Matt can smell the pumpkin spice before you’re inside the office; the scent prickling his nose as he perks up. Minutes later you walk in with four pumpkin spice lattes in hand and a smile on your face as you hand them out to Karen, Matt, and Foggy.
“Finally, I don’t have to drink Karen’s coffee,” Foggy sighs of relief before taking a sip.
“You’re lucky I love you or you’d regret saying that.”
You laugh at their bantering and sit across from Matt, who asks, “What’s the special occasion?”
“It’s the first day of October!” You exclaim, like the reason should be obvious. “I wanted to celebrate the best month with a fall staple.”
He usually doesn’t pay attention to things like that; holidays like Halloween and Christmas haven’t been enjoyable for him since his dad passed. Foggy always invites him to celebrate with his family, and while Matt’s grateful, it’s just not the same. Your excitement is starting to rub off on him though, and he can’t deny the drink is delicious.
“Oh! We should have a bonfire tonight. S’mores, hot chocolate, telling scary stories. What do you guys think?”
“You had me at s’mores,” Foggy says.
“Sure, Foggy and I can host at our place.”
It comes as a surprise when Matt says, “Yeah, sounds fun.” No one expects him to come, not with all of his responsibilities of being Daredevil. It hurts when he doesn’t come out for drinks at Josie’s, or misses dinner plans, but you know you’re selfish for thinking that way. How can you complain when he risks his life protecting Hell’s Kitchen?
You feel giddy knowing you’ll finally have a night out with everyone. Hanging out with Foggy and Karen is still fun, but oftentimes you feel like the third wheel to their relationship, and it just makes you feel lonely. They know about your feelings for Matt, hell, he probably knows too seeing as you aren’t the best at hiding them.
Deep down, you know you’ll have to tell him at some point; he deserves to know how you’re feeling, and it’ll be somewhat of a relief to get it off your chest. If Foggy and Karen can make it work, who says you and Matt can’t? Even if he rejects you, you know he’ll be sweet about it and that your friendship will remain intact. That doesn’t stop your anxiety from telling you that you’ll ruin everything though.
“Well, I just stopped by to drop the coffee off on my break, but I have to head back. See you all tonight!” You take the last sip of your drink, wave goodbye to everyone, and head back to work. Matt and Foggy have both offered you a job at Nelson and Murdock, but you love your job too much to leave it, although it gets more and more tempting each time they ask.
Once you’re out of the office, Foggy pulls Karen outside. “I have a plan for tonight,” he whispers, knowing Matt’s sense of hearing is heightened, he doesn’t want to risk him eavesdropping.
“This usually doesn’t end well.”
“Hear me out. Once they’re at our place, we tell them we forgot something at the store, like beer or whatever. Then, we go to get it and leave them alone for an hour or so, giving them a chance to finally address their feelings for each other.”
Matt laughs to himself after listening, but he has to play it off like he doesn’t know what they were talking about. It would be funny to call him out, and although he hates to admit it, he wants to see if Foggy is right about your feelings for him. He’s been noticing how your heartbeat gets faster whenever he touches you or when you’re alone together, and at first, he worried he did something to make you nervous. After Karen and Foggy have insisted to him that you have feelings for him, he can’t help but wonder if it’s true.
“This is so…middle school,” Karen sighs. “But if they won’t do something about it, I guess we will.”
He can tell Foggy is grinning at her agreeance to the plan. As they walk back inside and go back to their desks, Matt pretends he didn’t hear a word.
* * *
Later that night you meet the gang on the rooftop of Karen and Foggy’s apartment complex. The view of Hell’s Kitchen is stunning up there; you can see for miles out, and with the sun about to set, everything is covered in golden colors. Foggy is busy getting the bonfire started, Karen is drinking hot chocolate and talking to Matt about a case. He’s wearing a green hoodie and jeans, different than his usual business attire, but it looks nice on him.
They all greet you with smiles and hugs and Karen hands you a mug of hot chocolate. You set up the s’more area, carefully laying out each ingredient and roasting sticks for the marshmallows. Once the fire is started and everyone’s settled in, Foggy groans. “We forgot to pick up some alcohol after work.”
“Why don’t we run down to the corner store and grab some?” Karen suggests.
“You both have to go?” Matt asks, making you worried he doesn’t want to be alone with you. You take a sip of your drink to hide your pained expression.
“I don’t want her walking alone once it’s dark.”
They excuse themselves and a silence falls over you and Matt. He’s smirking like he knows something, but you don’t ask what’s going on. “Want a s’more?”
