what they wouldn't do | DAREDEVIL

chapter fourty

Almost immediately after entering the apartment, Lauren scurried down the hallway to the bathroom to pee, leaving Matt alone with Cecilia. It was far from his ideal way of spending the evening, and it would seem as though Cecilia agreed, if the unhappy sigh she heaved was any indication.

"So, you're like a public defender, or what?" Cecilia asked, sounding bored by the conversation already.

"No, actually. A private defense attorney," he replied.

"Really?" she said. "I wouldn't think Sarah could afford that. I mean, look at this place."

Matt gave her a tight smile, waiting for the predictable moment of realization. Of course, he was somewhat aware of what the apartment around them looked like—he knew it was small and a bit run down, but Sarah kept it clean and decorated—but there was no way for Cecilia to know that.

He heard her shift uncomfortably in her seat. Down the hall, the bathroom door opened and Lauren's footsteps came towards them.

"I meant—I just assumed she'd end up with some court-appointed hack," Cecilia clarified stiffly. He noticed she didn't backtrack on her slip up, which was something at least. The constant tripping that people did to avoid saying any words related to sight could wear on the nerves. "Not an actual law firm."

"My partner and I own the practice, so we can work out our own rates," he said.

Lauren slipped past them and began rummaging around in the mesh storage space behind the stroller, straightening back up with a few bags in her hands. From the smell of them, they were full of groceries. This was confirmed when she carried them into the kitchen and opened Sarah's fridge.

"Listen, I'm shoving all this food in Sarah's fridge and I don't want either of you telling her or she'll make me take it back home with me," Lauren called from the kitchen. "I'm banking on her not checking until we're gone, and then she'll have to keep it."

Matt's lips twitched, while Cecilia ignored her completely.

"Your own firm?" Cecilia said. "That's convenient. That way you get to pick and choose which criminals you help go free."

There was a crinkling sound as Lauren whipped one of the balled up grocery bags in Cecilia's direction, where it bounced harmlessly off the arm of the couch. He heard Lauren's sweater swish as she tossed her hands up in the air in exasperation. 'Leave him alone,' she mouthed, whispering the words just loudly enough under her breath that Matt could hear her. Cecilia shrugged and mouthed back, 'What?'

"I'm sure Nelson and Murdock aren't out there defending serial killers, Cecilia," Lauren said. "It's people like Sarah and Mrs. B who are cool people but...you know, have no money."

It was nice—if a bit ironic—that Lauren wanted to defend Matt's firm, but not particularly necessary. This was far from the first time Matt had heard the argument Cecilia was making; he hadn't gone through law school and then an internship at a less-than-reputable law firm without hearing a few jabs about making a career out of helping criminals.

"It's alright. It might shock you to hear that not everyone who gets arrested is guilty," Matt replied, turning his attention back towards Cecilia. "There's a reason the system requires everyone be allowed a lawyer. I'm sure if you were wrongly arrested, you'd want one too."

Cecilia's reply was a noncommittal hum. Lauren returned from the kitchen and took a seat next to him on the couch. It was strange to have her sitting within such casual proximity; in the few times they'd met, she'd kept such a careful distance from him that he'd gotten used to her standoffishness. Now she was sitting two feet away while Cecilia perched on the nearby armchair, pushing the stroller back and forth with one hand to lull the baby to sleep.