𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘-𝐒𝐈𝐗 - the old friends

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𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐀 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐍𝐎 idea what she should have been doing. After the revelation that Sister Maggie was, in fact, Matthew's mother, Matt had left to seek out Father Lantom as Olivia followed suit. She wasn't entirely sure where they would find the Father, but inside of a pub, gambling over a game of pool didn't even make the list. What a sight it was.

As it turned out, Father Lantom did know about Sister Maggie's and Matthew's familial relations, something that didn't make Matt's mood any brighter.

Father Lantom told the two of Sister Maggie's story; the woman had been close to becoming a nun and in her weeks leading up she had met Matt's father, Jack Murdock at one of his boxing matches; she aided him between rounds and two eventually became closer and had an affair with one another before Maggie eventually fell pregnant. Once Matthew was born, Maggie suffered heavily from postpartum depression, believing that she had turned away and abandoned God.

She became hollow; leaving Matthew to cry as she stared onwards, demons plaguing her mind until Father Lantom and two of the nuns she would have joined came to retrieve her. She decided to leave behind her family and instead join the church; becoming the nun she originally had set out to become.

Olivia watched onwards as Matthew expressed his betrayal; he felt betrayed that the Father had kept the truth of his mother from him after years of the pair discussing Matt's truth, God's truth... he expressed that each of the conversations that he had with the Father were lies.

Olivia couldn't think of anything to say, it was a conversation that Matt and the Father needed. The wolf couldn't begin to understand how Matthew felt; years of having his mother right in front of him, and yet he didn't know.

Matthew stood from his seat with a plain expression on his face, though Olivia could see the disappointment and sadness that the vigilante held. Matt placed a hand on the Father's shoulder as he swallowed, "Shame on you." With those words, he walked away, his cane echoing out behind his departure.

Olivia let out a deep sigh, her chin resting on her linked hands as she watched Matthew leave. Her eyes slowly moved away from the door and settled back onto Father Lantom who at least had the decency to look ashamed at his actions. "Why would you keep that from him?"

"I-- I believed it best that the truth come from Sister Maggie herself."

Olivia shook her head as she rose from her seat, "All of those years thinking that he didn't have a family, all of those years he didn't get to spend with his mother just because neither of you wanted any backlash? He is a healing man and you've broken him all over again."

Not bothering to look back, Olivia made her way to the bar; Matthew was very much like herself and probably needed time to wrap his own head around the truth that had just been revealed so, instead of following after the vigilante that she actually trusted to keep himself safe, she would drink.

Thankfully the Father had left shortly after their conversation, leaving Olivia able to sit and drink in peace as the bar stayed relatively empty. Due to the wolf's ability to drink as much alcohol as she wanted without feeling even the slightest buzz inside of her head, well, the prospect of staying and drinking until midnight sounded relatively wonderful, especially since it was only early in the afternoon.

Olivia rather enjoyed drinking alone, a smug grin was usually planted on her face at the shocked looks of the bar-goers. Today however was different and rather than a grin, a scowl was on her lips as she threw back shot after shot before the bartender handed her a glass of water accompanied by a brow raise.

Olivia rolled her eyes and fished inside of her pockets and pulled out a few notes before sliding them and the glass of water towards the tender with a sarcastic smile, "Keep them coming."

"Whatever you say." The bartender spoke, taking the notes and the glass before preparing another shot of vodka.

"I'll have one too." A voice spoke up from beside the wolf.

Olivia shook her head with a laugh at the deep tone of voice from the man beside her, "Hello Luke."

"Really?" He rose a brow as he twisted in his seat, "That's all you got to say? Not, sorry I didn't tell you I'm alive or something like that?"

"Sorry I didn't tell you I'm alive..." Olivia hummed with a smirk, "or something like that."

Luke let out a heavy laugh despite his mild annoyance towards the woman and stood, pulling her much shorter frame closer and wrapping her in a hug, one she returned immediately. "It's good to see you Liv."

"You too, but what are you doing here? You don't come to this bar."

"Meeting another friend, you were a somewhat happy coincidence."

"Somewhat? Rude." Olivia teasingly scowled before throwing back another shot, "Who are you meeting?"

Luke grinned, his pearly white teeth almost glinting as he sipped at his whiskey, "You gave him lots of names, but my favorite was definitely 'one punch boy'"

"Seriously?" Another voice complained as they slumped in the chair on the other side of the wolf.

"Danny Rand, one-punch wonder, how are you?" Olivia grinned as she cocked her head.

"I hate you both."

⋆⋆⋆

The group of three continued to drink until Danny reached the point of no longer being able to see straight and Luke's words began to merge together, and Olivia being Olivia, dragged the pair outside of the bar before heaving Danny over her shoulder, she grabbed Luke's wrist and led the pair towards Luke's home.

