Icy fingers touched her side and she jerked awake, violently woken up from a rather pleasant dream. She rolled away from the source, almost falling on the floor – the arms attached to these cold fingers caught her before she could hit the hard ground. Her heart skipped a beat, before her brain woke up. She was at Nelson's. She was sharing not exactly wide bed with Matt. Thinking about it, the arms embracing her firmly felt familiar.
Vera took one calming breath, ordering her heart to stop freaking out. She ran her hand down her face.
"Jesus, Matt," she complained and slowly opening her eyes, meeting his apologizing expression. He looked... wide awake.
"Sorry," he hummed, pulling her closer, so she wasn't on the edge, the icy fingertips touching the skin on her side. She hissed, feeling she was getting goosebumps. She frowned at him, noticing he was wearing a shirt and pants. Had he gone somewhere? Considering how cold his hands were, it made sense. And now when she was thinking about it, she remembered his lips and breathed sleep, I'll be right back.
"Where were you? ... Were you building a snowman or what?"
The corners of his lips twitched. "No. Do you want to build a snowman?"
"Matt, it's too early to make Frozen references," she exclaimed, her last words transferring into a yawn.
"Make what? ... I went to church."
Vera's eyebrows shot up deliberately and she had to bite her tongue before she could blurt out 'again?'. They went together to midnight mass what could be hours ago. He went there again? She also swallowed 'why?', waiting for him to elaborate.
"I just wanted to visit my father's grave," he explained quietly and Vera felt like an ass. Right. That made sense. "And wish happy holidays to Father Lantom."
Yeah, that made even more sense. Except her brain wasn't as rebooted as she thought. "Wait... so you went to your church. What time is it?" she demanded, horrified. Jesus, did she sleep in? Was it like... eleven already? That would be so awkward.
Matt smiled, lightly kissing her worries away. "It's almost nine."
What time had he got up?!
Vera decided she didn't want to think about it, it made her feel tired. She rather gave him one kiss on her own.
"Merry Christmas, Vera." Her mouth somehow formed a smile without her being in control.
"Merry Christmas, Matt."
It turned out Vera didn't miss anything. The younger part of Nelson's household was getting up as well (apart from the twins) and slowly made their way to the beautiful Christmas tree with multiple presents under it. Vera herself sneaked very inconspicuously before she went to bed, meeting Foggy, who was placing the presents too. They politely ignored each other.
The family gathered in the living room, each with a mug of tea or coffee, in a holiday spirit, comfy and slightly ridiculous sweaters included. Vera didn't have one – Mrs.Nelson was so kind to find one for her, so she didn't feel left out. Vera would swear Matt couldn't look silly, like ever, but the sweater with a reindeer with a huge red nose did it. When Candace came with several Santa Claus hats, one for each man, it was just an icing on the cake. It was perfect and it whispered home and it almost made Vera cry.
And then the gift-giving started. Vera got nice earrings from Foggy, while Candace got a whole set – Vera thought it was fair enough, actually happy she wasn't giving Candace any more reasons for disliking her. But truth to be told, Candace seemed to be just fine; if she couldn't stand Vera (and Vera liked to think it wasn't the case anymore), she was an excellent actor.
The next present she got was significantly bigger. Vera wasted one useless surprised look on Matt, who – feeling her gaze – gave her an approximation of a smile. She felt her heart speed up, unfairly excited. She wasn't good at receiving present, always worried she would react wrong, unnaturally. She slowly unwrapped the present, breathing in and out before looking.
Dark blue smooth fabric. Many, many black decorative flowers. A different kind of fabric, light and airy, almost translucent. Vera blinked in surprise. A dress? Her gaze flickered back to Matt, whose expression was enigmatic – Vera thought he might be waiting for her reaction, any indication of her liking the gift – or disliking it. Yeah, the second option was not an option; she already adored the colour.
Vera carefully pulled the dress out, astonished. They were beautiful. The top was indeed covered in rich decoration, the airy skirt slightly widening; the two parts were divided with a simple ribbon. She felt her heart hammering in her chest. She had no words. Because they were... boat-neck. Vera loved boat-neck dress – after all, she wanted to take one to the benefit with Matt, but in the end choose another dress, which she thought would feel better under his fingers.
It was... she was speechless and she couldn't tear her eyes away.