“Sure, I’ve never actually had one before.”
“What? They’re a classic! Here, I’ll teach you how to make a perfect one.”
You hand him a stick and a marshmallow before grabbing one for yourself. “The trick is to make it nice and golden, but not burnt. You want it to be warm enough to melt the chocolate. I’ll tell you when it’s done.”
After toasting them for a bit, you tell him it’s done and show him how to construct it. “I like putting two pieces of chocolate on top and two on the bottom, rather than all of it in one spot.”
Matt follows your instructions and takes a bite; he moans at the taste. “This is incredible,” he says with his mouth full. “I’ve been missing out.”
The sun has fully set now and the cold air nips at your skin, making you regret not bringing a jacket. You move a little closer to the fire and hold your hands out for warmth, and he can sense your movement.
“Here, take my sweatshirt.”
“I’m alright, I can borrow something from Karen when they get back. I don’t want you to be cold.”
“I’ll be fine.”
You slip it on and immediately feel comforted by the warmth and Matt’s scent; it’s a mix of the bonfire smoke and cedarwood. The fabric is soft against your skin and you secretly hope he lets you keep it.
“So, I have something kind of funny to tell you.” Matt doesn’t know the best way to bring it up, but you deserve to know what Foggy and Karen’s plan is since you’re a part of it. “I overheard Karen and Foggy earlier after you left. They purposefully forgot drinks tonight to give us alone time to talk about our feelings for each other. Basically, we’ve been set up,” he laughs.
You’re furious at them for doing this; it may not seem like a big deal, but it’s embarrassing. They don’t need to interfere, it’s up to you to tell Matt when (if you ever are) ready. Now you’re stuck in an awkward situation when it was supposed to be a fun night with everyone. So much for that.
“Wow, that is funny,” you try and laugh it off but it sounds forced. “I don’t know what they’re talking about though, do you?”
He can hear your heartbeat pick up, a telltale sign you’re lying. “Did you forget I can tell when someone’s lying?”
Shit. You did. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Well, I do.”
Karen and Foggy are dead for this. If he rejects you right now, you might not forgive them for it. You’re content with keeping it a secret from him unless by some miracle he confessed his feelings first. Eventually they’d fizzle out and you’d move on, and now that isn’t an option.
“You can tell me anything, you know that.”
It’s worse knowing Matt can tell how nervous you are while you have no idea what he’s feeling. His face is unreadable as usual, so now you’re left to overthink what’s going on inside his head.
“I love you, Matt. As more than a friend; I have for a few months now, but I didn’t know how to tell you. This isn’t how I wanted you to find out, and honestly, I didn’t know if I ever really wanted you to know. I’m not good with rejection but I won’t hate you for it. I’ll get over it and we’ll be the same as always. But yeah, I do have feelings for you.”
“Wait, you really thought I’d reject you?”
“Are…are you not going to?”
“No, I’d be an idiot for that. I love you too; I have from the beginning. I was scared of making things serious when I started being Daredevil because I thought you’d be in more danger. But I can’t let that hold me back anymore, it just means I’ll fight harder to protect you.”
He has to be lying; if only you had super hearing so you would know for sure. Maybe he’s in on some sick joke with Karen and Foggy. That’s the only logical answer; they planned it when you left today so you’d make a fool out of yourself.
No, they would never do that. It’s sad to believe that more than believing Matt actually loves you back.
“You don’t need to put yourself in any more danger for me. I worry about you enough, but I appreciate it. I don’t deserve you.”
“Don’t say that. It kills me when you talk about yourself like that. You deserve the world and more.”
And then he’s kissing you.
It’s better than anything you could’ve imagined; he tastes sweet from the s’mores, and his hands can’t figure out where to rest. Matt wants to feel all of you, worried that this will be the last time he gets to like this. He finally has you right where he wants you.
When you pull back, you can’t help but ask, “does this make us official now?”
Matt chuckles and kisses your forehead. “If that’s what you want.”
“I do.”
He pulls you closer and you rest your head on his shoulder, breathing in that familiar scent. You’re in the middle of roasting marshmallows again when Karen and Foggy come back.
“We knew it’d work!” Foggy exclaims before high-fiving her.
“I want to be mad at you guys, but I can’t. Well, maybe a little.”
“Sorry to burst your bubble, but I’ve known about this plan since this afternoon,” Matt grins.
“Damn it, I thought I was quiet enough.”
“Just get over here and enjoy this night.”
The rest of the night is filled with laughter, too much alcohol, and enough chocolate to make everyone sick, but you wouldn’t want it any other way.