(Trigger warning: animal cruelty, blood, death mention)
It was a month or so later, and you had decided to not argue with Matt about chores so long as he didn't demean you when he asked. He'd become much more laid back now that Kuma was back to health. It was amazing to watch such a big dog trot around the house and how well he listened to Matt. He even slept in bed with his master, which you found cute and funny.
Except today Matt came to you, looking slightly, and uncharacteristically nervous. "I don't know if you've noticed," he began as you were eating your dinner one night. "But Kuma hasn't been sleeping in my room lately. I think it gets too warm in there for him or something."
You blinked, looking at him curious. You weren't sure what he was getting at.
"And?" you pressed, wondering how this was relevant.
"I was telling to see if you were interested in staying in there," he said gruffly, like the situation was awkward. "It's the only room I keep heated and it's better than sleeping on the couch in the den."
"Wait...I'd actually sleep in a bed?" you questioned. "Your bed?"
He sighed, seeming almost flustered. "Yeah, it's a full size so it's not a big deal," he muttered.
You laughed. "You won't let me sit in your chair, but I can sleep in your bed with you?"
Matt frowned and started walking off. "Never mind then," he growled, fed up with your teasing when he was visibly uncomfortable.
You stood up and grabbed his arm. "No, no, I was just surprised," you promised, trying to hide a grin. "I'd love to stay in your room, Matt."
He stared, looking at your hand on his arm. He was quite muscular you noticed then. "Fine," he said, pulling away. "But you go to bed when I go. And you get up when I do. No getting up in the middle of the night unless it's an emergency. Understand?"
You nodded. He turned around and walked into his room then, shutting the door. You didn't know what he was doing, it was too early for bed, but you ignored it and went to finish your dinner.
After dinner, you went to take a nice hot shower before bed. When you emerged in your pajamas (which were basically leggings and a tee shirt) you found Matt sitting on the couch, waiting for you. He turned when he heard you walk in, his face scanning over you, but no emotion showed.
"You ready for bed then?" he asked, standing up. He'd gotten into sweat pants and a tee shirt as well. He looked nice in lounge wear, you thought.
"Yeah, let's go," you said, waiting for him to go first. Something about going in there first seemed wrong since you'd never really been in it. You'd only peeked in while you passed by.
You followed him in and got in bed. You felt a little strange, but it was warm. "Hey, Matt?" you asked.
A low grunt came in reply.
"Why did you come in here and stay for a while before bed?" you asked.
He didn't say anything for a moment. "I changed the sheets," he mumbled later.
Your brow creased in confusion. "Why?" you pressed.
"I didn't want you to have to sleep in a bed with dog fur all over it," he said defensively.
That surprised you. Despite his tone, it was a sweet gesture. "Oh, thank you," you said then fell silent.
Some time passed and you couldn't really sleep, though Matt was long gone. You assumed it was just because it was different, and that you'd get used to it later. Beside you, Matt stirred and sat up, half asleep, and pulled off his shirt. He laid back down with his back facing you. You figured he got too hot and thought nothing of it.
That is, until you noticed his bandages were missing. You always had wondered what they covered up, and you began debating on what to do. You knew you wouldn't be able to sleep anyways, and so you quietly got out of bed and walked around to his side. The room was dimly lit by the heaters, but your eyes were adjusting to it. You carefully leaned down to inspect him.
He had a large scar on his chest, rugged and obvious even in the near dark. Your hand ghosted barely over the top, feeling the rough and risen skin.
"______, what did I say about getting out of bed?" his low voice growled and you jumped. He grabbed your wrist and pulled you onto the bed, his violet eyes flaring at you.
You immediately began apologizing and rambling about your reasoning until he told you very sternly to shut up. You shook sitting there in front of him, afraid of this man who you had felt almost friendly with before.
"Any reason why you were touching my chest?" Matt snapped harshly at you. His hand gripped your wrist so tight you thought he'd break it.
"I wanted...I wanted to see what you hid under your bandages..." you whispered, sounding ashamed.
"Why didn't you just ask?" he hissed, obviously very angry with you and you couldn't blame him.
