Chapter 7
Wednesday morning dawned cool and crisp, and Matt flinched when he took his covers off, his skin prickling. He made a note to use lotion for the next few days. The transition into winter was never fun for his senses.
He stretched carefully as he stepped out of his bedroom, hearing the faint creaks from healing skin and bone and cringing slightly at the pain radiating from a few new bruises from last night. There had been a few muggings and attempted beatdowns he'd stopped, and one of the gangs had metal pipes. The new suit helped with that, but still wasn't invulnerable.
Matt whipped up a quick egg, ate, washed his face and the like, got into his suit, and headed for the office. The city was humming with a bit more urgency due to the cold; he could hear people shivering, their teeth chattering, could smell the mustiness in their up-till-now-neglected jackets and warm clothing. He was relieved to step into the building, and sighed at how warm it was inside.
He could hear Karen typing away at her computer, and could hear Foggy's amiable chatter. And something else, oddly familiar but just enough of a variable to get his hackles raised. He forced himself to take a deep breath and plaster on a smile as he opened the door.
"Morning Karen, Foggy."
Karen's head whipped up. "Oh, Matt! Morning! How did you sleep?"
"Pretty well, thank you. And you?" Matt replied, closing the door softly behind him.
"Eh, okay, I guess. I had to get out the thicker blankets," Karen said wryly. "Oh, the coffee's made and ready if you'd like some."
Matt stifled a groan at the hope in her voice. He loved Karen, he really did, but her coffee was abysmal even to Foggy, let alone his senses. "Thanks, Karen, but I already had mine." He smiled.
"Okay then." Matt's smile became a little more genuine at Karen's irrepressible brightness. "Don't want to mess up your circadian rhythms. If, that is," she said, a bit panicked, "they even work that way....damn."
"It's okay." He said warmly, shaking his head. He headed for the door to his office.
"Oh, you have a visitor, by the way," Karen spoke up from behind him, and Matt turned, confused. "Who is it?" He asked.
"Vision, surprisingly enough," Karen said. "He says he wants to talk to you."
The wheels in Matt's head started turning. They'd talked less than a week ago. Was this about his secret identity? Wanda had introduced him to the other Avengers as a friend she had met on her trip to New York a few months back, but in private had painted him as an attorney acquaintance of Daredevil's. He had almost lost himself at Josie's the other night. Had Wanda told Vision, and was Vision concerned? Nervousness churning in his stomach, Matt stepped into his office, and closed the door with a click behind him. So far as he could tell, Vision was sitting politely in the chair reserved for visitors. Upon Matt's entry, he raised his head.
"Ah, Mr. Murdock. Good morning. I hope I am not interrupting anything."
"Oh no," Matt said, taking a step further in. "I was...just going to work on sorting case files, anyway." Matt swallowed. "Is there a...reason for your visit? Is Wanda okay? And the rest of your teammates, too?" He tacked on, cursing himself for the fact that it sounded like an afterthought.
"Wanda is fine, as are the rest of our teammates." Vision said, and Matt breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "The reason for my visit does, however, involve Ms. Maximoff."
Matt swallowed. "Okay." Against his better judgement, he crossed the room the rest of the way and took a seat, turning his gaze (as well as he could tell), towards Vision.
"You will have to forgive me if I go about this the wrong way," Vision said, sounding truly apologetic. "The subject matter I need to address is somewhat foreign to me. All of my knowledge on the subject has come from the Internet, and unfortunately I was forced to filter out quite a lot of crude content, which may have compromised my meaning. I will try to be brief." His voice turned serious--and, Matt noted with surprise, vaguely threatening. "I believe you know that Ms. Maximoff has no family remaining in the world outside of the Avengers. Therefore I find it my duty--perhaps in Mr. Barton's or Captain Rogers' absence--to warn you that I at the very least will take any harm to Ms. Maximoff as a personal offense worthy of rebuttal. She is a kind-hearted girl who has already suffered much in her short lifespan. Any unnecessary addition to that pain will not be received well by myself or by my teammates."
Matt blinked, dumbfounded. "Um. Um." He swallowed, tilted his head to the side quizzically. "Vision. Was that a. A shovel talk?"
"I believe that is the term the Internet used. I did not fully understand why a shovel was relevant to the conversation. But yes, this is a warning."
Matt nodded, pursing his lips. "I...believe I understand your meaning. But...why?"
Vision sounded vaguely uncomfortable. "Ms. Maximoff and I received our abilities from similar sources. I, too, possess the ability to read minds. It is comforting sometimes for us to allow the other to freely use our abilities because we know it will not hurt either of us. However, this also allows me to see her mood and some of her residual thoughts. She is quite enamored with you."
Matt's mind was going in circles. Wanda...liked him? Like, like liked him? Matt could practically hear Foggy giggling already, and he shook his head with a stifled groan. Oh, Foggy did not need to hear about this. "I...I don't...."
