𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 - the asshole

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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑 𝐎𝐅 vigilantes let their nighttime conversation, along with the tension, simmer and eventually Olivia stood to ready herself for bed. She had bid Matt goodnight and tried her best to sleep, but it didn't come easy that night.

It seemed as if she had no control over her hearing, every noise seemed magnified, the sounds of the trains running beneath them were like thunder splitting the sky, and the sounds of the two heartbeats in the rooms sounded like a thousand jackhammers drilling into the ground; it was safe to say that the wolf was still awake when the sun finally rose.

Her eyes burned with fatigue but she still forced herself out of bed the second light filtered into the room; just lying in bed knowing she couldn't sleep was annoying her and all her mind could replay was the conversation she and Matt had before they had separated.

She couldn't quite seem to get it out of her mind.

She splashed her face with freezing water, as she did every morning and let out a deep sigh. She just wanted to have a beer and a nap... and maybe pause her mind for a while.

She reached up to grab the glass that sat on the shelf, but her eyes deceived her and instead, she knocked it to the floor; shattering it into a million pieces.

The sound of the glass colliding with the ground made Matt's eyes fly open and the man jumped out of bed.

Olivia sighed as she ran a hand through her mess of hair and threw a look over her shoulder before bending down to scoop up the pieces, "Sorry."

"No, it's fine," Matthew spoke, his voice deep and groggy from sleep. His hair stuck up in different directions and one of his trouser legs was tucked into his sock, the other untucked and his hands were half covered by the long sleeves of his sweater. For a blind ninja, he looked adorable. "Are you okay?"

The wolf winced as a piece of glass cut into her palm. "Yeah, I uh, I didn't get any sleep."

Matt padded his way over, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he knelt down beside her and scooped up the remaining glass into his sweater covered hand. He stood up and offered a hand to the wolf, pulling her up as he listened to her let out another long yawn. "How come?"

She chuckled as they walked over to the bin and dropped the glass inside. She dusted the smaller pieces of glass away and watched as the small cuts on her palms disappeared, leaving nothing but a speck or two of blood behind. "I couldn't seem to shut my hearing off; everything was so loud I thought my ears were going to bleed."

"I know the feeling." He nodded as he recalled the many sleepless nights back in his apartment just from the buzzing of a billboard. "I need to go to my apartment today, get a suit so I can go to the prison, it's mostly quiet, you can sleep whilst I'm gone."

Olivia bobbed her head, another small yawn slipping from her lips causing Matt's lip to twitch, something she narrowed her eyes at. "You know what? I'm gonna take you up on that offer."

⋆⋆⋆

Matthew had gotten ready within minutes and simply sat, twiddling his thumbs as he waited for a beyond tired Olivia to join him. He listened with an amused smirk on his lips as he caught a side of the wolf he had never known to exist; she pottered about, yawning every twenty seconds, tripping over things and somehow, the big bad wolf had managed to get herself stuck whilst pulling off her jumper.

Matt had moved to get up and help the poor woman who simply stood, head downcast in disbelief and shame at herself whilst she listened to a hearty chuckle leave the devil's lips. She huffed as he walked over and helped to dislodge her from the fabric trap, promptly ignoring his smug grin as he did.

She also chose to ignore the purposeful way his thumb had skimmed her bare shoulder and threw the jumper at him as he continued to laugh at her misfortune.

Once Olivia had finally wrangled herself into some clothes; Jeans and a fresh jumper she stole from Matt for laughing at her predicament, the two had made their way out of the church and in the direction of Matt's apartment.

They didn't walk in a rushed pace, apparently Matt... or rather, Foggy, had an appointment at the prison at roughly lunchtime and by the time they had left the church it was only about eight in the morning.

The two walked side by side, taking back alleys and empty streets on their way, and after a short while they had arrived.

Olivia eyed Matt with furrowed brows as the man led her through the hallway and towards his apartment; reaching behind a tattered radiator to procure the key to unlock the door. "For a vigilante and a lawyer, you're not great at hiding places, are you?"

"Worked didn't it?" He muttered, amused as he slid the key into the lock and opened the creaky door, tilting his head as a gesture for Olivia to enter.

"I suppose it did." The wolf shrugged as she brushed past him and into the apartment, heading straight towards his living room. Though when her eyes settled on his coffee table and the numerous stacked letters, she frowned. "Uh, Matt?"

"Yeah?"

"You do need a better hiding place; someone's been here."

Olivia shook her head as Matt hummed in response, clearly not bothered about someone rifling through his apartment in his absence. She watched as the man headed towards his bedroom, hearing him opening his closet to find a suit to change into.

The wolf took to slumping herself on his couch, head resting on the back of it as she closed her eyes, barely able to keep them open.

She opened her mouth to speak and rolled her eyes at herself as yet another long yawn brushed past her lips, "So, what's your plan?"

