Caring For The Devil Of Hell's Kitchen

Chapter 2

To be predicted, Matt Murdock woke up feeling horrible. A fever was to be expected due to how cold he was. Even though he was surrounded by warmth. It felt as if he was stuck in a block of ice. Snuggling closer to the warmth, Matt let out a groan. This seemed to have awaken the source of the heat. "Red?" The voice was low and husky, an attractive morning tone. The body below the sick male shifted, pulling another groan. "Come on, Murdock. Get up." "Five more minutes, Foggy..." Matt sleepily mumbled. He must be out of it. "Sorry, Red. But I ain' Nelson. It's Frank. Now get up before I push you off." Matt opened his eyes and 'looked' up, 'seeing' the blob figure in the world on fire. Frank curiously watched the other raise a hand to his face, running his fingers across the soft skin, feeling all of the details. "The hell are you doin'?" The brunette ignored him, continuing to touch his face, feeling the stubbles. "Did you shave?" Matt asked, his voice barely there. "Yeah....a few days ago." Frank answered, still confused about the face touching. Eventually, he grabbed his wrist, pushing the hand away from his face. "Alright. That's enough." Matt pulled his hand out of the tight grip, now finally deciding to get up. Thankfully this time, he didn't get nauseous. That was a plus. "Go shower and freshen up." Frank instructed before getting out of bed then leaving the room. Matt did just that, gathering clean clothes, and preparing a nice shower. As he did this, Frank started to make breakfast for them, used up whatever he could find in the fridge and cabinets. It would be healthy and delicious. For once, Matt needed a decently sized meal. Speaking of him, the shower didn't take very long. After the pleasantly relaxing refreshment, Matt went to the kitchen, feeling the things around him. His coordination must still be wonky. "What are you making?" Frank looked over his shoulder, taking a quick glance at the shivering male. It wasn't too much of a surprise that the other couldn't smell it. His nose was still blocked. "Eggs n cheese omelets, avocado toast, and waffles with fruits on top." Since when was Frank a chef? "Whipped cream too?" Damn, that cute expression on his face. A little hope in his eyes. He was too adorable, that was Frank's opinion at least. "Uh yeah yeah...I'll add that too." He replied. Matt sat down at the table, waiting patiently. Breakfast was soon ready, which smelt amazing. Sadly, Matt couldn't smell it. Frank placed a full plate of food in front of the sick male, earning a quiet thank you. He sat down with his own plate. The two then dined together. It was peaceful and quiet. Nothing but the sound of soft chewing, birds outside, kids playing and such. The sunlight casted upon the two, really bringing out the beauty. So much that Frank couldn't help but to stare. Matt noticed this but never said anything about it because he knew that if he could see, he would've been staring at him too. Once the room was overfilling with silence, Matt decided to speak up. "This is delicious, Frank. Thank you again. Uh....I um...I didn't know that you could cook." He chuckled softly, which turned into a cough. "Don' choke. Yeah...uh I use to cook for Maria and the kids. They were so picky with what they wanted for breakfast....Maria...she always scolded me for lettin' them eat things like uh...cereal. too much sugar, ya know? So I uh...this was the breakfast that was their favorite. Figured I'd make it for you, yeah? You know, with your weird heightened senses and bullshit. Taste and texture must be a bitch to deal with, huh? Just like that silky bedding shit. Probably nice of your skin, yeah?" Matt chuckled again, thankfully not coughing this time. "Yeah, you're right. It can be a pain. Textures are a big thing for me and uh....this is perfect, Frank. Thank you. Uh yeah...blankets are too scratchy on my skin. It hurts. But the silk....it feels nice on my skin. You know...Stick, he use to say that I was a baby for that. For changing my bedding because it affected my skin. Ha....And um...your wife...Maria..she was right. A lot of cereal contains loads of sugar. Foggy's told me. Have your kids ever had sugar rushes?" A smile made it's way to Frank's face. "Yeah, all of the time. Jumpin' around and playin' n screamin'. A nightmare, really. Let's not talk about this anymore, yeah?" Matt could hear the hurt in the other's voice. "Yeah yeah...sorry." "It's fine, Red. No need to apologize." It wasn't long before they finished their meals. Frank took care of the dishes, figuring that the other wouldn't be able to do it. After he was done with that, he dried off his hands then walked over to Matt. "Go lay back down. I bring you some water n medicine." Matt nodded but didn't move. "What time is it, Frank?" He asked. The other looked at the time on his phone. "Almost 10:30." Slight panic formed on the lawyer's face. "Thank you Frank for taking care of me. I'll give you-" "You're not going to work." Frank interrupted. "Excuse me?" Matt tilted his head. The Punisher let out a breathy laugh. "You're real funny if you really thought for a second that you were goin' to work like this. Get your ass back to bed. Don't make me say it again." Wow. Frank wasn't playing around. "I never said that I was going to go to work." "I ain' no idiot, Red. Don't act like you weren't goin' to go there. Nice try though." Frank wasted no time, quickly picking Matt up, who protested and squirmed in the hold. "Frank! Put me down!" "Red, you already made your choice. You didn' go to bed like what I told you to do." He brought the other to the bedroom, dropping him down onto the comfy mattress. Frank left briefly to grab the medicine and water. "I'll call Karen and Nelson, let