Matt Murdock Shorts

It's Christmas Time in the City

Matt woke up the day after Thanksgiving in your bed but alone. He frowns as he deciphers the world around him in his groggy state. Once he does so, he notices that you're wrangling a disassembled tree out of a box of Christmas decorations. He gets out of bed, slipping his boxers on, before following the sounds until he can lean on a wall, smiling fondly as he observes you. He can tell you're trying not to wake him, making aborted motions whenever you bump something and make a particularly loud noise.

"Want some help?"

You jump at the sound of his voice, too engrossed in your task to notice him before that. "Jesus, Matt. You scared me."

You glance over at his stupid grin. Then you have to do a double take because hello those abs are out there in broad daylight for you to see. You thought he felt a little more muscular than you would've assumed. You notice the cross around his neck at the same time you notice his brows raise at your exclamation.

"Shit man, if you're too Catholic for some good, old-fashioned blaspheming and swearing, this is going to have a tragic end."

He laughs. "Despite the nun's best efforts, I'm not."

"Well, that's good for me. I don't know about your immortal soul, though."

"Oh, that's the least of the things I do." He winks. "Anyway, the cross is from my mom."

"Oh, Foggy always made it sound like you never met her."

"I hadn't until recently. Or, at least, I didn't know she was my mom until recently. I grew up in a Catholic orphanage for half of my young life. Turns out, she's one of the nuns who raised me."

"Wow, I can't imagine. Thinking you were alone all those years only to find out that she withheld that information from you."

He shrugs. "It upset me at first, and I still wish I would have known, but there's nothing any of us can do to change it. It made me who I am, so maybe it was God's will. At any rate, I'm happy to have her in my life now. Even if she does bedevil me about my life choices more often than not. I always hear Foggy complain about his mom hounding him to go to church or find a nice person and settle down. When we met, I remember wishing I had either of my parents to worry over me."

"Well, she's lucky to have such a kind, forgiving son."

He flashes a brief smile before he changes the subject. "So, what are your plans for the day?"

"Nothing." You shrug. "I was going to get Christmas decorations up but I'm flexible if you have an idea."

He shakes his head. "I was hoping we'd be able to spend the day together. I don't care what we do."

"Do you want to help me decorate the tree?"

"Are you sure you want a blind man decorating for you?"

"Yes."

He smiles. "Okay, then."

-0-

You spend the morning putting tinsel and lights everywhere you can, contracting Matt to hold things while you move the chair you're using to stand on. Once you hang the last of the decorations, you put your hands on your hips, surveying the little apartment from your perch atop the chair.

"Well, what do you think?" Matt asks.

"It's good. I'm thinking about getting a couple new decorations this year, but other than that, we're good. All we have left is to decorate the tree." As you step off the chair, you feel yourself start to slip. You have a mini heart attack as you go down but you never hit the floor. Instead, you fall back into Matt's arms. He has a stronger grip than you would've assumed.