"Oh, Matt, you should be seeing her face. It's priceless. She's like... awe-struck," Foggy informed him and Vera finally snapped from her trance. Well, awe-struck was actually quite precise. Matt smiled inconspicuously.
"So you like it?" he asked almost hesitantly and Vera shot him incredulous look.
"Are kidding me? Like it? Matt, it's... it's... beautiful," she let out in disbelief, watching his smile spread wider. Speaking of beautiful.... Dammit, she wanted to toss the glasses away. She looked at the dress again. "I wanted to... I actually wanted to take boat-neck dress to the benefit we went toget-"
She stopped in the middle of the sentence, realization striking her. There was something in his smile...
"-but you already knew that," she finished, feeling her heart speeding up even more. The dress she had almost picked... it had been boat-neck. It had had top with many, many flowers. Fluffy skirt. Her jaw fell to her lap. It was similar, wasn't it? Just the colour was different. How was that possible? He couldn't- right?
"Terri might have mentioned you had the benefit dress tailored," he hummed, his smile transforming into mischievous as he was well aware she was silently gaping at him. It was the dress.
"But- but-"
"And the tailor already had your measurements."
"Terri had no idea who made the dress!" she protested, finally choking out a whole sentence that made sense, astonished he even talked to Terri about this.
Matt shrugged. "Mrs.Larkin did."
Vera's head spun. She didn't know she could be more surprised. Matt had talked to Nina to get her a perfect gift. She almost had to blink away her tears. She wasn't tearing, yet, but she was close.
"Edna is pretty scary, by the way."
"You talked to Edna?" she blurted out, something growing in her chest – she wasn't sure if it was good or bad. She was a fucking mess.
"She sounded pretty offended when I asked her if she kept the drafts she made for you. She also said you were quite an inspiration," he exclaimed, beaming, apparently satisfied someone else than him lived in the illusion of her being amazing.
Someone cleared their throat. Vera jumped in her seat, realizing after relatively long time they weren't alone in the room.
"Thank you," she said simply, hoping her tone and her body told him how much she loved her gift.
"You're welcome. Merry Christmas, Vera."
Vera quickly checked her surroundings. It was okay to peck his cheek, right? Candace could handle that? Vera gave him a light kiss, whispering thank you once again.
"Aaaalright, you two saps. Let Foggy unwrap some of his presents too, okay?" Foggy grunted, reaching under the Christmas tree. He picked Vera's. After such a beautiful moment, she expected her gift to Foggy being quite a shock. Well...
Vera kept the dresses in her lap, fingers itchy for touching the fabric over and over again. She watched Foggy to fight with the decorative paper, winning. He froze when seeing package with kilo of peanuts, frowning. Vera felt her cheeks burning as Matt's best friend looked around his family, finding the source of this peculiar present; he stopped at Vera's since all his relatives wore surprised expression and Matt's head was slightly tilted to side as well.
"Thanks...?" Foggy offered unsurely, attempting a smile. Vera rolled her eyes.
"It's stupid. You complained the other day that you're being paid peanuts. So I thought you might be up for some raise," she squeaked and Foggy's eyes went wide. Vera felt all gazes on her, wishing she could sink through the floor. Jesus Christ, this was a terrible idea. From the corner of her eye, she could see Matt's lips twitching.
Finally, Foggy burst out laughing, Matt joining him first, while the others reluctantly laughed too. Matt leaned to Vera, kissing her temple, chuckling. Foggy snorted.
"Okay, that's a good one. Definitely the most original gift I ever got," Foggy stated with a grin and Vera raised her gaze.
"There are two tickets to cinema on the back of the package. You know, for you to hang out. Outside Josie's."
"Thanks, Vera."
Vera smiled at him shakily, happy that at least he took it as a champ. Few other gifts ensued, before Matt got his from Vera as well. He was much more careful than Foggy, unwrapping it with his skilful fingers. Vera wondered if he already knew what was inside – he probably did.
Once he opened it, he traced the tie and the clip on it with a light smile, turning to her.
"I don't deserve a rise or an opportunity to hang out, huh?" he teased her and Vera bit her lip, trying to come with a suitable response. Of course, this wasn't the main gift she wanted to give him – but she couldn't say that, not out loud. But honestly, it was lame.
Vera shrugged. "Well, starting Nelson and Murdock was your idea, so it's totally your fault you're not sitting in all steel and glass offices and earning a fortune-" The corners of his lips twitched higher. "And if I gave you two tickets to somewhere, I would be basically suggesting you should take me there, so... we all know you're a workaholic anyway."