Thankfully Luke began to sober the closer they got to his home; he was actually able to walk in a straight line and unlock his front door, allowing Olivia inside who quickly migrated towards the couch and carefully placed a blacked-out Danny Rand down.

With a deep sigh Olivia walked towards the kitchen she had seen Luke disappear into; he was sat at his table with his head in his hands as the alcohol made his head pound like a drum. Olivia rifled through his cupboards and retrieved three glasses, filling them with cool water. She placed one in front of the hero of Harlem along with some pills to ease his headache.

After shaking her head at Luke's mumbled 'thank you' she made her way to do the same for Danny, leaving a glass and some tablets for when the boy finally decided to raise from his drunken slumber.

"Remind me to never drink with you." Luke grumbled as the wolf reentered the kitchen.

"You say that every time." Olivia chuckled as she sat next to the man, sipping away at her own glass of water.

"Hey." Luke spoke as he turned his head, "I know you said back there that this whole thing about Matt on the news was being handled... but why'd you stick around after you got better?"

"I think you know why."

"The she-wolf and the devil of Hell's Kitchen... remind me to tell Matt 'good luck' whenever I see him."

"Oh, you are hilarious." Olivia drawled out sarcastically as she dipped her fingers in her drink before flinging the droplets of water at Luke's face, grinning as he recoiled.

"It really is good to see you again, Liv. I missed you."

"I missed you too. How's boy wonder out there been?"

"We've been meeting every once in a while, for a drink, other than that we all have our own things."

Olivia nodded, leaning back in the chair before a grin grew, "When Matt and I have sorted out what we need to do; me, you, Jess, Danny, and Matt are going out."

"Oh man, Matt getting drunk? I'm down."

⋆⋆⋆

Olivia had left the pair shortly after making sure that Luke had gotten to bed and that Danny wouldn't choke on his own vomit in the night. She strolled at a leisurely pace down the streets as the moon shone down on her.

She knew that Matt had been headed towards Fogwell's gym after he had left the bar earlier on but Olivia couldn't help herself; she wanted to talk to Sister Maggie about the secrets she had kept hidden. It wasn't anything to do with the wolf but she, well, she loved Matt and seeing him crumble in front of her eyes after the pair had been having a light conversation about their favorite alcoholic P.I, it had been mere moments before she was ready to tell the vigilante how she felt.

The wolf began to walk in the direction of the church, her steps light and jacket pulled close. She passed by people who stood in the shadows, eying her like many would, though she of course not only had a bark, but a bite too; she enjoyed when people confronted her, tried to intimidate her.

The closer she got to the church the more her body became riddled with confusion, riddled with worry. People were running and screaming as they passed her and as somebody screamed about the church, she ran.

She ran as fast as her legs would allow, pulling up the ever-present turtleneck and tying her hair up as she did, ready for whatever fight was obviously occurring.

She could hear Karen screaming out for Matthew, she could hear the grunts and pained yells of the man and whoever he was opposing. Crashes and bangs sounded out as objects were thrown and broken.

Olivia could see shadows moving by the windows on the higher floor and her nose was slowly being invaded by the metallic twang of blood.

She threw the doors of the church open, unbothered by the noise she made and immediately she saw where the scent of blood was flowing from. Laying in a pool of crimson at the base of the church's altar was Father Lantom; his heart no longer beating.

There was nothing she could do to fix him and so, with a heavy heart she turned her head and flicked out her claws before launching herself upwards to grasp at one of the pillars that stood tall.

Her eyes shone cobalt as she moved her vision towards the fighting duo; Matt facing off against Poindexter who was dressed in the devil suit. She once again pushed herself off the column and towards the balcony where they exchanged punches, her body colliding with the two just as the Poindexter managed to get Matthew into a headlock.

The three crumbled to the ground in a heap before Olivia rose, grabbing Poindexter and throwing him into the wall, whilst Matthew gasped for breath.

Objects were thrown towards the wolf who simply held up her arms, each one crashing and breaking as she stood still, unbothered by the cuts and splinters.

The man dressed in the suit moved forward, his head cocked at the new challenger and Olivia copied his actions. Of course she knew of him and what he was capable of, but facing him was a different story; he was an FBI agent and he knew how to fight, that made him dangerous enough without his annoying ability to throw things perfectly.

The two did a dance of punches, Olivia's ears twitching as she heard Karen move out from her hiding place to attend to a bleeding out Matthew. The man dressed as the devil snapped his gaze to the blonde; clearly lusting for her blood instead of the wolf's and sent a heavy punch at Olivia's face.

She could hear the crack that echoed out from her face and she could feel the uncomfortable sensation of blood trailing down to her mouth, landing on her tongue.

