There was a time when I was good, but there are witches in the woods.

[blindfighter]

It's around 630 when Matt stops pretending to be asleep.

Though that's a lie, just a tad--Matt has slept. On and off, on his silk sheets and curled up naked with another man in what feels like forever. It's nice, and for a few hours it lasts. It really and truly lasts, and Matt can hear the steady beating of Tim's heart. He can hear every creak as his bones adjust, can still smell scotch and bourbon as he exhales in his sleep. It's not the kind that's overwhelming, it's natural and in a way comforting.

But it's still another person and Matt Murdock is used to being alone. He's used to not getting close.

He's used to one night stands and relationships that barely last a month, if that. He's used to Foggy clapping him on the shoulder and telling him there'll be more.

He's used to going to their place. This is the first time he's brought someone home.

Someone here.

He's brought people over, but not for a one night stand. This is a different circumstance in many ways--mostly that they're going to see each other again. They're going to pass each other in the courtrooms even if they're not going to actively see each other although, if Matt's being honest, he does want to. It had been one of the best lays in a while.

And that's how, at exactly 6:40 in the morning, Matt Murdock decides he can't get used to it just yet. So instead, he gets to work. Turns the alarm off to let Tim sleep in, gets half-dressed (socks, slacks and a dress shirt, the first few buttons undone and the collar a little rumpled), and is in the kitchen. He gets to work.

If this is a one-night stand with special circumstances, he may as well make breakfast. That includes half a grapefruit for each of them, fresh fruit, and Matt himself is in the middle of cooking up some of the bacon and eggs. Simple and scrambled, but if there's one thing Matt can do better than most thanks to his olfactory senses being heightened, it's cook.

Comments

[blindfighter]

There's a large box of electronic books that Matt has had plugged into a braille reader, but that's since long forgotten on the couch now thay Tim is home and grabbing his ass. Tim has the nicest hands in Hells kitchen, he thinks, and he's fairly certain Tim's said the same thing about his ass.

Funny, the only other person to say anything like that was Elektra.

"Good," He says, and pushes past the strange feeling in his gut. It returns the moment Tim asks about plans.

"Are you going to invite her up here?"

[comfortablyerect]

"No."

There's more, but for the time being, Tim's too distracted with kissing Matt's neck, feeling the faint stubble against his cheek. He tips his head a little bit further, nipping lightly at the skin where it can be easily covered. It pretty much goes without saying that he's always in the mood. Even in the middle of a semi-serious conversation.

Who would blame him, though? His boyfriend's gorgeous, and has the best ass in all of Hell's Kitchen, if not in all of New York.

"I was gonna invite you down there."

[blindfighter]

This is nice. Matt thinks of the keys he had made up for Tim earlier today, and the blackout curtains, and the fact that he's debating a bigger TV if his budget can afford it.

He fucking loves Tim Gutterson, and has for a while. It's his voice, his smell, but mostly it's that at the end of the day, he can rely on Tim to do what's right.

This, though. Matt stiffens, a warning in his voice.

"Tim, no. I'm not leaving Hells Kitchen alone."

[comfortablyerect]

Tim sighs. He can't say he wasn't expecting this. This, he thinks, will probably be a sticking point in the future, too. Matt thinking he's the only person who can take care of Hell's Kitchen. Like the police force isn't getting cleaned up of corruption, like Wilson Fisk isn't in prison. Like he's Hell's Kitchen's personal lord and savior.

It's going to get old quick. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

He pulls back properly, his hands coming up to rest against the sides of Matt's neck, thumbs brushing gently against his jaw. Now, he gets to try to reason with the most stubborn person he's ever met, and just hope it doesn't evolve into an argument.

"You need a break, Matt," he says, his voice quiet and even. "We both do. It's only gonna be for a few days, anyway. 'Sides, if Mama doesn't meet you soon, she's gonna think I'm makin' you up."

[blindfighter]

"I have you," He says softly. Tim's much more tactile with Matt than he is anyone else and he appreciates it. He brings his hands up to touch the others' wrists, a smile flickering across his face.