He chuckled and kissed her temple once more. "Thank you. What colour is it? Please tell me it's dark blue like your dress."
Vera sighed in relief, feeling his thank you was genuine despite the... ordinariness.
"I could tell you that, of course. But no, it's... whiskey brown with crimson reflections." His smile softened, hopefully remembering she once described his eyes as whiskey-coloured.
"Lady knows her shit," Candace hummed, making her way for another gift. But she never reached her destination, stopping in her track, bending down.
"Hey, what's that?" her curious voice asked and everyone turned to her on instinct. She picked up something from the floor. Something, which was rather small. And wrapped in decorative paper. Vera subconsciously reached to her pocket on her skirt.
It was empty.
Oh shit.
The Nelson's looked at each other with confusion, while Matt tilted his head, observing the object in his own way. And Vera mentally counted to ten, taking a deep breath.
"It's mine," Vera admitted and all heads snapped to her, baffled. Candace handed her the small package, eyebrow raised in expectation. "I... I thought it would be better to... give it Matt in private."
"Hey, why is Matt getting two presents? Why did I only get one from you?" Foggy complained, but his voice was uneasy. Matt frowned, hearing the emotion behind it. Foggy knew what was in there. His heartbeat must be doing funny things.
Vera had texted him few weeks ago. She had made an amazing finding, immediately thinking of Matt and Christmas gifts. The problem had been... she had had no clue if it was a good idea to give it to Matt, afraid it might make him upset. Foggy had admitted it might, but he apparently hated her for not discovering it on his own, encouraging her. So... well. When Vera had learned about going to Nelsons, she had decided it wouldn't be appropriate to show everyone, because it was very personal, planning to give Matt one more present in private.
Yeah, that went well.
"I dare you to guess, Foggy," she deadpanned, shoving the gift back.
"Come on! Now the curiosity will torture us!" Candace exclaimed and Vera squeezed her eyes shut, mentally counting to ten, her mind racing. What should she do? She felt Matt's sightless gaze burning through her curiously, just like everyone else's. To hell with it.
"Fine. Matt, merry Christmas for the second time," she said, reaching for his hand, placing the tiny package on his palm.
He tentatively felt it with his other hand, struggling to get it open – it might actually be too small even for his senses. Of fingers. She mentally cursed, but before she could help him, he opened it on his own, mapping the small item.
"Is that an USB drive?" Candace demanded, baffled. Matt was slightly frowning in concentration, trying to figure out the mystery behind what indeed was an USB drive. Good luck with that, Vera thought.
"Yeah," Vera hummed, wishing it would end with that. Yeah, 'wishing' being the key word.
"And it's personal, because...?" Candace pried, looking confused.
"It's not the disk, Candy. It's the content," Foggy huffed, annoyed, and Vera shot him a murderous glare, while Matt's eyebrows shot up. And his ears went red. The Nelsons family looked all the same except Foggy – their eyes were popped, some of them blushing too. It took Vera a while to realize.
"Oh my god," she cried out, hiding her face in her hands. Thank god the kids weren't there, attacking their gifts at six a.m., now sleeping again. "It's not an equivalent of a... of an adult movie. Jesus, people."
"That's a lot of blasphemy," Matt noted, still frowning, tracing the lines of the drive as if it would hinted him what was on it.
"What is it then?" Anna asked, obviously curious too. Vera huffed, desperate.
"Okay. If I play just a tiny part – it's clear from the beginning, what it is – would you stop? I have it in my phone too." Vera was already pulling out her phone, sliding her fingers over the surface, searching. She distantly heard the quiet yep from Candace.
Vera took a deep breath, pressing play.
She listened to the recording before – very low volume though, in her headphones, worried Matt might heard it. Now, when she turned it up, she could hear the cheering that preceded the firm male voice. She closed her eyes, waiting. There was a huge lump in her throat, blood buzzing in her ears loudly. She should have never agreed to this. She should have never give Matt this gift in the first place.
"In the right corner, weighting 164 pounds, from Hell's Kitchen, New York. Please, welcome... Battling. Jack. Murdock! ... In the left cor-"
Vera blindly pressed the stop icon, gulping.