She quickly regained her balance and spun, her eyes immediately catching those of Karen's. Poindexter didn't know who or what Olivia was and therefore, he probably assumed that his rather strong and direct punch to the center of her face would either knock her out or immobilize her for far longer than it had.

Just before the man could reach out his hand to grab at Karen, Olivia grabbed him by the back of the suit and threw him as hard as she could over the balcony. She could hear his body collide with the pews; the seats shattering beneath the force of his fall.

Rather than pay attention to the man, Olivia slid to her knees, eyes glossing over Karen, "Are you okay?"

Karen swallowed at the loaded question and settled for a shaky nod before her eyes fell back to Matthew's still form.

Olivia followed Karens gaze and listened as Matt's heart continued its pounding, relief washing over her as she brought a hand to his face, "Matt?"

"I can't... can't let him leave."

Olivia nodded to herself as she dropped her hand and rose to her feet before walking to the railing of the second floor, peering over. Her shoulders slumped and a breath left her as she saw the site where the man had landed, but he was gone. "He's gone." She muttered, slamming her hand into the wooden railing, denting it as splinters invaded her hand. "I should have been here."

The wolf returned to her kneeling position on the floor and placed a hand on Karen's shoulder as she panicked; clutching at an unconscious Matthew, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Olivia felt guilt clawing at her as she took in the sight of Matthew laying on the ground, beaten once again; she had been drinking and joking when she should have stayed with him, of course he went out and found trouble. He was pissed and solved it with a fight.

Letting out a heavy breath she patted his face, willing him to wake before the FBI found them at the scene, "Matt?"

"Matt, come on, you gotta get up. You gotta get up. Please wake up." Karen cried as she shook him.

Matthew groaned as his eyes opened, his words slurred as he spoke, "Karen? Olivia..."

Olivia reached out, helping the man sit up, "We're here but we have to go."

"Where is he?"

"He's gone, he got away."

"No..." Matthew breathed as he strained his hearing in the hopes of hearing just the slightest tick from Father Lantom's heart, but nothing reached his ears. "Jesus. Father... He killed him."

Olivia pulled him close, an arm circling his shoulders as he gripped onto her, "I know, I'm so sorry, but we have to go."

Karen nodded as she glanced between the two, her heavy breaths disturbing the strands of hair that hung in front of her face, "I'm gonna stay here, and I'll tell the police everything."

"You can't stay Karen; you have to come with us. Ben Poindexter is the man in the suit, he's an FBI agent, he's working for Fisk... so does Nadeem."

"If they find you, they'll kill you." Matt spoke, his tone grave as he slowly made his way to his feet, using Olivia as a crutch.

⋆⋆⋆

Olivia had managed to lead both Karen and Matt towards the quarters where they had been staying at their time in the church, the wolf still had an arm wrapped around Matthew's waist as she helped the man down the stairs

The only issue was that the FBI was close on their tails; they were determined to follow after the three and with reluctant help from Sister Maggie who did her best to stall the FBI for as long as possible, they managed to follow after the trio.

Upon the footsteps growing ever louder, Olivia scanned the room before her eyes settled on the two stone coffins that were placed towards the back of the room. Her grip on Matt slackened and she hurried over, using her strength to slide the lid off the coffin, her head tilting towards Karen, "Get in."

Without any hesitation, Karen followed the wolf's order and rushed over, slipping inside the cold and dark coffin, praying that it was one she would eventually escape from. Once she was settled inside and gave a quick nod to Olivia, the brunette closed the coffin before moving towards the one next to it.

"Our turn." Olivia muttered towards Matt as she slid the coffin lid off.

Matthew climbed inside, his body almost the full width of the coffin. Upon hearing the sound of the FBI cutting through the gate that separated them from the trio in hiding, Olivia joined Matthew. She climbed inside, her chest against his as she reached up to slide the lid shut; plunging the pair into darkness.

She could literally feel Matt's heartbeat, hear Karen's breath in the next coffin as she struggled to quash the panic. Olivia herself was... calmer than she had expected, but then again, someone needed to be. Karen was panicking, Matt was pissed and Olivia was simply trying to get them all out safely.

The wolf and the devil were as silent as they could be, Olivia focusing on the thudding of Matt's heart beneath her as she waited for the FBI to clear out the area, and hopefully come up empty.

Olivia really had to give it to Sister Maggie, the woman had managed to tear away the FBI's attention and drag them elsewhere within moments of them arriving in the underground area.

The wolf gave it a moment as the agents left before letting out a heavy breath. She gave Matt's arm a light squeeze before shifting to slide off the coffin's lid and quickly hopped out of the uncomfortably small space.

She held out a hand for Matt who reached out and allowed the wolf to pull him up, he cleared his throat realizing he hadn't exactly spoken to her since he had found out that the Sister was his mother, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Matt." Olivia confirmed softly as she picked up the lid to the coffin Karen had hidden inside, placing it down without a sound once the woman stepped out, "Are you?"