"I just...I didn't know...I thought maybe you were sensitive about it..." you mumbled, looking away. He reached out and forced you to face him.
"And if I was you thought the best way to learn would be to spy on me while I slept?" he said sarcastically, pulling you back to the other side of the bed. "Stupid girl...."
"I'm not stupid," you said, incredibly indignant about being called so. "I was just curious. I wanted to know what it was. I apologized."
"Well now you know," he said, shaking his head at you.
There was a moment of silence that felt like an eternity before you broke it with another question to make him angry.
"So how did you get it?"
His eyes snapped up to you and he couldn't believe you even asked. "That's none of your damn business. Besides you couldn't handle the answer anyways."
You frowned, now more curious than before. "I want to know," you said, your eyes drifting back down to his chest. "I'm using my second question."
He gave you a strange look. "What question? What're you talking about?"
"You said I could ask you three questions about yourself and you would tell me the truth," you reminded him. "I used the first for your name. I'm using my second for this."
His eyes looked away, thinking for a long moment. He was a man of his word, but he knew what you'd say, how you would react to what he told you. But he also knew you'd never leave him alone until he said, so he gave in unwillingly.
"Fine, but just remember your stuck with me here for all of winter so you've brought this knowledge on yourself."
You paused wondering what he meant by saying all that, then slowly nodded. You felt anxious now and you were ready to know more truth to this mysterious man.
"One day a few years ago, I was going to tell this man- a poacher- that he needed to leave, and he pulled a knife on me. I caught his hand but he sliced my chest badly. He ran after that and I almost bled out before I made it back here. Thankfully my brother was there with me, he fixed it, but the scar looks awful so I hide it. End of story."
"Woah," you said, though you were a little confused. "But why is that so bad? Why'd you say I couldn't handle that?"
Matt sighed, sitting up and running a hand through his hair. "I was hoping you wouldn't ask...I don't come up here in the winters to get away from civilization or anything of that," he began. "I have an unofficial job up here that needs to be taken care of. There are poachers that hunt up here, killing off our country's animals illegally. It pisses me off that not much is done of it in this area so I take matters into my own hands.
"When I go outside during the day. I'm searching for any signs of people or of harmed animals. If I find a poacher I usually tell them they have to leave, and if they don't...I make them wish they had." He glanced at you to see if you understood what he meant. "Nothing too serious, you know, I steal their rations so they starve, destroy their maps so they get lost, take their matches and lighters for no warmth. Then they die. Then they're out of the way."
You stared dumbly at him, realization dawning on you then and you scrambled away from him. "You-you kill people."
"I kill poachers," he corrected, moving toward you. "There's a difference."
"They're humans, they're alive!" you said, nearly falling off his bed in fear. "And you kill them."
"If you saw what they do you'd understand," he said. "I'll show you. I'll take you and you can see what sort of god awful things they do to animals. It's inhumane."
"I don't want to see!" you yelled. "I want to leave! I want to go back to the real world and turn you in, you murderer!"
Matt grabbed your wrist and pulled you back on to the middle of the bed before you could move. He straddled you, pinning you down and looking angry. His scar was inches away from you now but you could only look away from him.
"You asked for the truth," he hissed. "I told you what you wanted and that you couldn't leave. And if you think for one second that I will just let you run to the police, you're wrong. What I'm doing is saving wildlife and preserving my land. People should be thanking me. I'm protecting what hikers like you want to see. Now, I've been tracking a poacher and I've asked him to leave already and he hasn't. I just want you to see what kind of things he does to animals, so we're going tomorrow morning, understand?"
You nodded quickly in fear, wanting him to move off of you and let you think for a moment. He did so and after noticing your uncomfortableness, got out of bed.
"I think you need to be alone," he said. "I'll be on the couch." He walked out the door and closed it, though you could hear his muffled cursing anyways.