He doesn't want an argument. Not now.

"I'm flattered, Tim, but I'm no use to anyone in Kentucky. We both know that." He can't exactly wear a suit and hunt in the streets of Lexington.

It would be easy, though. So, so easy to just leave for a few days...

[comfortablyerect]

"I'm not a vacation," Tim says dryly, but his lips twitch in a soft smile. They do have each other. Taking a break could easily just be staying in for a few days, spending an entire weekend in bed, sleeping and fucking and cuddling up next to each other, drinking bourbon and scotch and ordering takeout. That would be more than enough for them.

But it's not the same as leaving town. It's not roadtripping to Kentucky, and sharing his childhood home with his boyfriend. It's not introducing the two most important people in his world to each other. He needs this. They both do.

"Look," he reasons. "Fisk is in prison. The police force is gettin' cleaned up. Crime's slowed down because none of the gangs know what they're doin' from here. If there was ever a time to take a break, it's right now."

[blindfighter]

No. It's something he wants to say immediately. He wants to outright tell Tim that the moment he leaves is the moment bad things happen. It's ridiculous. It's preposterous.

Instead, he takes a deeo, deep breath.

"Let me think about it." It's still a no.

Before Tim can protest--because they both know that 'let me think about it' is code for 'I just don't want to fight right now,' he takes the other's waist and holds him steady.

"I got something for you."

[comfortablyerect]

Tim opens his mouth, rearing and ready to protest. He knows what 'let me think about it' means. It means this conversation won't be revisited. It means it certainly won't be revisited without a fight. It means Matt's going to say no without ever really considering it at all.

He doesn't want to fight either, but he's ready to. It's a stupid thing to fight about, all things considered. But he's opening his mouth to push harder when Matt beats him to it. Those hands steal around his waist, and Matt's speaking, changing the subject. Tim's not ready to. He wants to stay on topic.

His eyes narrow a little, even though Matt can't see it. "You're just tryin' to distract me."

That doesn't mean that it's not working. His curiosity is getting the better of him.

[blindfighter]

"A little," Matt confesses, and his face flickers into a humorless smile. They know each other way too well. It's kind of sad--or would be, if they weren't do oerfec t for each other.

Matt likes to think so, at least.

"Hold out your hand," he says softly. His hand moves to Tim's, purposely ghosting fingers on it before pulling out the small key in his own pocket. He presses it into the others' hand.

"I did some research. Your lease expires soon, and you've been here for about a month and haven't really gone home."

[comfortablyerect]

Tim purses his lips. They really do know each other too well. Somehow, it makes fighting both more difficult and easier. Easier because they already know what the other is going to say, and more difficult because they know what's coming, but they choose to do it anyway. It's disastrous, and it's perfect, and it's them.

He sighs, and holds out in his hand, but not without some skepticism. He's not going to forget what they were talking about initially. Whether or not Matt actually has something for him.

And he does. A key, simple and silver, and Tim knows exactly what it is before Matt ever speaks at all. He supposes he shouldn't be surprised. It was only a matter of time. Still, he finds himself blinking at it, his heart stuttering a little bit in his chest.

"Are you askin' me to move in with you?"

[blindfighter]

"In so many words," Matt says, and he can't help the smile on his face. That's exactly what matt's asking of tim. He wants Tim to stay with him. It'd a huge commitment, and their schedule is crazy, but it's nice. This whole thing is nice.

'Careful, Matt,' Foggy has said once he confessed to dating Tum, 'you might just end up happy.'

Maybe foggy's right. And maybe, just maybe, it's alright for him to take a weekend off.

[comfortablyerect]

Matt wants him to move in. Tim already knew that Matt cared about him. Loved him, even. He knew that his feelings weren't one-sided, to an extent. He did not know how Matt felt about any sort of long-term commitment. They love each other, sure, but it's already messy and complicated and loving each other doesn't necessarily mean forever.

Moving in doesn't necessarily mean forever either. But it's one step closer. Tim feels himself smile.