"I think that would be enough," she blurted out, too afraid to actually look at Matt and see his reaction. She could tell he was frozen even without it. She didn't have enough courage to check his expression, expecting his lips turned down. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
"Where... where did you get this?" he asked, voice unnaturally raspy. He sounded a little as if he was choking. Vera's heart sunk, but she hesitantly raised her eyes to him. His lips weren't turned down – they were parted in awe. His whole face screamed awe. What was pleasantly surprising though, was that it didn't seem to be a bad thing.
"Fogwell's," she breathed, voice thick as well. "Mr. Fogwell has lots of video recordings of old matches. I noticed one, when some friend of his was returning it. I asked about others. He admitted he had Creel vs. Murdock, obviously. The progress of technique is magic. If you know where to go... they can simply transfer old VHS to computers. You know... digital. Audio. Video. Magic."
Matt seemed absolutely amazed. His fist was clenched around the drive, squeezing it so tightly Vera was afraid he would crush it – not that it would be too much trouble. She had it in her phone. And her laptop. And Google drive, just to make sure.
The room was scarily quiet. Vera held her breath, waiting to any further reaction. Or for anyone to just break the deafening silence. No one bothered.
The salvation came from upstairs – two set of light but loud feet hitting the stairs in too quick motion snapped Vera and few others from their trance. Vera finally exhaled as Rita cursed under her breath, rising to her feet.
"Amy, Arnie! Don't run inside the house!" she yelled, leaving the room, followed by Bill and everyone's gaze and sympathetic smile.
Mr.Nelson used the distraction to take another present from under the tree, for himself this time, and the attention turned from Vera and Matt. Vera pretended to watch the old man, but she was trying to catch Matt's mood; he was the only one who was still very obviously lost in his own thoughts.
As Vera observed Edward give his wife a grateful smile over his new slippers, Matt's hand found hers. She immediately snapped her head to him, finding the corners of his own lips inconspicuously raised. There was a drying path of few solitude tears on his cheeks, but he didn't really look sad; what kind of a storm was coming down in his head though, that remained secret. He ran his thumb over her knuckles tenderly and Vera finally relaxed. She still had no idea how he felt about the gift, but now at least she could tell she didn't do a complete misstep.
"Thank you, Vera," he whispered to her ear lowly, placing light kiss on her cheeks, immediately flushing under the touch. "You're incredible."
Something broke in her at his grateful tone. "I didn't do that much-" she whispered back, but before she could continue, he caught her lips in a chaste kiss, silencing her protests. So she didn't protest further. Not even when he withdrew and paid attention to the others like a polite guest he was.
The thing was though, his hand didn't left hers ever since. Not until they had to get up to get a brunch of whatever at Nelson's dining room – not until they reached for their silverware to be precise. The family was consumed in their conversation, sometimes pulling them in, seemingly forgetting the whole incident (another drama, way to go, Veronika). Except Vera sometimes felt Candace's slightly astonished gaze or Foggy's content smile directed their way. No one said a thing though and Vera sure wouldn't be the one to break the unspoken rule.
---
Vera had listened to the match with Matt, quietly sitting by his side in the bed, swallowing each of her questions about what was happening – without video and knowing the terms, she was lost. Matt seemed to be oblivious to her for once, lost in his memories, apparently creating a picture of the fight in his head. Few tears escaped him again, as the crowd on the recording chanted his father's name and she hugged him, burying her face to his chest to hide from the image of him tearing up – it was breaking her heart, while warming it at the same time, knowing they weren't necessarily tears of sadness. They were sitting in the peculiar octopus for several moments, before he kissed her hair, fully returning her embrace, whispering few more thank you. Then he tactfully left to join whoever – changing from the ridiculous sweater back to one of his shirts – and left Vera with Foggy's laptop to call her mum.
When she followed him downstairs what could be half an hour later – her mouth aching from talking, cheeks burning from forced smile and holding back tears – finally emotionally stable, she found him in the living room, watching Candace and Foggy playing chess.
The image was so surprising it made her stop dead in her track, observing the surreal scene. It was starting making sense the second Foggy announced his move and hit the clock, passing the turn to Candace. They were narrating their moves so Matt knew what was happening (however he might know even without it for all Vera knew). Vera smiled, joining him on the couch, sliding under his arm easily, awaiting Candace's next move.