You laid awake for a long time, hearing Matt stir around and thinking about what you had learned. You couldn't wrap your mind around him being able to kill people without any reservation, because they kill animals. You knew it was wrong and you hated any cruelty to animals, but you weren't sure if you'd kill because of it. When your eyes finally drifted shut, your dreams were plagued with scary ideas about Matt turning on you. You couldn't stay with him any longer, you were going to run away.
You quietly got up the next morning, taking your stuff and getting dressed. You creeped into the living room where Matt was asleep on the couch and you went to the front door and began to open it.
"That's a bad idea," his voice said, making you jump. You turned around and looked at him peering at you through his half closed eyes. "Winter is starting to set in completely. It won't get any where above freezing for months. You'll die out there."
You shut the door and looked at him. "I don't want to be here with you," you stated. "I'm getting out of here one way or another. I'm exposing you to the police when I get back."
He stared at you unemotionally for a minute. "Fine then," he said. "If you still want to leave after I've shown you what I'm fighting against, I'll do my best to arrange for it. I can't promise, but I'll try, okay?"
You nodded, knowing this was your chance. You didn't care what he said or what you saw, you were going to get out of here regardless.
Once you and Matt had breakfast and were properly dressed you headed outside into the snow. The wind was bracing and you clung to Matt's arm more out of need than want. You walked for quite some time before Matt stopped you.
He pulled you behind a tree and made you stay there. He was gone for a moment and when he came back his pulled you close and whispered harshly, "Go back to the cabin."
"Why?" you asked, prying yourself away from him. "What'd you see?"
"Something I wished I hadn't, and something I don't want you to see," he said. "Now go back. I'll be back later."
"No, you brought me all the way out here to see so I'm going to," you said pushing past him. He tried to stop you but you were already gone.
You walked until you saw a clearing. In it was a man and a stag that'd been shot. The man was decapitating the deer's head for it's large antlers. Dark red blood stained the snow around them and you felt your knees get weak. They buckled under you, but Matt caught you. He carried you back a ways, until you said you were okay.
You were unsteady though and the more you thought about it, the sicker you felt. You collapsed to your knees and threw up your breakfast, heaving even after you were done. Tears burned your eyes, and bile burned your throat. You felt Matt's arms lift you off the ground, and cradle you to his chest. You couldn't stop yourself from sniveling and shaking, burying your face in his neck.
Matt carried you all the way back to the cabin and laid you down on the couch. You looked up at him, your eyes red and searching. "When you feel good enough to get up you should go take a warm shower," he said. He pushed a small piece of hair from your face then pulled away. "I'm going to take care of this."
You watched him leave, and closed your eyes, still feeling uneasy. You rested for a while, before you finally decided to get up, and taking his advice, went to take a shower. You made sure it was a thorough but quick one, knowing Matt would like to take one as well.
You put on fresh clothes, trying to make yourself feel better. As you were heading back to the living room, the door opened sending a chilling wind through you. Matt stepped in and shut the door, and you noticed there was blood splattered on him.
"Wh-what happened?" you stuttered, feeling sick again. He looked scarier than usual with blood on his face and clothes.
"I didn't kill him like this," he said flatly. "It was his own damn fault. He still had that dear head, and I approached him, telling him he needed to leave again. He got hostile, tried to run at me. Idiot fell forward on top of those antlers, went into his abdomen. He's probably bleeding out still, which is fitting for him."
"That...that's horrible," you said, imagining the scene play out. It nearly made you sick again but you shook it off. You were quiet for a moment before you spoke again. "Matt...is that what poachers really do? Are they all like that?"
Matt nodded sullenly, taking off his jacket and hanging it up. "Most aren't as bad as what you saw, but they all do the same thing."
"That was the most ungodly thing I've ever seen," you said, absentmindedly reaching up and wiping away some blood from his face. "I understand now why you fight it..."
He was about to stop you from touching him, but he felt the warmth of your fingers and knowing now that you believed as he did, he didn't want to stop you. "I'm glad you understand," he said.
You looked into his eyes for a long time, your hand still lightly pressed to his cold cheek before you blushed and pulled away. "You should go take a shower."
