Matt didn't know exactly if they were in a long-distance relationship or not. He didn't even know if his thing with Jen was, in fact, something he could consider a relationship. Being completely honest with himself, the most appropriate would be friends with benefits...sometimes many benefits. Still, it was not something they had talked about.
After the 24-hour romance they had in L.A later that Luke Jacobson case, he and Jen continued to talk to each other by calls and messages whenever possible. They would talk about what they had done during the day, exchange opinions about cases they were preparing to defend in court, Matt would ask about her family and Jen would ask about Foggy. Any free time no matter how small it was, they used to talk to each other and for two months the dynamics of their relationship seemed to work very well.
Until one day Jen got too busy with a case and disappeared for a week leaving Matt without hearing from her. Then Matt lost track of time investigating a small local mafia case, which required him to focus on his vigilante activities more intently, with not much time left to talk to Jen. And then the routine messages turned into a "What's up! How are you?" that they exchanged a few times a month when they had time.
Matt missed the conversations. Or rather, he missed her. Jen had come to New York for a week, right after Matt's stay, also for a week, in L.A. Since then they hadn’t met again and, God, Matt missed her terribly. Did she miss him? He would never know. The truth was that he had become attached to her, even with the short time they had together. He still remembered vividly the sound of her voice, the way her body vibrates when she laughed, the smell of green apple shampoo in her hair and how that same curly hair felt so soft in his fingers, the curves of her body that he had explored meticulously that night in LA...Jen was still a vivid memory for Matt. He just didn't know what to do about it. In general, Matt doesn't know how to deal with his emotions and this time is no exception.
Their last conversation had been a week ago and Matt was the one who initiated it. He wanted to get on his cell phone and send her a silly text message just to talk to her about something, but he didn't like to be intrusive and didn't want to get in her way. So he did what he does best, put on his Daredevil suit, and this time not the ketchup and mustard as Jen had affectionately named it, but the good old black and red that he had worn so many times before and went out to his vigilante activities.
***
With so many years of being a vigilante on his back, Matt was no longer bothered by the scrapes and bruises he earned during fights. Sure, sometimes they were more serious and left Matt upset and sore for a few days, but he could handle it. Today, especially, was not a good day. He had won all the fights of the night, obviously, but his mind was not focused on the fight, which made him slightly more distracted and yielded some deeper cuts that would probably leave small scars. It was past midnight, his limbs felt heavy, his head ached with the amount of things going on inside of it, and Matt just wanted to throw himself on his couch and sleep until late in the next morning. Fortunately it was Saturday and he could afford to get more sleep than usual.
As he stood in the doorway of his apartment, Matt picked up with his super hearing a heartbeat. It had a steady, strong rhythm and it was slightly faster than usual. He had heard it before, his senses alerted him. Stepping through the door that made a connection between the roof and his apartment, Matt walked down the stairs to the living room, following the direction of the sound and the unmistakable smell of green apple coming from the kitchen.
"Jen?!" he asked knowing it was her, but still too surprised to believe his own senses.
Jen jumped startled, not having heard or seen anyone enter the apartment through the front door, but relaxed as soon as she realized who it was.
"Surprise!!!" She spoke excitedly and smiling "My bad I didn't warn you. Actually, I won't apologize because I did exactly what I planned on doing, but I don't know if you're the kind of guy who likes surprises and-"
Matt interrupted her as he pulled her to his chest, trapping the two of them in a tight embrace. He couldn't believe she was there.
"I'm not the biggest fan of surprises, but that was a really good one" he said tilting his head down, his nose brushing subtly in her hair.
Jen rested her head against his chest, taking the opportunity to satisfy the longing she felt for being together like this. Jen loved physical touch and appreciated that Matt always seemed willing to offer hugs…and cuddles after sex.
"I missed you" Jen whispered into his chest.
"I felt yours too" Matt replied, part of him reassuring himself and becoming happier to know that she had thought of him and missed him. "But tell me, what brought you to New York?"
Jen reluctantly disentangled herself from his arms and bit her lower lip, thinking of the best way to approach the subject
"So...it's my vacation period. A whole month and I thought...uhn, I could take the time to get to know New York" she finished her sentence in a fast paced manner, which Matt knew, she did when she was hiding something.
"That's it?" he teased approaching her once more
"And, hmm, maybe I thought it would be nice to see you, you know. It's been so long since the last time and..."
She stumbled to find the right words, the closeness to Matt's body making her a little disconcerted
"I don't know, I thought you would enjoy seeing me again. Which might be a little presumptuous of me, but it's the truth" Jen finished.
"I'm really glad you're here, Jen. I really am. And where are you staying?"
"Well about that..." she replied thoughtfully once again
Matt let a loud laugh escape, understanding everything that was going on. He would have said something clever about her staying at his apartment, or maybe he would have flirted with her and that would lead the two of them to more interesting things, but Matt was hit with an excruciating pain in his ribs as he laughed and couldn't hide his pained face.
"Hey, what happened?" Jen put her hands on his arms ready to catch him in case he fell
"It's nothing. Just the result of some punches I took. It will be better tomorrow"
Jen even though she had only known Matt a short time knew how he tended to hide his true condition so as not to worry others.