"Mr. Murdock, I do not believe it is my business to tell you how to deal with this situation." Vision said. "The age difference between you is not as large as some would think and statistically it is quite possible for a relationship between two people of a seven or more year age difference to succeed. However I will remind you that Ms. Maximoff is a young girl who only recently escaped inhuman conditions and was reacquainted with standard society. She needs and deserves many things, including kindness and understanding of who she is and what she is capable of. What she does not need is someone who will break her heart or impregnate her and leave her. My research on your faith tells me that you are bound by your vows to God not to harm another person, especially not in that matter, and from what I know and have seen of you, Mr. Murdock, you seem to be a man of deep faith and strong moral standard. However, I thought it best to inform you, nonetheless."
Matt was pretty sure his jaw had dropped somewhere around statistics on age differences in relationships, and he'd been about to sputter incredulously around the wedlock part of the discussion, but now he closed his mouth in a mix between warmth and embarrassment, considering Vision's compliment on his character. He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry if I seem to be taking this badly, I just...this is all very sudden." He finally said awkwardly.
Liar, the voice in his head said. You heard her heartbeat. You heard her voice. You knew what she was feeling.
And he hadn't known how to react to it then, either. "I. Um. How do I even begin to address this?" he asked the ceiling. He could almost imagine God grinning and shrugging. Vision just sat patiently. His lack of a heartbeat made Matt feel lost, exposed. "I. I think Wanda is an incredibly strong, kind person. I admire her for being so devoted to helping people, especially after what was done to her." He hesitated. "...I don't know if I feel...that way towards her, or if I ever could one day." Vision's fingers twitched, making a rasping, yet somehow ringing metallic sound. "But regardless, I would try my hardest to avoid hurting her, and if I ever did I would apologize, ask her forgiveness, and try to make it right." He shrugged, feeling out of place and more than a little silly. Although...he found that he meant every word he said. "And you're right. My faith is very straightforward on how we are not to treat other people. Unfortunately, I...haven't always followed it in my relationships." He swallowed hard, thinking of Elektra, of her smooth, soft skin and expensive perfume. Of her grasp which seemed to spark fire beneath her fingers when she grabbed his wrist or his chin. Of how he came to see that touch as tainted, poisonous, even if a small, dark, shameful bit of him still craved it. "But I mean to follow it from here on out."
There was silence in the office for a long while except for the constant white noise humming in the background. Karen was rifling through files in the office, Foggy was spreading cream cheese onto a bagel. The lady in the accountant's office next door was trimming her fingernails while another woman scooted her chair back and forth as she filled out paperwork. Someone out front dropped their keys, their teeth chattering. When Vision spoke, it startled Matt so much he almost jumped.
"I am relieved to hear that, Mr. Murdock." Vision stood. "Again, thank you for allowing me to speak with you."
"Of course," Matt nodded, cursing his fair complexion and how red and inflamed his cheeks became the instant he was embarrassed. He followed a step behind Vision as the android left the office.
"I wish the three of you a pleasant day," Vision nodded politely towards Karen, who'd glanced up from her laptop, and Foggy, who'd leaned out of his office to see what was up.
"Thanks, you too," Karen said, a smile in her voice.
"Tell the Avengers we said hi!" Foggy said.
"I will gladly do so." Vision said warmly. "Good day." The door gently clicked closed.
Matt heard Karen and Foggy's heads immediately snap towards him. He groaned. "You shouldn't do that. You'll strain your necks," he said, exasperated.
"Well? What'd he want to talk about?" Karen asked expectantly.
"Nothing important," Matt said.
"I dunno, buddy, you're pretty red for 'nothing important.'" Foggy pointed out.
"It doesn't have to do with....the devil, does it?" Karen asked worriedly. "Did they find out?"
"No, they didn't find out," Matt sighed. "Though it wouldn't surprise me at all if Vision knew. That guy scares me sometimes."
"Well then, what did he want to talk to you about?" Foggy asked borderline-peevishly, and Matt grimaced. "It's...kind of a personal matter, Foggy. Nothing's wrong," he quickly amended when he heard his friend's heartbeat pick up, "but I need to do some hard thinking over the next few weeks, is all. About the...situation he made me aware of."
Karen and Foggy were silent for what seemed like a long while after Matt finished talking, and he cursed interiorly and tried his best not to squirm under the weight of tension he could feel in the room.
"You know you can talk to us about this sort of thing, Matt," Karen said sympathetically, and Matt didn't have to force a smile. "I really appreciate having you two to watch my back, but really, it's fine. It's just something I'm gonna have to sort out in my own head, is all."
Foggy dipped his chin, and Karen let out a quiet breath. "If you're sure..." she said hesitantly, and Matt nodded resolutely.
"Absolutely. Now, what have we gotten in this morning?" He tried his best to focus on the list of various complaints against landlords and CPS cases and not to think on what Vision had said. Wanda liked him. He liked her too, but did he like her in that way? Could he ever do so? And if he did...could he possibly be stable or responsible enough to stand by her and not drag her down to his level?