Wingman
You were unusually quiet after the events that had transpired, you were tired, exhausted even.
You had avoided Dex for the last hours at work. He was there when you told your story to Anna and you knew he would try to talk to you about it eventually. It’s was going to be tricky to answer a question he might have about who it was that broke your heart. But you could not tell him, how could you tell him it was the same man that you pretended not to know when Matt had tried to get to Fisk in the hotel?
It would be even harder to explain that you were still close friends with the same guy. Dex was protective of you and part of you knew he wouldn’t like to hear that the one who broke your heart was still in your life.
You couldn’t tell him it was Matt.
But you knew, one day you would have to tell him. You didn’t want to lie to him forever.
“(y/n ?)” Nadeem stopped you as you were walking down the hallway, leaving to go home. “Do you have a minute?” he asked you as he held the door open to his office.
You gave a quick nod as you walked inside the room. He closed the door behind you “Please, take a seat.” he motioned at the chair opposite his.
“What’s this about ?” your voice sounded tired.
He sat down and folded his hands together on the table before he spoke.
“I know today was … rough for you. I wanted to ask if you are okay ?” Nadeem chose his words carefully.
“I’ve been through worse, Nadeem.” you wanted to be honest. If even Nadeem noticed you weren’t actually doing well, it was only a matter of time before Dex would notice too.
He thought for a moment before he leaned closer “Okay, let’s just forget the fact that we’re agents for a moment. Forget the bullshit myth that we are supposed to be tough every day. The ambush, the raid, and now this, what happened today. I just want to say that, it’s okay to not to be okay. You can talk to me if you ever feel the need to, (y/n).”
You respected Nadeem, he seemed to be one of the only agents that had that much compassion for others. It wasn’t a usual thing in a job like yours, where you were supposed to try and distance yourself from a situation. You were to follow orders.
You leaned back in the chair as you looked down at your hands.
“I think I just need to get some sleep, it’s been a bunch of stressfull days and exhaustion is getting to me. But i’ve been through worse, Nadeem.”
“You can call me Ray if you want to, (y/n). You saved my life twice now, I think we can skip the formalities.” he leaned back in his chair.
“Thanks, Ray.” You rubbed your neck “Today was just…” you breathed out “Hard.”
He let out a chuckle after you said that, you raised a brow at him and he shook his head giving you an apologetic look “Sorry, you just reminded me of Dex when you said it like that.”
You snorted, it was probably something you picked up from working with Dex.
“Dex can be…a hard person to read. I have noticed how Dex seems to be more open when he’s around you. I am glad you two are getting along so well.” he continued.
You had a feeling Nadeem was holding something back from you when he spoke about you and Dex. “I talked to Dex recently. I had a feeling there was something bothering him.”
“Did he say anything ?” you quickly asked with a worried expression.
Nadeem folded his hands on the table again “I figured out it had something to do with you, (y/n).” he shifted in his chair. He seemed to get a bit uncomfortable. “I’m sure he would have told you otherwise, considering how you two seem to have grown..” he cleared his throat “..close.”
You were tapping your fingers nervously on the armrest of the chair.
“Dex… was unsure of how to interpret some things between the both of you. I helped him shed some light on it.”
You narrowed your eyes at him, what exactly did Nadeem mean?
He noticed your look “(y/n), I told him you like him.” he finally says.
Your eyes darted around the room for a moment “Of course I like Dex. He’s great to be around.”
He rubbed his hand over his chin “(y/n)..” you looked at him “I told him you like him.” he put intonation on the word ‘like’ and looked at you with a look that screamed ’please don’t kill me’.
You were not expecting that, you fumbled with your coat nervously. Was it that obvious that even Nadeem saw your crush on Dex?
He breathed out “I hope I didn’t misunderstand-”
You shook your head before he finished his sentence.
Nadeem smiled lightly “Dex.. he’s a great agent. One of the best. But sometimes he needs someone to help him make things clear.”
“How did he react when you told him?” you blurted out.
Nadeem looked at you “He.. uhm.” he thought for a moment and your nerves were killing you “He looked relieved. I think he felt more confident to approach you after I told him.”
“I’ve noticed.” a smile tugged at your lips. Now you understood the sudden confidence Dex had shown around you.
Nadeem wanted to say something before it dawned on him “oh.”
“So, you are basically Dex’s wingman now, Ray.” a smirk on your face as you looked at him.
“Yeah.. I guess I am. So I did good ?” he asked you.
You nod to him as you smiled “You did good, Ray. Thank you. I wish I had a wingman like that.”
“Just to get back to the reason I asked you in here. Was there anything else you wanted to talk to me about ? How are the other agents, beside Dex, treating you?” he asked because you were not here for that long yet.
You pondered the thought of telling Nadeem about Agent Hunt leaving you alone in the penthouse with Fisk.
But then you thought of Nadeem’s family and his safety. Fisk would never let Nadeem get in the way of his plans.
And telling Nadeem would bring the risk of Fisk telling the FBI about your past. Your life as an agent would be obliterated with a snap of Fisk’s fingers.
“There are a lot of good people here, that’s for sure. I only had a run in with someone who was being rude but I handled it.” well, Dex handled that after he got the agent covered in his hot drink you thought.
“Good. Great to hear. (y/n), tomorrow you’ll only have to get here in the early evening. I want you to rest in the meantime.” he stood up from his chair.
You were not going to protest against getting half a day off at all.
You stood up “Got it. Thank you, Ray. Tell Seema and Sami I said hi.”
“I will. Have a good evening, (y/n).” he tells you as you walked out the door.