to look around the room, and seemed to notice for the first time that they were alone.

"They slipped out to give us some privacy," Matt explained.

She smiled. "You have good friends."

"They're your friends too."

"I hope so."

She gathered her stuff then leaned over to kiss him. He held her against him, his hand locked on the back of her head as he tried to prolong the moment.

Then she left.

Again.

He toyed with the fortune cookie in front of him as he listened to her say goodbye to Foggy and Karen. As he heard her jog down the stairs. As she stepped onto the street and started walking away. He crumbled the wafer, crushing the pieces into dust between his fingers as her footsteps receded into the distance, taking her further and further away from him.

"You okay, man?" Foggy asked.

Matt shrugged, getting used to the bittersweet nature of Calina's brief visits. "I'll be fine."

Foggy patted him on the shoulder, then leaned over to pluck the slip of paper out of the destroyed cookie. He read the 'fortune' then huffed out a laugh.

"What does it say?" Matt asked.

Foggy didn't answer, just handed the note to Karen.

She laughed as well.

"Guys?"

"Sorry, Matt. It's just too on the nose. 'The love of your life will appear in front of you unexpectedly.'"

Matt joined in the laughter.

———

The love of his life appeared unexpectedly several more times over the next couple of weeks.

She was in a darkened corner at the back of Josie's one night. Alerted by her scent, he tracked her through the Happy Hour crowd, then pulled her further into the shadows where they spent several hot, sweaty minutes pressed against each other. She slipped out the back door and he returned to Foggy and Karen with his hair rumpled and his smiling lips stained with her lipstick.

A few days later, she was in the public gallery of the courtroom, watching as he entered a plea for one of his clients. Her gaze was a warm caress on his back as he stood before the judge, and her calm, soothing heartbeat filled his senses. But when he turned to leave at the end of the session she was gone.

There was another sky-high kiss after she summoned him to the roof of a dimly lit multi-storey car lot. He raced across the city, following the sound of the clanging dashes and dots of his now-familiar code, lured like a sailor by a siren.

And just as he was starting to grow frustrated by those brief encounters - those stolen moments in which they could do little more than kiss - she crept into his bedroom one early morning and they made love for hours. He arrived to work that day bleary-eyed, but languidly sated.

Her unpredictable appearances turned their separation into a game. A secret pastime, where she tried to surprise him, and where he tracked her through crowds and down winding alleyways. Where there were no losers, only winners, and their shared victory was celebrated with passion-filled kisses and tender embraces.

It broke their time apart into days instead of weeks. Manageable fragments of time, spent in anticipation, not loneliness and despair.

It brought much-needed moments of levity to both of their lives...

Until everything went horribly, horribly wrong.