Matt nodded, moving past you and into the bathroom. He shut the door behind him and leaned onto it. He was a bit tired, but mostly surprised by the sudden affection he was shown. It had sent a small shiver down his spine that he refused to acknowledge. He sighed and shook his head, stripping out of his clothes and getting into the shower.
You went into the kitchen, and searched through the cabinets until you found Matt's liquor stash. You rifled through the bottles, looking at the labels to see what you thought was best. You finally decided on some good year brandy and found a couple of glasses. You poured some over ice, then went into the living room.
When Matt emerged from the bathroom, steam billowing around him, he went immediately into his bedroom to get dressed. He came out in lounge clothing, finding you sitting in front of the fire.
"____?" he questioned, sitting down beside you. Without looking over, you handed him the other glass of brandy. He stared at it, a bit surprised but thankful.
Together you both drank in silence. Kuma nuzzled beside of Matt, who lazily petted him until the large dog was asleep. Matt stared into the fire for a while before he reached over and pulled you closer to his chest.
You blinked in surprise. "Matt...?" you said looking up at him. His damp blonde hair shone in the firelight, and his violet eyes were staring back down at you. You blushed some, still in surprise at the sudden embrace.
"Have you decided to stay with me?" he asked simply. "You said you understood that I fought them, but you didn't say if you were leaving or not."
"Oh...well I suppose I don't have anywhere to go really..." you said, trying to sound rational when in truth you wanted to be here now.
"Good," he said, looking back up and clearing his throat. You wondered if the red on his face was from the warmth or something else...
He sat there with you even after he had finished his glass, keeping his arms around you firmly. You sipped the brandy slowly, taking in the peaceful moment while it lasted. You considered letting yourself fall asleep once you had finished your drink, but Matt took both glasses and put them back in the kitchen. When he came back he nodded towards the couch.
"Sit up there, I'll find something for us to watch," he instructed. You nodded and got on the couch, wrapping up in a blanket. Soon after, Matt joined you and flipped on the television. He'd put in a tape of some hockey movie from the 80's and you both watched it in silence for half an hour before speaking.
"Are you feeling any better?" he asked, turning to face you. His violet eyes seemed much softer now.
You nodded. "Yes, I was just...shocked when I saw..."
"Don't think about it," he interjected. "As far as I'm concerned, you won't have to see that again."
You nodded, surprised by the protective tone in his voice. You leaned your head on his shoulder, and in turn he laid an arm around your shoulders. There was another long stretch of silence while you watched the movie.
"I'm glad you decided to stay," he stated suddenly, not taking his eyes from the screen.
You glanced up at him. "Why is that?"
"It's just...lonely up here," he said, fidgeting a little. "I've been doing it so long that I thought I was used to it, but having you here..."
You blushed as he trailed off. You wanted him to continue, but he seemed a bit embarrassed. You sat up to see him a little better.
"I'm glad you enjoy my company," you said, tucking a piece of hair behind his ear. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here."
He turned his head to look at you, your hand still lingering behind his head. You locked eyes with him for a moment and you felt a chill go up your spine.
"Matt..." you murmured, feeling the need to say his name. You couldn't move right then, and you didn't want to.
Slowly, he inched closer and you could smell the cigarette smoke and brandy. Your hand rested in his hair as his arm pulled you closer.
He closed the gap between you both and you were kissing him softly. Your heart was beating quickly and thoughts were racing through your mind so fast you couldn't keep up with them.
Your eyes fluttered shut as his lips moved faster against yours. His arm kept you in place while his other hand roamed up your neck slowly. Though his hands were rough his touch was uncharacteristically soft and gentle. Before you could stop yourself, a small noise of pleasure escaped your lips and Matt smirked and pulled away.
"That easy to please you?" he asked with an arched eyebrow. You smacked his arm lightly and rolled your eyes.
"Shut up, it was on accident," you said. "Just trying to make you feel better."
He chuckled. "Sure," he said, tracing the shell of your ear lightly with his thumb. "Listen, kid, I know I'm not good with words, but I hope you understand what I was saying earlier..."
"Yes, I think I do," you said, laying your head on his shoulder. "And if not I'll be sure to ask."