"Do you have any idea of what's happening on the board?" she asked Matt lowly and he nodded, while Foggy hissed at them to stay quiet. It was the first time Vera heard Foggy demand silence.
Vera couldn't help noticing Foggy's smug smile when his sister made another move; so she focused on the chessboard and the placement of pieces. Some of the positions felt awfully familiar. Vera frowned as Foggy moved his bishop, not bothering to pretend lack of confidence. Something, something...
Candace reached for her knight, which seemed to be a logical step. Seemed was the key word. It finally struck her.
"Wait!" she yelped, shooting up from Matt's arms, leaning forward before Candace could actually touch the piece and potentially seal her fate.
Candace's hand froze an inch from it, her eyebrow shooting up. Foggy shot Vera an annoyed look.
Vera felt her cheek redden. "Uhm... sorry. Just... can I?" she asked, hesitantly eyeing Candace who retreated her hand, blinking.
"Uhm... okay. You play?"
Vera stood up, walking to Candace's side of the table. "Story time. Is it okay if we pause the time? Great. I used to. With my brother. I was like... twelve, thirteen. I was all about dancing and my father thought I needed something more intellectual. And my brother was playing, so naturally they signed me up too. When I went to a tournament – for the first and the last time, luckily enough – I wasn't that bad. I suspect half of the boys were too stunned there was a girl sitting next to them to actually think about the game, so I didn't always lost."
Matt tilted his head, listening attentively, while Foggy seemed more annoyed with each second. Vera didn't blame him – she just thwarted his endgame. Maybe.
She cleared her throat. "Anyway. I dropped after few months, my dad giving me his blessing. But I used to play with my brother sometimes. Few times it was okay, few times not so much. He was much more experienced than I was, like a million times superior, it was annoying. He always pulled some trick, some scheme that inevitably lead to my loss. In time, I realized there were few of them repeating..."
Her hand hovered over the pieces. "I don't want to... you know. But if you play with your knight – which looks like a perfectly rational response to Foggy's move – your king will end up dead in two moves."
Foggy shot her a murderous look as she drew the paths of pieces he would most likely move next. Candace gasped in disbelief. "That's mean!"
Vera smiled awkwardly as Candace looked at her in shock and she distantly noticed Matt's proud smirk.
"Uhm. Anyway. Sorry for the interruption. I'm just gonna shut up and disappear now..." she offered cautiously, feeling tiny under Foggy's glare. Guess she screwed up.
Hand on her forearm stopped her. "Stay! I need you. He's playing dirty."
"Uhm... that seems unfair-"
"He can take Matt if he wants to. Foggy?" Candace asked her brother, who squinted in concentration. Vera was panicking – she was fairly certain Matt playing with Foggy on one team was a terrible idea. They would crush them.
"Pfff. I don't need anyone to beat the two of you," he exclaimed confidently and Vera noticed Matt biting his smile as the macho man Foggy shrugged, hitting the clock again. "Please, help yourself."
Candace eyed Vera and nodded, determined. Vera gave her an unsure smile and examined the board. Let the game begin.
It could be ten minutes later, when Foggy shrieked in terror, getting checkmate, eyeing the girls with horrified expression. "You cheated!"
"We did not," Candace blurted out, confident, and raised her hand to high-five Vera. Vera gladly returned the affection. Foggy let out another disbelieving pitiful sound and paced to the kitchen, followed by three puzzled gazes.
"You make quite a team," Matt noted and Vera glanced to him, finding him grinning widely.
"You bet your ass we do. The union against older brothers – your brother is older, right?" Candace reassured herself and Vera smiled too, nodding.
"Yeah. Yeah, he's older. I love him, but he can be an ass. And also – no offense, Matt – he's a man. So, you know-"
"Who did that?!" Foggy's yelp interrupted Vera and all three of them snapped their head in his direction. He walked – no he stumbled – into the living room, Vera's box of sweets in his hand, looking scandalized.
"Uhm, Foggy, you okay?" Vera asked carefully and he pouted.
"NO! There were some of those candies you baked. They were right there just an hour ago. I called dibs on them!"
Vera didn't understand. Candace and Matt obviously didn't understand either.
"...Foggy, you have the box with them in your hand. I can see them."
"But it's not here anymore!" he complained, sounding on the edge of crying.
"What?" Candace asked, not following.
"The tiny rolls with almonds or whatever. They were the best!"