them know that you won't be in today." The brunette shook his head, making himself dizzy. "No no no. You can't call them. They can't know that you're here with me. Foggy would freak out and Karen...I don't know....I don't want to find out either." A soft chuckle left Frank at the response. "I know 'cause they were here earlier." Matt immediately sat up, his eyebrows furrowed. "What?! And you're just telling me now?! What did they say? Did Foggy-" "One question at a time, Red. They didn' know that I was awake when they came over. Probably to check to make sure you weren' dead. Your buddy, Nelson, he seemed to have quite the reaction. Karen, ha, she was real smug about already knowin'. Got a picture too. So don't get on her nerves, yeah?" He looked amused. Matt on the other hand, looked pissed. "I have to call them. Explain what they saw." "Ha....A blind man explaining what they had seen. Real cute, Red." "Shut up, Frank." Matt spat. "What did they see? Huh?" "I said shut up." Frank smirked, continuing the teasing. "Two vigilantes sleepin' together on a bed. Wonderin' what their first thoughts was." Matt slammed his phone down onto the night stand next to him. Not caring about the spike of pain that shot through his head. He got up and went over to Frank, or more like a few inches to the right of him. Frank moved over those few inches, now standing right in front of Matt. "What was your first thought, huh Frank? What was the first thing that went through your head when I asked you to stay? When you woke up next to me, huh?" He tried his best not to cough while talking. "Shut up and take your damn medicine." Matt huffed, "That's what I thought." He went back to bed, taking the medicine then laid down. Frank rolled his eyes as he approached the bed. "You know, Red, you're real cocky for someone who's being taken care of. I don't have to do this, you know. I can just...leave your sick stubborn ass here." "Whoever said that I wanted you to take care of me? If you want to leave so badly, there's the door." Matt pointed. Though Frank moved his hand in a slightly different direction. "There's the door." He let go then left the apartment, leaving the sick man alone. Matt sighed before getting up. He picked up his phone then called Foggy. "Matt? Dude, when were you going to tell me that you and Frank were 'buddy buddy'?" "Uh yeah, not so much 'buddy buddy' right now. And sorry about that. But that's not why I called you. I wanted to let you know that I'm going to work. Could you get a pot of coffee ready?" "Work? No, Matt. You still sound horrible. You need rest. And what happened between you and Frank?" "Something happened between them?" That was Karen in the background. Matt pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing again. "I need to go. I can't miss work because of some stupid cold. I'm not weak. Frank and I got into an argument. I don't need a caretaker anyway. I'm fine on my own. I should've rejected his help from the beginning. Stick would've rejected it. He's taught me to be better than this. I'll be there soon." He hung up before Foggy even had the chance to say anything. There was a hint of guilt. Foggy didn't deserve that. He was only trying to help. He'll apologize when he sees him. Getting ready took a bit more effort, considering that he didn't have much of energy. He could only imagine how the walk to work will be like. Just as he imagined, it was horrible. His coordinations were off, his senses were going haywire, he was coughing and sneezing a lot more, and he was freezing. And to add to this list of horror, he was starting to feel a bit dizzy. So every so often, he would take a break off to the side. Of course he could feel the stares, even some offered help but there was no way that he'd accept any of it. At one point, after taking a slightly longer break, he heard familiar heavy footsteps following him, but he didn't know who it was. He couldn't focus enough too figure it out. So instead, he walked faster. It could be an enemy for all he knew. That fact made him a bit more on edge. Eventually, the footsteps faded, going in another direction. A sigh of relief left Matt, now slowly down his pace. Though too quickly, that feeling changed back into panic. The heavy footsteps returned, starting to get louder. Matt went back to the quick pace, hoping to lose them again. The sound of the footsteps didn't seem to fade, only getting louder. Then the realization hit him. He wasn't avoiding them, he was approaching them. By the time he realized this, Matt bumped right into the source of the heavy footsteps. Why didn't his white cane hit them? Did they purposely avoid it to bump into him? Was he now in danger? An arm wrapped around his waist, keeping him still. "I leave you alone for, what, thirty minutes? And you're already makin' dumb decisions." Matt could recognize that deep voice from anywhere. "Frank?" "Mhm." Frank started to guide Matt in the opposite direction. "Where are you taking me?" "Home." Matt immediately shook his head. "You can't just follow me around, grab me, and expect me to follow along. You're the one who wanted to leave. So why come back now?" Matt asked as he tried to pull away from the other, but he was too weak and Frank had a good hold on him. "I left 'cause you were bein' an ass. Wanted to see how long you would last without help. Clearly that wasn' very long. I'm takin' you back home." Matt continued to attempt to escape his grasp. "You can't! I told Foggy that I was going to work. If I don't show up, he'll get worried. So will Karen. Do you want Karen to get worried? Huh?" Frank rolled his eyes. "I'm sure that if Nelson was so worried, he'd call you. As for Karen, she's smart. She'd figure it out. Stop worryin' about that shit. Your