"I want to move in with you," he says, and he leans in to kiss Matt on the mouth, not quite pulling back as he continues. "I also want you to come to Kentucky with me."

He hasn't forgotten.

[blindfighter]

"Tim--" There's that annoyed edge, even if Matt's using a softer voice and he doesn't let go of the other's hips. This is a stupid argument, and Tim shouldn't have brought it up right now.

Except he did, ans, honestly, Matt's impressed. It's something he usually sees in a courtroom, not in his own home. And that's probably why Matt is smiling, just a little.

Touche, Gutterson. Tou-fucking-che.

"You're getting good at this."

[comfortablyerect]

Matt's annoyed. Tim can hear it, but he's smiling too. Even if it's just a little bit. He's impressed. Tim impressed Matt Murdock. And that, truthfully, feels like an accomplishment unlike any other. Matt's a good lawyer. Tim's learning how to match him toe-to-toe, even if they're not in a courtroom.

Relationships probably shouldn't be like that, he thinks. But they've never been conventional. Far from it.

Tim smiles too, fingers curling securely around the key in his hand, the other coming up to touch Matt's jaw with light fingertips.

"Learned from the best," he says, his hand curling around the back of Matt's neck. "If you don't come, it's gonna break my mama's heart. So just say yes, and we can eat dinner and have a drink and fuck 'til we fall asleep. Yeah?"

[blindfighter]

Tim impresses Matt every day, though he doesn't say it. Every time Tim goes to work Matt's proud--because Tim is doing what he believes in.

Tim's the best of the best. Top shelf. Matt's always liked to indulge in the finer things on occasion: Tim is his spoil. He smiles, chuckling, because he's a little in awe and a little turned on with hoe smooth that was.

They've never been conventional.

"Fine. Fine, I'll do it, just because I don't like to see women cry. Let's skip the drink and food part, though. Bump up the fuckong part in our busy schedule. Bedroom?"

Hey. Those curtains are something he wants to show off, too.

[comfortablyerect]

Tim grins, because he's won. Because Matt's feeling frisky, and Tim is too. Because in a few days time, they'll be heading for Kentucky, and Tim gets to share those parts of his life and his childhood and the roots that created him with Matt. Maybe his childhood wasn't that great, but Kentucky will always be home to him.

And he wants to show Matt his home.

He's still grinning when he leans in to kiss Matt, both arms moving to hook around his neck. And he's sure that Matt can feel how smug it is. It's not often he can go up against Matt and win. Not when Matt's better than him in every conceivable way.

"I like the way you think," he murmurs, his lips still brushing against Matt's. He moves backwards without pulling away at all, tugging Matt with him. "Too classy to fuck in the kitchen?"

[blindfighter]

"No. I thought we'd celebrate," Matt quips back. He follows Tim, and while he can navigate he finds its better to have Tim pull him back, tugging on his neck. He's not wearing his glasses so he's visibly looking just past Tim's shoulder, smirk on his face.

His hands travel to Tims back and up his shirt, feeling the hard muscle there, fingers moving to trace ridges of the sinew Tim probably doesnt realize is too tight.

"Is there something wrong with wanting you and the high life, Gutterson?"

[comfortablyerect]

If Tim weren't concentrating on not running into anything, he'd be dedicating a lot more of his attention to kissing Matt, or leaving some pretty marks on his throat in places that are just barely covered by the collar of his shirt.

But that can wait, at least for a little while. He hums at Matt's wandering hands, moving backwards through the living room. His hands drop, moving down to Matt's ass again, groping at it shamelessly. It makes it a little more difficult to move without tripping, but it's well worth it. He wasn't kidding before about Matt being a great piece of ass. Probably the best.

Definitely the best Tim's ever had.

"Just that I don't think you can get both," he murmurs, nipping at Matt's lower lip. "Don't reckon I go hand-in-hand with the high life."

[blindfighter]

"I think you'd be surprised who fits with the high life." Their conversation is casual, their actions anything but: tims hands find Matt's ass and he murmurs his appreciation.

