"Would you really think so little of me?"
"I can't afford not to."
full summary inside
daredevil fanfic
part of the earth-716 universe
matt murdock x m!oc
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liar, liar
ARTEMIS BELL was a liar.
Matt Murdock knew that for a fact. The other's change in heartbeat was slight, almost imperceptible (which was concerning in its own right), but there was no mistaking the skip whenever he lied. Which was often.
Even as he stood in front of him now, introducing himself to him and Foggy and Karen, Matt could hear the stutter in his heartbeat.
"Artemis Bell," he said, nodding with his hands clasped (Bum, ba-bum, bum). "I'd shake your hands, but, well."
To his credit, that was not a lie. Matt could smell something earthy on the taller man's hands. He smiled, hoping it didn't look like a grimace.
"That's alright," Karen replied for them, nodding. "Is that clay?"
Artemis hums. "Yes. I rent the studio next door, with—"
"Estelle, right?" Foggy interjected, and Matt could hear the grin in his friend's voice.
Artemis paused, head tilting to the side. "Yes, actually. How did you know?"
"Pssh, everybody knows Estelle," Foggy said, flapping his hand. "She gave us mugs as congratulations for getting our office."
Matt chose this moment to speak up. "You have an accent," he noted, furrowing his eyebrows together, adding to his harmless-blind-man act, ignoring Foggy as he elbowed him in the ribs. To his credit, he did, as imperceptible as it may be—the man seemed incapable of pronouncing the th, turning words like with or the into wiss and zhe.
Artemis blinked, and the stutter of his heart told him he was caught off guard. "I, uh, yeah," he said, smile back in place, albeit a little tighter. "I was born in Russia, but I grew up all over."
Bum, bum, bum.
Truth.
"I decided to move away a few years ago."
Bum, ba-bum, bum.
Lie.
Matt's grip on his cane tightened at the lie, but his friends were none the wiser.
"Well, what brought you to New York?" Karen asked.
Chuckling, Artemis rubbed the back of his neck. "I had a friend who used to live in New York; he told me I might like it here." He paused, amending, "Well, he was from Brooklyn, but I couldn't quite afford anything there."
Bum, bum, bum.
Truth.
"Brooklyn?" Foggy scoffed jokingly. "Your friend has some questionable choices there, buddy."
Artemis seemed to find the comment hilarious, bending over as he laughed. "I'll be sure to let him know," he said, straightening as Estelle neared the group. "It was lovely to meet you all," he said, still grinning. Matt wasn't sure if it was better or worse that he was telling the truth.