health is more important." Without giving Matt a chance to speak, Frank threw him over his shoulder, ignoring the looks from passing bystanders. Matt used his white cane to his Frank's legs and ankles. "Put me down!" He struggled with frustration. Frank huffed, snatching the cane away with is free hand. "Knock it off, Red." He headed in the direction of Matt's apartment. "Hey!" Matt lifted his head after hearing the shout, as if that would really do anything. Frank stopped for a moment, turning slightly to face the person who shouted, and who was quickly approaching. Two people actually. Two very familiar people. "Put him down now!" "Foggy?" Matt furrowed his eyebrows slightly in confusion. Karen was beside Foggy, looking straight at Frank. "What are you doing, Frank?" She asked, causing Foggy to slightly panic. It was no surprise that he didn't recognize him. The man was wearing a hat and a hoodie. "Frank? What? Wait- why are you holding Matt? I thought that you two-" "What's up with you and Murdock asking so many questions at once? I'm taking him home. He's still sick as shit. But he's being a stubborn ass brat. Really startin' to piss me off with his kickin'." Frank explained. Foggy sighed softly, "I'll take him from here then." "You don't trust me, Nelson?" "I never said that." "Sure as hell seems like it. I'm not gonna hurt alter boy here, alright?" "How do I know that? I mean, heh, you have shot him in the head before." "His helmet. I shot his ridiculous helmet." "You still-" "Guys! Could we not argue about this right now? We're in public. Let's just get Matt home and discuss things there." Karen interrupted, looking around to make sure no one was listening to their conversation. "Thank you, Karen. But I'm fi-" "Say you're fine once and I will hit you." She threatened. Matt went quiet after that. "Good plan." Frank mumbled before starting to walk again. Foggy kept a close eye on Frank, making sure that Matt was in good hands. They soon made it to their destination. "Matt, you left your door unlocked." Karen informed. "Oops..." Foggy shook his head, sighing softly at his friend's recklessness. Frank carefully placed Matt onto the couch. "So, Foggy, Karen, how did you know where I was? Weren't you guys suppose to be in the office?" Foggy moved to sit down next to Matt, Karen sitting down on the other side of him. "Foggy was worried....or paranoid. After that call, he thought that you were going to do something stupid or somehow get yourself hurt. He said that there was a certain route that you take to work, so we followed that route. That's when we found you." Karen explained. "Dude, you can't just end calls like that. You know that they scare the living shit out of me." Foggy stated worryingly. "I know....I'm sorry, Foggy. And I'm sorry for how I spoke to you over the phone. You didn't deserve that." The other smiled before patting his back. "It's ok, buddy. Just don't scare me like that again." Karen smiled at the two before clearing her throat. "Well it's good that Frank got to him. I'm sure that Matt would've gotten himself into some kind of trouble or get hurt. Just like last night. You made sure that he was ok and that he didn't go out. You even stayed with im all night." There was a smirk on her face, although she tried to make it look like a friendly smile. "Yeah! You slept with the Punisher! Thanks for reminding me, Karen." Foggy looked at Matt, crossing his arms. "Please don't word it like that, Foggy." Matt chuckled. Frank tilted his head a bit, as if he considered the remark. That got Karen's attention. Another smirk formed on her face. "Why are you guys not taking this seriously?" Foggy asked, starting to get a bit frustrated. "Because we all know that Frank really cares deep inside." Matt stated, unable to hold back a laugh. "You know what? Fuck you, Red." Frank flipped him off though there was no heat to it. "I'm sure that he would like that." Karen murmured. "Karen!" Foggy shouted. Due to laughing and just being sick, Matt started to cough, struggling to get air in his lungs. Foggy sighed, "Jeez....Ok less talk and more rest. I'll get some cough medicine or something. Did you eat anything, Matt?" He asked as he stood up. "You don't need to. I already took medicine earlier. And yeah, I did." Matt replied once he got the chance to finally stop coughing. "Ok....that's good." "Thank you though, Foggy." Matt mumbled. Foggy nodded, smiling down at his best friend. Karen soon got up, clearing her throat. "Well, Foggy and I should get going. We can't let the office be closed for too long." "What-" "Yeah, you two go on. I'll be fine. Some rest and medicine should do the trick. I should be better by tomorrow. Thank you both." Matt smiled at them. "So we're just going to leave you alone again with Frank Castle?" Foggy asked, not caring that Frank was right there. "Yeah. Like what I said, I'll be fine." Matt reassured. "Ok! Bye Matt! Bye Frank! Have fun but not too much fun!" She shouted as she dragged Foggy out of the apartment. "Hey Karen, didn't you like....have a thing for the Punisher?" Foggy asked. "Yeah, I did. Nut for some reason, Matt's pretty good at attracting the people I fall for. I don't blame them though. Matt is a very attractive man. You've said it yourself." "Matt told you about that?" He wasn't really surprised. "He told me a lot of stories about of when you two were roommates. Very interesting stories." Karen giggled. "I can only imagine..." The two shared laughs before leaving to get lunch then sadly return to the office to get some work done.

(I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter! Sorry that the two chapters were long T-T Thank you so much for the support and thank you for reading! Let me know what you guy think about this! <3 ^^)