Matthew swallowed harshly, "Yeah."

Olivia didn't believe him, but she wasn't going to push it, he had quite the shitty few days and making him relive everything as well as dealing with the ever-looming threat of Fisk probably wouldn't have been a great idea. Instead, she walked over to the vigilante and took one of his rope covered hands, some of the blood smearing onto her palm as she gently placed a kiss on his lips, "You better be."

The smallest of smiles flickered across his lips as she pulled back; one that Karen had caught sight of after blinking in surprise at the act of intimacy the wolf had shown, after all, it's not like anybody exactly knew about the pair. If it weren't for the matter at hand, Karen would have smiled at the scene but her panic-filled gut was far too prominent.

"I guess we'll just wait here until... until they leave." Matt murmured as he took a seat on the coffin he and Olivia had been hiding in, the wolf slumping by his side whilst Karen leaned herself against one of the pillars opposite them. Matt tilted his head towards Karen, "Why is Fisk hunting you?"

This had also been a question on Olivia's mind. She had seen how Poindexter had pinpointed his gaze on the blonde rather than herself or Matt, and she had no idea why.

"Had a plan." Karen shrugged, crossing her arms, "Went to go see him."

Olivia leaned forward, her eyes narrowing, "You-- you decided to go and see Fisk... why in the world?"

"I thought maybe I could provoke him, turn his emotions against him." Karen replied hesitantly as she watched Olivia blink, mouthing the words 'what the fuck' to herself. "Thought I could make him attack me in front of the FBI."

Both Olivia and Matt were silent for a solid three seconds as they tried to figure out what to say, Matt took the lead, his tone filled with pure exasperation, "Jesus, Karen."

"Yeah... don't worry, it didn't work. He-he caught me off guard, asked me how long I'd known your secret... I swear I tried, but he just... he read it in my face."

"You tried to outsmart Fisk? Provoke him into making a mistake?"

Karen sighed, "Fine, okay, right. You're right. I was an idiot. Sorry."

"Stupid," Olivia hummed, "But brave as hell."

"Doesn't matter, he didn't take the bait."

Olivia frowned as her hearing picked up on the way her heart began to pound, "Wait, what bait?"

"I told him a secret of my own..." A harsh breath escaped the blonde before she scoffed at herself. Her eyes were becoming red and puffy as tears began to build. She had never told Matthew what she had done. "You remember that friend he had that got shot? Uh... Wesley?"

Olivia scanned Matthew's face, seeing the recognition; clearly this 'Wesley' was someone they had both encountered. But the words that left Karen's mouth next, were the ones that shocked the wolf and the devil.

"I killed him. That's why he sent Poindexter after me. I was stupid and... and reckless, and now Father Lantom is dead because of it. Because of... because of me."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Matt whispered as he shifted in place, the words that his friend had spoken hit him deeply. He had never expected those words to leave her mouth.

Karen wiped at her face, brushing away the tears that fell down her red and puffy cheeks. "I don't know. You... you always treated me like I was... innocent. That was nice... it was nice that you thought of me like that... What were you gonna do to Fisk?"

"I--" He paused, his head tilting towards Olivia just slightly as he remembered everything the wolf had told him about her past; about the man she had killed. She had said that it never left her mind, that even though she did it to keep others safe, she knew there could have been a different direction to take it. "I don't know. I hadn't decided."

Olivia snapped her head towards him, having half expected the man to have been adamant in his original decision to kill the man. Sure 'I don't know' wasn't a one hundred percent guarantee that Matt would find another way, but it was something. Her lips twitched into a quick smile as he brought a hand to rest on her thigh; she had never expected to have such an impact on such a stubborn man.

"Okay, you're gonna have to listen to me here." Karen sniffed as she pushed herself away from the pillar and made her way over to the pair, crouching in front of them. Her eyes connected with Olivia's for a split second and the wolf could see the hesitance and fright that swam inside of her ocean-blue eyes. "Okay, listen to me. I never told you why I left Vermont, right? Why I left home. There was a car crash and... I killed my brother, uh, because I was... I was high and I was drunk and angry--"

"--Jesus Karen," Matt whispered.

"--And I shouldn't have been driving and it changed everything." The blonde continued in a shaky voice, tears spilling from her eyes. Olivia exhaled a heavy breath, she felt for the woman; could relate in one way or another... being the cause for a sibling dying. "No matter what I do... there is no atoning for that. Okay? There is no way to come back from it."

"What if... it is the way back? For me?" Matt countered; his voice low.

Olivia shook her head, her eyes glossing over his face. "It's not and you know that. You've listened to both me and Karen and you know that it will haunt you..." Olivia cleared her throat before sucking in a breath, "You don't need any more ghosts, Matt..."

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08-09-2020