Here's To Us *Damned Coda* Matt Murdock*

4) ...is that an eye-seeing dog?

Vera woke up in an empty bed. She panicked - firstly, she thought Matt had fled, which was something she wouldn't blame him for, secondly, she was afraid he hadn't and possibly was talking to her brother, which was a thought that scared her no less. It turned out the men were actually having breakfast, cups of coffee in front of them and while Matt looked a little bewildered, he gave her a beautiful smile, surreal jin-jang kiss when tilting his head back and he didn't seem terrified, so Vera assumed everything was alright.

The goodbyes were quick - Vera wanted to meet with Petr one more time at the end of her stay in Czechia, so she didn't have to cry her eyes out now. She found herself with Matt on a bus to her hometown in no time. Matt obviously wasn't a fan of buses either, but they distracted themselves by Matt whispering awkward details about their fellow-passengers, so in the end, the almost three hours' journey didn't feel so long. And it was only fair to spy on them, because everyone seemed to be staring at the blind guy. Obviously.

The hike to her house felt even shorter. Tears had stung her eyes when she had started recognizing the area, but by the time she saw the house, she was a wreck. Jesus, how was she supposed to face her mum if she was tearing only from seeing a building?

Matt gave her elbow a reassuring squeeze. "Do you want to go alone first?"

"Nope!" Vera blurted out immediately, horrified. Maybe, if she had Matt by her side when facing her mum, she would be able to control herself better. Maybe. Probably not. "Come with me, please."

"As you wish," he hummed and Vera chuckle-sobbed, melting into his touch as his lips found her temple. He was smiling, she could tell even without looking at him.

"Aren't you at least a little nervous?" she asked, offended and embarrassed at the same time. Parent-meeting was generally a big step in a relationship and it often didn't go well, so how the hell was Matt so calm and- comforting? He wanted to be calm and comforting. Goddammit, Matt.

He shrugged.

"Fine. Let's go, Westley."

The small stones of the driveway were crunching under the wheels of her suitcase, the sound filling the silence. Oh god, Vera was nervous and excited as fuck.

Vera didn't bother with keys - she rang the doorbell, taking a deep breath. She could hear a shout from inside and some noises she couldn't quite identify.

Before she could, the door flew open, revealing her mum with expectant expression.

Vera gulped, tears already on her cheeks. Jesus shit, Macháčková, you really can't keep it together, can you?

"Hi, mum-" she squeaked, not needing to think about any other words, because her mum yanked her from Matt's gentle grip on her elbow, squeezing her in her arms. Vera laughed, tears running down her cheeks in streams now.

"Oh, honey," her mum muttered to her hair, cradling slightly and Vera breathed in her perfume and cookies, because of course her mum baked for them. Vera leaned into her touch further, squeezing tighter. "I missed you. How are you feeling?"

Vera huffed another laugh, mumbling an approximation of 'great' and slowly let go, her face totally red and damp from crying. Thank God Matt couldn't see her. Matt. She cleared her throat.

"Mum, this is my boyfriend, Matt Murdock. Matt, this is my mum," she introduced the two amazing people and Matt smiled honestly, just like Vera knew he would, the charming bastard he was, extending his hand in her mum's general direction.

Her mum smiled too, finally looking at him properly, accepting his hand, wiping away her own tears with the back of her other hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Machackova," Matt exclaimed smoothly in his lawyery you-can-trust-me voice, because he was a charming bastard, and Vera's mum's smile grew wider.