They finally back up to the bedroom, new curtains drawn, and Matt gently pushes Tim into the bed, following suit by crawling on top of him.

"I'd like to feel you in a suit," He says softly. "Just so I can rip it right off you."

[comfortablyerect]

They reach the bedroom, and Tim doesn't realize right away that there's something different. He's too caught up in Matt's hands, in being pushed backwards onto the bed. The blankets are soft beneath him, and he wonders if he could ever go back to sleeping between sheets that aren't made of silk.

Probably. But he doesn't want to.

"Give me a reason to wear a suit," Tim murmurs, and his hand finds the back of Matt's neck again, pulling him down for a kiss. It's low, but hard, a little bit demanding. The way they often are with each other. "And you can rip it off all you want."

His mouth veers off, kissing along Matt's jaw. That's when he pauses, brow creasing briefly, finding himself unfortunately distracted. "It's... really dark in here."

[blindfighter]

Matt can compensate for a lot of things--light because he can hear the humming of the electricity if he concentrates enough, for example. It's a little harder if it's things like black out curtains while your boyfriend is kissing you from underneath, for example.

Tim breaks the long and low kiss and Matt, one leg between tim's, Elbows on either side of tim's head, is smiling, suddenly.

"Good, they work. You don't have to worry about that billboard now." And, in a surprisingly tender move, he pushes a hand through tims hair.

"Kiss me?"

/is trash

[comfortablyerect]

Tim blinks, and peers over Matt's shoulder at the heavy curtains covering the window. Thanks to years in the military, and thus, years of making his bed in the Rocky cliffsides of Afghanistan, Tim can adjust to many sleeping situations. While the bright lights outside of Matt's window were admittedly obnoxious, they were never a big enough problem for Tim to complain about, or do anything about himself, which he would have been perfectly capable of doing.

But Matt fixed it anyway. Matt, who's conscientious enough to recognize it might be a problem without Tim saying a word, and fixed it with his own time and money. Tim feels his heart flutter in his chest. He's never been taken care of in quite this way before.

He smiles, and then he laughs softly, turning his head to kiss the corner of Matt's mouth, then moving to kiss him a little more properly.

"Little presumptuous to put up curtains before I agree to move in, don't you think?" It's nothing but easy teasing, and he hooks one leg over Matt's hip and slides a hand into his hair, leaning up to continue that slow, hard kiss.

This is never going to end

[blindfighter]

Tim murmurs something witty and hot in that drawl of his and Matt can only smirk. That's tims way of saying he loves it and he knows. He doesn't have to sense anything to tell. They're together.

He gets kissed and while he's not complaining he almost immediately breaks it. That leg hooking over his waist is just what he wants right now, and so Matt goes for the throat.

Literally--Matt moves so his lips are at the top of Tims neck, nose brushing jawline, and as he sucks loudly, stopping just before a hickey forms, his hands move to grab Tim's wrists, loosely pinning his arms above him.

:)

[comfortablyerect]

It feels like a tease, Matt stopping before a bruise can begin to blossom. He wants to be so littered in marks that he can't possibly begin to cover them all or explain them away. So that people will take a look at him and know that he belongs to somebody.

He's never really wanted that before. But everything is different with Matt. Absolutely everything.

Tim finds himself panting, struggling not to moan out loud at the feeling of Matt's mouth on his throat alone. He shifts, rocking his hips up eagerly against Matt's, seeking firm heat and friction.

[blindfighter]

Matt moves, his hands switching so only one of them is pinning Tim's wrists above his head--and when he hears that pant and how his boyfriend arches his hips, Matt grins wickedly.

His free hand explores, lazily moving from tims arm, down the curve of his forearm, to his bicep and to the others' throat, his thumbs grazing the hollow of where Tims Adams apple is, touches finger light as he leans over and bites at Tim's earlobe. It's playful, at first, but Matt is a little more agressive when he kisses along Tim's jaw next time, hand still exploring tims neck.