"I know someone in there, helped get him a shorter sentence, he uh, he worked with the Albanians; figured he might know how to get in contact with Vic Jusufi. Fisk turned on the Albanians, I wanna know why. See if they have anything on him"

Olivia nodded slowly; her eyes still closed. Matt had told her about some of the things he had gotten wind off in his little solo excursion when they had been on the outs. Explaining everything about how the Albanians had been the ones behind the attack on the motorcade moving Fisk to his "house arrest" suite even though they had once been in cahoots with one another.

"Well, I hate to break it to you, Matty, but-" She drawled out with a lazy smirk. "-You're not nearly as handsome as Foggy, when they see that I.D, it's game over."

Matt let out a chuckle as he adjusted the cuffs on his shirt, "You think Foggy's more handsome than me?"

"I think the ID's not going to work."

"I'll figure something out."

Her eyes opened slowly as Matt finally walked out of his room, dressed in a fresh and clean grey suit with a black tie completing the look. She hummed as she closed her eyes again, "I take it back. You are more handsome than Foggy."

"A suit was all it took to change your mind?"

"The suit helps."

Matt smiled and rolled his eyes as he placed the suit jacket on the coffee table before taking a seat next to the wolf. "That's good to know."

She let out a small, tired laugh and Matt could hear her heart slowing as the fatigue crept up on her, his voice was low and calming, as if to not disturb her, "I think it's time for you to go to sleep."

Her head bobbed lightly and a small noise came from the back of her throat, a noise that was completely unintelligible and yet it somehow managed to convey that she was ready to pass out right then and there.

"Alright." He whispered to himself before standing. He shook his head as he leaned over and hooked his arms underneath her, ignoring the mumbled protests as he heaved her into his arms.

Olivia huffed to herself as she was lifted into the Man's arms. She could only imagine how silly the scene looked; a blind man carrying the big bad wolf to bed.

How intimidating she was.

He carried her towards his bedroom, now, Matt had done this a fair share of times, but it always ended a little bit differently. He placed her down on the made bed and rose a brow when the woman curled up instantly.

She buried her head into the pillow and even though Matthew hadn't been in his apartment for almost two months, his scent invaded her nostrils. She let out a heavy sigh at the comfort, much different to the bed she had been using at the church. "Thank you." She muttered; her words muffled by the pillow her head was buried in.

Matt shook his head with a small chuckle as he left the room, "You're welcome."

"Matt?" Olivia called out as she lifted her head from the plush pillow, strands of hair falling into her face. "Be back by midnight."

"What's at midnight?"

"Your bedtime; I'm not putting up with a cranky vigilante... again."

The corners of his lips pulled up and an amused laugh escaped him, "Is that right? You sound like Sister Maggie."

"Good." She hummed as she pulled the covers closer to her, conserving the heat. "See you later. Try not to get beaten up, okay?"

"I'll try my best."

"That doesn't reassure me, at all."

"Goodbye, Olivia." Matt finished with a chuckle, the door shutting behind him.

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Olivia was entirely dead to the world. She was not somebody who functioned well with absolutely no sleep, especially after a few drinking days and mind-numbing arguments, hence why she remained blissfully unaware of the shrill sound of a phone blaring through Matthews's apartment.

Olivia continued to doze, curled up like the wolf she was, silk sheets slowly rising and falling with every relaxed inhale and exhale. For once, her mind was fortunate enough to be completely unplagued by any dreams, good or bad. She simply slept contently.

That, however, was very much interrupted when the sound of voices reached her ears; one was pissed and yelling, the other trying to calm them down.

With a growl, Olivia snapped her eyes open and a look that could kill morphed over her features, there was no way she had slept any longer than two hours and she was honestly willing to put a body in the ground just to get a few more hours. She pushed herself up, squinting as her eyes readjusted to the blinding light that filtered into the room.

The voices grew louder as they approached the apartment and Olivia easily identified who they belonged to; Foggy Nelson and Karen Page. Clearly Foggy decided to ignore Matt's request and told Karen that the man was, in fact, alive.

Good.

She jumped up from the bed the moment the front door was thrown open and slammed against the wall. "Oh, dear God." She whispered beneath her breath, internally cursing Matt for leaving her to become Karen's punching bag, even if it was unintentional.

"Matt! Matt!" Karen yelled as she stormed inside, ignoring Foggy's attempts at calming her.

"He's not here. I called."

With a deep inhale, the wolf decided to feed herself to the... well, wolves.

"He's not." She spoke, gaining the attention of the pair. "But I am."

Karen stood in place as her hands shook by her side as if she had seen a ghost; to her, she had. Her eyes were blown wide as she stared at the woman who was leaning on the doorframe leading to Matt's bedroom and her voice came out as a hoarse whisper. "Olivia?"