Oh, and Vera got that. Vanilla rolls. That was the root of the trouble. People seemed to have an addiction to this one kind.
"Oh, those. Yeah, there weren't many in the first place. Someone had eaten most of them before I could pack them," Vera said matter-of-factly. Before she could pack them. Or even after she packed them. Matt sneaked for the box he sensed out with his freaky senses, stealing the rolls. He was like a kid visiting the forbidden cookie jar. Vera admonished him for that, but she was secretly pleased.
"Who- okay, got it. But that doesn't matter. Who ate those you have brought? I called dibs on them!" he repeated exasperatedly, face wounded.
Matt was unusually quiet. Too quiet. Vera checked up on him with corner of her eye. He looked... sheepish. Yep, they had the winner.
"I have no idea, Foggy. Put together a case," Vera advised him wisely, trying to keep her voice serious.
Foggy didn't waste any time. He squinted at his sister. Then Vera. Then his best friend. His eyes went wide.
"Traces of sugar on your shirt. Oh my god. It was you! How could you?! MURDOCK! YOU CANDY-EATING MONSTER!" he cried out, shoving the box to Vera's hands. He took a freaking pillow from the couch and cold-bloodedly hit Matt's shoulder.
Well, at least he didn't go for his head.
Matt did a startled sound, pretending for Candace he didn't expect that, raising his hands in defence as Foggy hit him again. And again.
"Foggy! Stop beating up a blind man!" Vera cried out, barely holding back a laugh. Or cry. Matt usually got hit by something definitely harder than a pillow. This must have been a pleasant change.
"Stop beating up your best friend and law partner!" Candace added uselessly. Foggy continued.
"He's not my best friend! He's a traitor! He's a candy. Eating. Monster!" Each of his words was followed by another strike.
"Stop beating up my boyfriend or you're not gonna like what's coming to you!"
Foggy actually stopped, hand extended, pillow prepared, evaluating the situation.
"Franklin!" Another voice joined and the pillow fell from his hand. Anna. Uh-uh, Foggy was in trouble. Vera chuckled silently, wondering how they could be acting like freaking five-years olds.
"Aren't you supposed to fall asleep now?" she asked Matt lowly as Anna was making their way to Foggy to clip round his ear. Matt's lips twitched and he fell to the couch, supposedly out cold.
Candace snorted simultaneously with Vera and they looked at each other with relatively recently found sympathy. Vera was in a good mood. Very high spirit actually.
"You want to or should I? Or should he leave it to Foggy?" Vera offered, beckoning to their newest Sleeping Beauty. Candace's eyes grew wide at her suggestion. Vera wasn't sure at which part. Matt made a small startled sound. "I guess it's on me then."
One light magical kiss on his lips and he woke up. Foggy, pouting because he was being admonished for something he had every right to do, rolled his eyes at them. They grinned in return.
...
Vera had morning shift on 27th, which meant she had to leave the night before. Truth to be told, she did not want to leave. Once they sorted things out with Candace, she actually had a great time. To fulfil winter traditions, they went outside to build a snowman. Foggy discovered a mistletoe somewhere and he put in on his Santa Clause hat, walking around the house, demanding kisses; he scored like three of them from Vera to his cheek and one very light peck on his lips (which he demanded after his second cup of eggnog). At that point Matt threatened him with broken jaw if he came to her again. They played few games, they talked, they had a snowball fight – Matt was only... well, observing, but Vera suspected he joined the fight when an opportunity rose and no one was noticing him.
Matt was also on board with leaving. He claimed someone should handle the office, because people needed their help even between the holidays (and Vera heard unspoken criminals don't take vacation either) and packed his stuff on 26th evening as well.
Vera almost cried when Mrs.Nelson (Anna) squeezed her in her arms and it had nothing to do with being held too tight. They all said their goodbyes and Vera left with Matt hanging in her arm, cheeks lightly coloured due to the affection (and eggnog) he received before they left. He spent night at her place, listening to the city attentively until they fell asleep – she could tell. He was gone by morning when she got up and she felt the light tones of Christmas spirit dissolving. When she was leaving, she traced the dress in her wardrobe, smiling goofily.
---
The last day of the year wasn't anything special. Vera went to the afternoon shift, volunteering since Matt was on a patrol anyway. She expected all customers to disappear around nine p.m. tops, but they didn't. In fact they were still there by the time they should be closing, but the thing was Hannah and Lyla (both pushovers) were on the shift with her, so muscling the people out was a real bitch. Vera was leaving the café an hour later than she was supposed to. Not that she had plans. She was just tired from dealing with mostly drunk customers.
