Homeward Bound | Matt Murdock

F*cking Ableist

"What about that one?"

"Would you please stop?" You groan in embarrassment. "I'm not looking for a hookup. I want a real relationship, not a one-night stand."

"Hey!" Your work associate scuffs. She had hounded you to go out with her for drinks since no one else would. You are beginning to realize how much of a horn dog she is... And how annoying she is. No wonder no one else came with.

"It's not a jab at your choices, Susan. I just want something real." You sigh out.

"Doesn't mean you can't look? For All you know, you could meet the man of your dreams at a bar. Just because you talk to a guy at a bar doesn't mean you have to immediately sleep with the guy." Sue giggles. "But seriously. The guy by the pool tables with his friends, is totally hot and just your type." She took a sip from her drink, completely oblivious to the fact she has met the man before.

You let out a sigh and bit your lip before giving in. Your (e/c) orbs follow her finger, your mouth open to say no once more, when the man she was pointing at entered your gaze.

Your mouth went dry. Holy crap he was beautiful.

"Oh, wow." You whispered out, mouth hanging open in shock.

"Told ya!~" Sue sang.

You turn you gaze away quickly to avoid notice, your cheeks reddening slightly. "Okay. You aren't wrong. Holy crap. If his personality is as great as he looks, he'd be perfect." You nearly whine.

"Who cares about personality if he's hot?" Sue waves your comment away and you frown.

You narrow your eyes at the blonde sitting before you. "Uh, I do. Once again, Sue, not looking for a hookup. I want a man with personality, looks are just a plus. Something real and meaningful." Your gaze drifts over to the mystery man once more. "But God, he sure is hot."

"Oh..." Your eyes snap to Sue as she exclaimed and pouted, her eyes narrowed in poorly disguised distaste.

"What now?" You ask with a frown, leaning back in your seat and crossing your arms.

Sue lips purse as she let her eyes roam over the man. "I think he's blind."

Your frown tilts down further and you look back towards the man. Sue was right. There was a walking cane near the pool table. Now that you took a closer look, he wasn't even really looking around at all.

"And?" You ask, which caused Sue to frown.

"And? You don't want to have to deal with that!" She whisper-yelled. Her hands slap at the surface of the table.

You roll your eyes and scuff. "First off, that is so rude. Second, you're drunk, Sue. And third, I don't care!" You throw your arms up into the air to emphasize your point. "Who cares if he can't see, doesn't make him useless." You argue.

Sue turns her frown from the mystery man to you. "You don't want to be his seeing eye dog."

You gape at her in shock before angrily grabbing your purse. You pick your drink up and make your way towards a table in the back, away from your coworker and near the pool tables.

"Wait! I'm sorry!" Sue calls your name, but you ignore her. You scuff to yourself when Sue doesn't even bother chasing after her supposed new friend.

"Fucking ableist." You hiss out between clenched teeth.

As you pass the pool tables, you try your hardest not to look towards the mysterious blind guy.

Unfortunately, the universe seems to be against you. Your foot caught on something, and you tipped forward. Your drink went flying and shattered on the floor as you fell.

"Careful there!" An arm shot around your front, halting your fall and making you gasp.

With your grip tight on the arm, you turn to the side to see what had tripped you, and you frown. That wasn't there before. It was over by the wall. You would know. You had basically examined this area thoroughly just a few minutes ago.

You tripped over his goddamn cane. Your face bursts into flames and all you want is for the world to have mercy on you, open up, and swallow you down.

"Oh, gosh. I am so sorry!" You said as you look up to see your mystery man trying to hold back a smile of amusement. 

He caught you... 

Wow. 

Good reflexes.

You try to look into his eyes but frown when you realized he had red tinted glasses blocking the way. Sad. You wanted to know what color his eyes were.

His face was tilted down, and if you hadn't known any better, you would swear he was looking right at your cleavage.

"Not your fault. It's my fault you tripped." He gestures toward his cane. He releases you carefully, making sure you were steadily on both feet before reaching down for his cane. 

Fumbling for a moment before he found it, his fingers wrap around the handle tightly as he stood tall once more.

"Holy crap you are tall." You blurt out. Your face immediately burst into flames, heart stuttering at your own foolishness.

"Oh, just kill me now." You groan quietly under your breath in embarrassment as you turn slightly away from him to hide your face, even though he couldn't see it.

He chuckled. "I'm only 5'10. Most wouldn't call that tall."

You turn back slowly with a small smile. "It is when you're as short as I am."

His head tilts curiously, a small smile on his face.

You bent down and groan. "Damn. It shattered. Crap." You mumble as you reach over to grab some napkins off of a close by table. You give a thankful smile as the woman at the table hands them to you. You bend down to sweep the glass and liquid into a pile.

"Let me buy you a drink to replace that. I can also let someone know it needs to be cleaned up while I do that." His voice made you want to melt. It was so smooth and silky. It was something you could sit and listen to all day long.

You stand up slowly and eye the man. He had both hands clasped over the top of his cane; head tilted with a small smile on his lips as he gazed slightly to the right of you.

You smile and look to his two friends. "You guys' mind if I join you? I had to ditch my friend. She... Pissed me off." The two of them where whispering quietly to one another and the girl slammed her elbow into the man's side as she noticed your gaze on them.

You let a small laugh escape as the two nodded rapidly and the girl stepped forward, her blond hair bouncing as she danced in place.

"We could play teams! I'm Karen, and this is Foggy. Mister Suave over there is Matt." The blonde spoke as she smiles and points toward your mystery man.

You mumble his name under your breath with a smile. You turn back to face Matt with a large smile. "Then I would love to take you up on your offer, Matt."

His smile widens and he turns slightly to look at you better, no doubt following the sound of your voice. "What were you drinking?"

You grin and move past him toward Foggy and Karen.

You pause at Matt's side as you pass. "Malibu and Lemonade." You pause and rests a gentle hand on his arm, giving a soft squeeze before letting go. "Please?"

You smile as Karen hands you a pool stick. You really hope this was the start of a beautiful friendship with these three.