A sheepish and tense smile pulled at her lips as she nodded and stepped forward. "It's me. I'm sorry-"

A sharp 'Smack' rang out and Olivia's head snapped to the side, the gasp that left Foggy audible in each of their ears. The red imprint of a hand on the side of her cheek quickly faded as she nodded, blinking in mild shock at the strength behind the woman. "I deserve that."

As Olivia turned back to face Karen, the blonde wrapped her arms around the wolf. "Yeah, no shit." She breathed before pulling back with red and watery eyes. "I can't believe you're alive."

"I'm sorry, Karen. I really am."

Karen swallowed as she looked the wolf over; she could see the sincerity within the wolf's eyes and gave her a nod. "I know."

"Oh, and Foggy?"

Foggy rose his brows as he stepped forward, "Yeah?"

"I honestly didn't know that he was going to take your wallet."

"I didn't think you would."

"I uh-" Olivia chuckled as she walked over to the couch to take a seat, one leg folded beneath her. "I told him I wanted to knock him out."

She smiled as her comment managed to elicit laughs out of the pair. Foggy shook his head with a large grin on his face, "Where have you been our whole lives."

Flashes of werewolves, kanimas, banshees, and Kilgrave passed through her mind. She blinked and chuckled. "You uh, you don't wanna know."

⋆⋆⋆

The trio had sat and caught up for around fifteen minutes, Olivia didn't really know what to say and she could tell that Karen had been itching to ask about Matthew. Eventually, the wolf had crossed her legs beneath her and turned to face Karen with a sigh before telling the woman that she had the floor.

Karen had taken a moment to try and process her thoughts, it had been two months since Midland Circle and her thoughts were still in disarray. The first thing she could think to spout was, "Why? Why would he let us think that he was dead?"

"It wasn't Matt that I saw, Karen." Foggy responded as he shifted in his seat, sharing a glance with Olivia who was fiddling with her ring and chewing on her lip. "Not really. It was Matt. All five feet, ten inches of him, but... the way that he spoke to me... something was missing."

Karen scoffed as she pushed her hair behind her ears, missing the solemn look Olivia had given the pair. "Well, that's nothing new. There's always something missing with Matt. I used to think that it was... it was busy lawyer, distracted Matt." She laughed with no emotion as she gestured wildly with her hands, "Then I thought it was weight-of-the-world-on-his-shoulders Matt. But you know what? It's just Matt."

Foggy shook his head, he had seen Matt, he knew something was different, "But it wasn't any of those. I think a part of him was buried under Midland Circle. I don't know if he's coming back."

"So much for him promising he'd stop lying to us. Letting us think he was dead."

"A whopper."

"I think Matt's made his choice. It doesn't really leave any room for either of us."

Olivia frowned, Matt had been different with her and there were a few reasons why, a reason she wasn't entirely certain on; a reason that she didn't quite want to share in that moment. But she knew that the 'Old Matt' was in there, she had seen glimpses, she had conversations with him; the night before when he had told her that he cared about her was proof.

But if she told Karen and Foggy that, well, she was afraid that it would make them feel worse. Especially Foggy. Matt and Foggy had gone to college together and had been friends ever since and Karen had been saved by the men, given a job and friends. And yet here Olivia was, knowing the man for just a few months and she was able to get through to him, sometimes anyway.

It would make them feel awful, unimportant. So, for the time being, she decided that she would keep some things to herself. She wouldn't lie to them, no. But she would tell them that he was there, they couldn't give up and they couldn't let him face Fisk alone.

It was a tricky position to be in; convincing them to help with Fisk would bring them and Matt closer together, but it was also going against what Matt had wanted; to keep them safe and as far away from Fisk as possible.

Oh hell.

"No." She spoke, drawing their eyes towards her. She shook her head as her brows furrowed. "If it doesn't leave any room for you, then you make room." She sighed and swiped her tongue across her bottom lip in thought, "He's in there, okay? He is. He wants to keep you safe and away from Fisk-"

She paused as Karen scoffed and Olivia let out a small chuckle, "But... If you want my opinion? I think we need you; one of the best reporters and lawyers in Hell's Kitchen? Hell yeah, we need you."

"She's right." Karen nodded as she looked between Olivia and Foggy before standing and slipping her coat back on. "I am not going to sit here and wait for Matt to come to his senses. Fisk is out, and he has to be stopped."

"Just-" Olivia made her pause, "Be careful, okay?"

Karen dropped her head for a moment before dragging her watery eyes back up to meet Olivia's, "Look after him? He's an asshole but..."

"He's your asshole."

Foggy scoffed in amusement as he stuffed his hands in his pockets, "He's our asshole. You're a part of our rag-tag, weird as hell family. So, you be careful too, uh-" He stuttered as he rifled through his coat pockets before procuring a small card, "Here's my number, you need us? You got us."

A smile spread on Olivia's lips as she stood and plucked the card from the lawyer's hand, "Thank you, Foggy."

Foggy sucked in a breath through his teeth, "Good luck."

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19-08-2020