The living room was a chaos of toys scattered all over the place when Kirsten McDuffie, assistant district attorney, currently sitting on the floor next to her toddler playing with a new spider-toy, heard a sudden noise and crash from the open window.
Here we go again.
She looked up just in time to see Matt soaring through the air, his legs up in an incredible jump. The woman rolled her eyes, not even wanting to know how Matt managed to make such a dramatic entrance, again. The bedroom, the fireplace, the balcony, and now the living room’s window ?!
"Ta-da!" Matt announced, grinning as he landed on his feet with incredible balance, striking a silly pose. Of course, their child had to clap and giggle in delight, like they always did when Matt did something stupid. Kirsten just shook her head. He had to be the favorite.
"You're ridiculous," she said, more annoyed than impressed. "How did you even get up there?"
Matt just shrugged. "I have my ways," he said, winking at their child. "But it's all worth it to make the little one smile."
She couldn't help but soften a little at that, even as she continued to shake her head. Matt was a total showoff sometimes, ugh, but she had to admit that he had a way of making their child light up like no one else could, and deep inside, because of their lifes, it’s what she needed too.
"Okay, okay," she said, holding up her hands in surrender. "You win. But next time, could you please just use the door like a normal person?"
“A what ? A normal person?” Matt just laughed, scooping their child up into his arms. "No promises," he said, heading towards the pile of toys. "But I can promise that we're going to have a lot of fun playing together today."
Matt walked towards the sea of toys with their child scooped up in his arms, grinning from ear to ear. The sense of joy and contentment was never going to stop washing off. He couldn't help but grin like an idiot, feeling as if his heart might burst with happiness. However, as he took a step forward, his foot caught on one of the cubes on the floor, and he went down hard on his butt, and everything stopped.
“Matt!” Kirsten gasped, hands covering her face.
The room fell silent in shock and Kirsten rushed over to see if he was okay. Matt had instinctively secured the baby in his fall, thank god.
"Are you alright?" she asked, concern etched on her face.
Matt winced a little, but he was still smiling awkwardly. "I'm fine," he said, patting his butt with his free hand as he got back up to his feet. "Just a little clumsy, I guess."
The room remained silent for a few seconds, as Kirsten and Matt both tried to catch their breath. But then, suddenly, the little ball of joy in his arms started laughing uncontrollably, and soon the whole room was filled with the sound of their giggles.
Matt grinned, scooping their child up into his arms once again. "See?" he said, turning toward Kirsten. "No harm done. And look at that smile. I'm sure it's worth it, right? All planned!”
Kirsten shook her head, but she was smiling too now. "You're impossible," she said, leaning in to give Matt a kiss on the cheek. "But I guess I wouldn't have you any other way."
Clumsy, Matt leaned in for another kiss, but he was met with Kirsten’s hand against his lips. "Sorry, counselor. We'll have to clean this mess first and by that, I mean, you’re on cleaning duty, so you’re going to do all the work." Kirsten said with a mischievous smirk. Matt couldn’t help the grumble of defeat.
Daredevil, Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, defeated not by any adversary but by his own wife and a pile of toys.
As he lay there, surrounded by a sea of play items, Matt felt that sense of dumb joy and contentment again. He was glad to be alive, glad to be a father, and glad to have Kirsten. Everything felt just, finally.
His toddler, sensing his father's momentary defeat, nuzzled closer to him and placed a small hand on his cheek. Matt looked up and felt the joy in his child's touch, warmth, smell.
Suddenly, the mess on the floor didn't seem so daunting.
"Alright, kiddo," he whispered, "let's get this mess cleaned up so we can have some more fun later."