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

8) The land of forbidden thoughts

She snapped her eyes open. "The song is ending. Do you think you may want to get some fresh air?"

She glimpsed his smile, knowing the answer before he even spoke up again. "Yes."

Vera pecked his lips one more time, feeling his hand sliding to her elbow. She didn't spare a single look to the women. Screw them. Who cared? Matt's fingers gently squeezed her arm as if he could hear her thoughts. Vera smiled, leading him away from all the curious and lustful eyes.

She snapped a selfie of both of them when passing a basket with bunch of flowers. She had promised Terri she would let her know how they were doing regularly and since she was texting her, she send the photo to Karen, Foggy, Danny, Claire and Nina as well. In the end, she shared with Trish too, wondering how Father Lantom's relationship with technology was, because he might like a picture of them as well. She mentally grinned at the idea, dismissing it.

Both Matt and Vera breathed in gratefully. She didn't realize how heavy the air inside was; it was actually nice to get outside. The long shadows were falling on the chateau garden, last tones of pink remaining on the sky. The lanterns bordering the paths were slowly switching on. Yeah, it was pretty romantic, okay. With Matt by her side, it felt a little like a fairy tale. She snuggled closer to his side, smiling when he kissed her temple.

---

"They are looking for you," Matt whispered to her lips, thumb stroking her cheek.

Vera frowned. Why would they be looking for her? She wasn't sure how long it had been since she and Matt had disappeared and found their own little private place by a small lake, far enough from it so they wouldn't be bothered by the mosquitos flying over it, but it didn't seem relevant. Vera eyed her watch peripherally and her heart jumped. Yep, that would be it.

"What is it? Do you need to go back there?"

She shook her head lightly. Matt caressed her nose with his, their lips touching gingerly, almost teasingly. Even if she did in fact need to go, she wouldn't. Not when he was like this, somewhat high-spirited (maybe slightly buzzed), tender, absolutely loveable. Jesus, she just wanted to kiss him senseless, freeze in this moment, stay in their happy bubble forever. She sunk her lips to his, one hand on his shoulder, other one on the back of his neck. Matt smiled, but answered her the same way.

And then he huffed a laugh, breaking the kiss. "She's angry with you. Furious, actually."

Vera rolled her eyes. "Who is?"

"The bride. You're in some serious trouble. Do you know why she's looking for you?"

"No, I'm most certainly not and yes, I do. I'm not going anywhere," Vera exclaimed with confidence, sliding her hand under his jacket to run her fingers over his abdomen. She felt him tensing under her touch, but she knew it was in a good way. She left his lips only to kiss his throat. He released content hum.

"What does 'zatracenou kytku' mean?"

Vera's mouth froze on his skin. "Nothing important." She gave him another kiss, lower. His Adam's apple jumped. "You're awfully aware of your wider surroundings. I must be doing something wrong."

His chest shook with hushed laughter as she slid her hand in the space between two buttons of his shirt, fingertips tracing his skin. His grip on her side tightened, breath caught in his throat. Success.

To her utter disappointment, his other hand took her wrist, making her less decent hand retreat. His lips whispered to her ear, voice surprisingly husky. "If I let myself take in everything about you, what you're doing and what you were doing during the dance, certain pieces of your clothing would go missing quickly, trust me."