Damned If I Don't *Matt Murdock* (book two of Damned)

1) Things you shouldn't ask (for)

Jab. Jab. Cross. Jab. Jab. Hook. Hook. Hook. Uppercut. Uppercut. Knee. Elbow. Turn and kick.

Her breath hitched. And that was only a kick. Jesus. She would not want to be on the receiving end of this. She thought it would get easier for her to be there. It didn't. She was still watching him in awe, jaw almost in her lap as she was sitting on the edge of the ring, her (or Matt's) favourite spot. She might be drooling a little. But just a little.

It became their habit. Once Matt came to terms with the fact Vera would be observing him during his training (from time to time she even manage to focus on his workout technique rather than his muscles moving under the not so tight, but gradually soaking-with-sweat t-shirt), they spent almost any other night at Fogwell's.

Vera had been thinking for a while now. Watching Matt was nice enough, but she would like him to teach her something from his skills – not the back flipping and all the nonhuman stuff he was able to do, obviously, but something. She had no idea how to bring up the topic though. She was determined to finally do it tonight – she chickened out like many times before. That night she already found courage to speak up twice. The first time, she changed her mind and said No kicks today, huh?, ignoring his confused expression as he changed his series of punches and added a kick indeed. The second time, she teased him about flipping, her heart beating agonizingly fast as she swallowed her question. The other two times she just bit her tongue. Aaand third time right now.

Matt delivered extremely strong blow with a huff and turned around to make his way to her - or she thought so, until he reached for the towel and water instead. Vera allowed herself to exhale slowly, releasing the breath she held since he spun to her.

It would be a good time to ask – things were quiet lately. The Avengers released Matt with their contacts, satisfied only with the fact they at least knew where to find him in case of a real emergency (or in a need of a different lawyer than Stark's sharks). They hadn't contact them since Tony sent her the photos – not that she knew of. Matt seemed to be content with his day job, sometimes getting clients paying in different currency than bananas. Night job kept him occupied as well, but not in the very bloody way. It didn't change the fact Vera arranged several meetings with Claire who had been teaching her the basics of necessary medical attention to Matt Murdock – she knew few things from college (and everyday life, she grew up in relatively small town, spending time outised, in nature, climbing trees and falling down, thank you very much), yet they never get to learning stiches there and let's be honest, Matt always needed stiches. Vera wondered if he knew about their sewing sessions – he didn't say a word about it.

Hot breath tickling her nose snapped her back to reality. Matt framed her sides, hands leaning in the mattress of the ring, face close.

"So...are you gonna say it or not?" he demanded, lips almost touching hers.

Despite his proximity, she was not enchanted. Her eyes went wide, mouth opening just to close again. She gulped. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Vera was sure he would recognize her lying even without hearing her heartbeat. She felt his lips twitching against hers, gingerly taking her lower lip between them, caressing. She returned the kiss lazily, tasting the salt from his skin. It never failed to astonish her, how quickly he could change from the violent dangerous vigilante to the tender loving boyfriend. Then again, she couldn't deny she enjoyed when the line between them occasionally became a blur as well – in the best way possible.

He withdrew too soon and she opened her eyes discontentedly. Corners of his mouth were up, eyebrow rising. "So? Don't pretend you don't want to say something. I would be probably able to tell even without hearing you heart and breathing."