The moment she entered her apartment, she heard a knock on her window. She spun to it in surprise, finding Matt behind the glass, waiting to be let in. She didn't hesitate – she quickly opened the window and Matt slid in, together with cold and snowflakes. She checked him briefly, seeking any injury.
"Hey," he greeted her lightly, kissing her forehead, as she stood frozen in shock. She was fairly sure Matt wasn't done for the night – it was New Year's Eve, there would be plenty of fights, lots of stupid ideas that needed to be stopped. But he wasn't hurt either. Which left her with only one single option; Matt just... stopped by. Her heart fluttered.
"Hey, Matt. You're... not hurt or anything, right?" she asked carefully, scanning him once again. He took off his shoes, removing his mask and gloves. His eyes were smiling as he shook his head.
"Just taking few minutes off. I... midnight is not the most pleasant thing to experience outside," he offered hesitantly, lowering his gaze. Vera was standing just step from him, still in her coat, mind racing. Matt did lots of things he didn't find exactly pleasant, yet it didn't stop him from doing them. She had no idea what could possibly be an exception.
"It's too loud," she blurted out as the realization struck her and he grimaced, nodding inconspicuously. She smiled sympathetically, taking his hand, leaning to his ear. "Well, luckily for you, I'll allow you to crush at my place."
Vera saw his mouth twitch from the corner of her eye. "Lucky me."
He winced when some firecracker went off outside and Vera's first instinct was to cover his ears. It was absolutely stupid thing to do, useless, and she wanted to remove them the second she put them there, but his palms covered hers. He placed light kiss on her temple.
"Thank you. Leave them there," he pleaded lowly, kissing her forehead, his own hands disappearing to border her face. They stood like that for several seconds, before all hell broke lose all of sudden, and Vera knew the midnight had come.
If the noise – and Vera was sure her palms was no help for Matt's sensitive ears – didn't hint her enough, his lips on hers did. He took her lower lip between his, caressing with tenderness, turning her knees weak. She interweaved her fingers in his hair, stroking lightly while trying to keep her palms on spot. It was difficult and she possibly failed. Actually she was pretty sure her hands lost their position the moment one of his hands pushed towards her hip, making her walk backwards, while the other travelled to the back of her neck and his tongue met hers.
Vera would giggle at his eagerness, but somehow she couldn't, her pulse loud in her ears, muffling the noise from outside, excitement rising in her abdomen. She didn't protest when she realized he kept pushing and making her walk in one very obvious direction. She didn't protest when he lifted her hands from where he had claimed he wanted them to strip her coat. And her sweater. And everything else. She helped him with his clothes too since he let her.
The moment they finally reached her bedroom, she couldn't think about anything but his hands and mouth attached to hers. The moment their bodies connected in the most intimate way, she saw actual fireworks.
---
"You're smiling wider than usual," he hummed, traces of smug satisfaction in his voice as she was lying clutched to his chest, drawing indefinite patterns on the scarred skin. She looked up, seeing him somewhat delighted as well.
"So are you. What you're thinking?"
His smile slightly faltered and Vera immediately regretted asking the question. He kissed the top of her head. "Just... I think that's the first time I actually got to kiss my girlfriend on New Year," he admitted and Vera tried her best to cover her shock at that exclaim. There was no way she was able to do it properly though. So there was only one option left. Reveal her thoughts as well.
"I was thinking... uhm. In Czechia, we have a saying of some sort. It means 'as you do on New Year's, you'll do the whole year'," she explained reluctantly, feeling his body tensing inconspicuously. It was kind of a sore subject, but they could only talk about upcoming several months. No need to fill in the details.
Matt relaxed, leaning his head to hers. "I would like that," he whispered softly and Vera felt her heart flutter. God, she loved this man so much. Her lips found his, revealing the darkest secret she kept quite badly.
"Me too."
----Notes:
Even more fluff. This got strongly out of hand. I was planning like 10k tops... yeah, that went well. Hope you enjoyed a little. Leave kudos or a comment if you feel like it :-) (Even if it only says I'm a freaking sap and you got overdosed on sugar or something).
Btw, Vera's dress in red in comments.
Happy holidays!