"Sure Mr. Devil" she used her hands that were already on his body, to guide the two of them to the bedroom "So what's the post daredeveling routine?"
Internally Jen was excited to be able to get a little more into his life. She didn't like seeing him hurt or in pain, but it was a chance to really get to know this other side of him.
Matt simply shrugged
"If things have gone normal, I take off my uniform and do all the things a normal person does before bed." he paused and scratched his hair thinking carefully about his next words " If...I have…let's say, huh, more hurt than normal..."
"More than normal..." Jen replied concerned that there was a normal
"I just come in, throw myself on the couch and sleep" he finished simply
Jen took a deep breath and let it out assimilating everything. She stopped and evaluated what would be the best things to do.
"And is today a day of normal bruising or lying on the couch and just existing?"
Matt laughed shaking his head
"It's a normal day. I was just distracted and things got complicated"
"Distracted is it?" Jen sat on his lap, their faces coming face to face "With what exactly, may I ask?" she questioned in a teasing voice
"With a certain person" Matt replied simply, bringing his lips to Jen's neck.
He caught when she shivered from the kiss on her neck. Her spine tensing up, but the muscles in her leg weakened. He heard the low moan that barely came from her throat and as she unconscious, or not, tilted her neck to the side giving him more room.
Jen still sitting on Matt's lap spread her legs wider, letting her hips fit perfectly with his, feeling his erection grow and rub between her legs. Memories started coming back into Jen's mind of how good it had been all the times they had fucked. How Matt better than anyone knew how to touch all the right places in her, triggering a set of sensations she didn't even know she could feel.
The months away from each other were torture. Phone conversations would never equal living with the person in person, and both Jen and Matt enjoyed being close to each other. To feel all the physical sensations that the relationship gives them. And, gosh, they enjoy touching each other, from sex to cuddling in bed the next morning. Jen and Matt simply love physical contact.
But no matter how much Jen had missed touching him, she couldn't do that today. Not with Matt all bruised up like he was now. Very reluctantly, she held his face between her hands and kissed his lips in a passionate but restrained kiss.
"We'll have the whole month for this," she said fearfully, "Now I think you really need to rest.
Matt huffed in utter frustration, letting his head hang down to Jen's shoulder. She was right, though, deep down he knew that.
"We're going to have to do a lot of that then to make up for the lost night tonight" Matt spoke slyly, his voice muffled by the blouse Jen was wearing
"You bet we will" Jen promised "Now let's go. Get out of that suit so I can see how much damage these criminals have done to you.”
"I think deep down you just want to see me out of uniform. Are you sure you-"
"MATTHEW" Jen interrupted him and Matt laughed out loud
"Okay, okay."
Matt pulled Jen off his lap and stood up, starting to take off all the parts and layers of the uniform
"You don't have to worry. There's nothing serious here, just a few cuts, some purple ones, but nothing I can't handle"
God, he is so stubborn, Jen thought to herself. But she didn't want to force him into anything either.
"Are you sure?" She asked one last time
"Yes, I'm sure. I'll shower, clean up, get some sleep and by tomorrow I'll be a brand new person."
Matt had already taken off the top of his costume, giving Jen a full view of all the bruises he had and all the scars that had been there for years. He was right, although the cuts apparently scared Jen because she wasn't used to them, they didn't look deep enough to need stitches.
Matt noticed by her irregular breathing that Jen seemed to want to say something, but was too reluctant to do so.
"All right. Go take your shower, Mr. Devil," she said as she left the room.
She didn't give him a chance to answer, leaving Matt alone in the room to clean up his own mess.
Matt took a little longer than necessary in the shower. Besides meticulously cleaning his own cuts, Matt let the hot water take over his body, allowing his muscles to relax so that he could sleep a little better.
Once sleep began to take hold of him, Matt stepped out of the shower, not taking long to put on clean underwear, his sweatpants, and a black short-sleeved shirt.
When he returned to the bedroom, Matt felt his sense of smell being taken over by the scent of Jen, who he identified was already sitting up in bed, and tea. Chai tea.
"Are you a tea girl?" Matt asked genuinely curious. It was always a pleasure to learn something new about Jen
"It makes me sleep better. I guess in general I like hot drinks" Jen took a sip of her drink. "I made one for you too. It's on your side of the bedside table."
Matt sat up in bed and groped around until he found his cup, sighing as he finished the generous sip he had taken. It tasted delicious Chai, but Matt could sense a slightly peppery taste. And cinnamon, Matt loved cinnamon.
"That's very good" Matt complimented "Thank you"
"Not at all" Jen replied with a gentle smile
Matt took a few more sips of his drink and he and Jen fell into a comfortable silence. When his drink had pretty much finished Matt snuggled closer to Jen, resting his head on her shoulder.
Jen was surprised by his gesture. Although she knew there was a Matt behind the Daredevil mask and the dark and mysterious man he appeared to be, she was still surprised when he let this other side show. Jen slipped an arm behind his shoulders and began to stroke his hair.
"How was your day?" Jen asked in a very low voice
"It went well. It ended better than it started, that's for sure" Matt smiled half asleep
They talked for a few more minutes until sleep finally overtook Matt and he fell asleep with Jen still stroking his hair, not worrying about waking up early the next day.