Matt Murdock Shorts

Like Love Letters on my Skin

Ever since you were little, the first toy you picked up was yours. It didn't matter if your parents pointed out that there was a hole in its side, or its stitching was crooked, you didn't care. It was yours now and the flaw wouldn't make you love it any less. It happened again when you got your first pet. You picked up the little kitten and he crawled into your arms, and you were in love. Then your mom pointed out that the top of one of his ears was missing. When she asked if you still wanted him, you held him closer and gasped at the question. When you got older, you started learning Sign Language and about deaf culture. When your aunt asked if you would ever date a deaf person you said yes without a second thought.

You never thought you'd actually have to deal with these questions about your significant other. After all, what were the odds of actually ending up with someone with a visible handicap? Now that you're with Matt you figure people would have enough tact to at least keep whatever prejudices they have to themselves.

It seems you had too much faith in humanity. At first, it was fine; people were accepting of Matt. But as you got more serious, the questions started rolling in. The one you get at the most alarming rate is: 'so how does that work in bed?' To which your response varies from: 'it's none of your business' to 'believe me, there are no problems there.' It depends on your mood. The other one is: 'are you sure sweetie?' accompanied by a worried look. Matt frequently has to work you down from a righteous fury.

"Matt, I don't understand how people can be so ignorant." You tell him in one such instance.

"Before you met me, you didn't ever wonder about how blind people do things?" He asks, taking your hand and running his fingers in random patterns across it.

"Maybe certain things, but I wasn't an asshole about it. I looked it up on the internet like a normal person with tact."

He laughs at that.

"Anyway, these questions are not only ignorant, but they're straight up rude."

"Straight up." He nods, a little grin on his face.

"Matthew, I swear to all the Gods that I will punch you if you mock me again."

He pulls you close and apologizes, but the smile doesn't leave his face.

"How are you so calm about this? Doesn't it bother you?"

"Some days it's too much, yeah. Some days I just want to place an all too accurate uppercut to their jaw and see what happens. But most of the time, I just shrug and move on. I used to get angry every time I heard someone say something stupid, but it takes too much energy. Maybe they'll change later, maybe they won't, but it's not my problem. It's like when you hear someone say something misogynistic. When you were younger, it riled you up a lot more than it does now, right?"

"Yeah, I've learned to laugh at it."

"Right, because you know they're just some idiot. Yeah, it can make life difficult because that mentality is so prevalent in our society; but ultimately, it doesn't matter because you know your value."

"Yeah I guess." you sigh. "I haven't been dealing with this my whole life, though. I haven't gotten to that point yet." I'm sorry, having to work me down whenever someone says something probably doesn't help."

He shrugs. "I think it's kind of cute." He leans in and pecks you on the forehead.

-0-

And that's when he knew. That moment, putting his arm around you and feeling you curl into his chest. It was something you've done countless times, but at that moment he knew he would never tire of the feeling you gave him.