The Invisible String: Matt Murdock/ Daredevil

21

The first thing Annalise registered when she woke was warmth. A steady weight draped across her waist, a chest rising and falling in calm rhythm pressed against her back. For one sweet, half-awake moment she forgot about danger, stitches, Wilson Fisk, and the fact that four adults were crammed into her tiny apartment.

Then Matt stirred.

He shifted closer, his hand flexing slightly against her hip as if his body instinctively sought her even in sleep. His breathing deepened before trying to roll onto his side. That was enough to jolt Annalise fully awake.

"Don't you dare," she whispered, catching his wrist before he could move further.

Matt stilled. His lips curved faintly. "Good morning to you too."

"You're moving too quickly." She pushed herself up on one elbow, her hair falling loose around her face. "You shouldn't even be rolling over, not with stitches in your side. You're only comfortable right now because I numbed the pain for you last night. That doesn't mean it's gone."

He exhaled a quiet laugh and flopped back against the pillow, obedient—for once. "You're really going to start lecturing me before I've even opened my eyes properly?"

"I'm a nurse," she reminded him, tugging the blanket higher across his chest. "It's in the job description."

Matt turned his head toward her voice, his lips quirking. "You're also the woman who tied me down to a bed yesterday."

The memory made Annalise snort softly despite herself. "You're lucky I didn't leave you there."

"Not much else to do, was there?" he teased, his tone almost boyish.

She arched an eyebrow and let her eyes trail down his body before she could stop herself. His shirt hung loosely over his stomach, but she could still see the definition of muscle beneath, the bandages stretched tight against his side where she'd stitched him up. His arm, draped across the blanket, was relaxed now, but she remembered the sheer strength behind it.

"Don't tempt me Murdock." she murmured before she could stop herself.

Matt's lips curved at her tone. "Maybe I want to."

She flushed and busied herself by smoothing the blanket again. "You're impossible."

"You like impossible," he countered easily.

Silence fell, but it wasn't heavy. Just... full. Annalise watched his chest rise and fall, the way his head tilted toward her whenever she spoke, the faint stubble along his jaw. For all his teasing, there was something disarming about waking up next to him like this.

Matt broke the quiet first. "You know," he said, his voice low and thoughtful, "For someone I spent virtually my entire childhood with, this almost feels... normal. Waking up in bed with you this close to me. Hearing your complains as your heartbeat thrums against my chest. The smell of burnt coffee already drifting from the kitchen."

Annalise blinked, realizing Karen and Foggy must already be awake in the other room.

"You're not supposed to enjoy being debilitated," she reminded him, though her lips tugged upward.

"I do if this is how I get to wake up." he murmured, his smile widening. 

Her chest tightened at that, but she softened her tone. "Rest a little longer. That's doctor's orders."

"And if I don't?"

"Then I'll tie you down again."

Matt's laugh was low and warm, rumbling against her as he shifted just enough to brush his forehead against her shoulder. "Your threats are seeming more and more appealing Annalise, do go on."