Continuing the series:  Awkward & Adorable, Awkward & Accidental, and Awkward & Apprehensive

Matt frantically threw papers around his desk, cursing at himself for his stupidity, and begging the universe for just one break that would allow this to be okay. Maybe you had something going on where you lost track of time too. Maybe you had forgotten that it was your first anniversary and that your dinner reservation started in fifteen minutes. Maybe you had decided that he really was unworthy of you and you cancelled it and moved out all in one day before he could manage to leave his damned work alone and just get there already.

"She'll forgive you, you know? She always does, even though you don't deserve it very much. Just tell her you didn't see the time. It's not a lie."

"That's hilarious, Fog," Matt snapped, slamming his briefcase closed. "It's our first anniversary so this is the worst time for me to screw anything up. I wouldn't blame her at all if she finally wised up about...me..." he stopped, cocking his head to the side to hone his focus.

"Matty, you totally deserve each other-"

"Shh!"

"Sorry, sorry," Foggy whispered, hands up and backing away, "didn't recognize the Daredevil head tilt. You need to get that trademarked."

Matt closed his eyes, only by pure habit, trying to block his friend out and to place the sound that he was hearing; it was a pounding heartbeat, its rhythm skipping and so fast that he almost didn't recognize it. But once he did, it was just another moment of feeling like a failure, and he threw everything aside to run as fast as he could to the door. He was so hurried that he left his usual guise of a walking stick behind, not caring who found him out anymore. "I have to go."

"Hey, what's going on?" Foggy began to give chase, but Matt put up a hand to stop him, barely taking the time to explain that much.

"Not now, okay? I'll call you later."

"But what about your date?" He called out after his friend, but just as he had expected, there was no answer. "Man, that girl must be some kind of saint."

~~~

Panic attacks are devious, terrible events that can hit like a tornado, or can sneak up on you slowly until you finally see them for what they are. They can be raging, adrenaline-filled strikes, or they can leave you silent and detached, or anywhere in between. On this day, which was normal as any other, your attack came from the strangest place you had ever experienced; that of pride.

You had been watching the news, relaxed on the couch as you waited for Matt to come home from work to begin your date, when it all began to unravel. Your panic had come from traumatic events that you had worked through so many times; so much so that you thought you had a handle on them. But when you saw just the fastest glimpse of recognition in a news report on a bank robbery from that morning, your reality shifted before you realized what was happening.

The flash of Daredevil's suit passed through the back of the scene. Matt had been there. You were fully aware of the dangers of his side work, but you hadn't seen him in action before. To see him in the epicenter of something so dangerous left you understanding just how possible it was that you could lose him at any moment, and it left you curled up in a ball on the floor, begging your heart to stop trying to break through your ribs. Destructive, gruesome, and terrifying images wouldn't stop barraging your mind; you were pressing your hands so tightly to your eyes to try to force the sights away that you didn't see the flashes of light in the apartment to alert you that the door had been opened and that Matt was home.

"(Y/N)?" he called out, shaking his head at his own stupidity. You wouldn't hear him. Your heartbeat was so loud in his head now that it nearly hurt, but he pushed forward, quickly coming to see you on the floor with no idea that he was there. He slowly moved in front of you and knelt down, putting a gentle hand on your head as to not frighten you more. "Hey, I'm here," he said when you finally looked up, "you're okay."

"Matt? How...h-how did you...how did you know...? you panted, trying to catch your breath. The hyperventilation left you a little dizzy, so you climbed back up onto the couch and kept your head down, but not too much so that you could still read his lips.

"I'm sorry that I'm late, honey, I'm so sorry. I was trying to get out and before I could get my shit together, I heard you. I could hear your heartbeat all the way from the office." He moved himself to join you on the couch, lifting your legs so that they would rest over his. The rhythmic movement of his hand caressing your skin was soothing enough for you to get your breathing to match the pattern as he watched you, counting them with each passing minute until he felt like the biggest panic had gone. "Tell me."

"It just came out of nowhere," you began. "I was watching the news-"

"You know that's a bad idea."

"It was a report about a bank robbery that happened this morning, about three blocks from here. I was fine until I saw you in the background, in that stupid suit of yours. I caught you just as your little kitty ears ducked around a corner."

"They're horns."

"Matt, all it did was remind me of how dangerous every day is for you. I was in a situation like that a long time ago, and I didn't know if I'd make it out that day. To see you in there just made it all real, I guess. I know that you think you're infallible, but you're not."

"I don't think that-"

"And it was so close to us," you continued over him. "If things like this are happening right outside our window, are we even safe here?"

"(Y/N), you'll always be safe with me, you know that. I promise, I'll never let anything happen to you, okay? This job isn't what's important to me," he urged, "not like you are. If it makes you feel more secure, then we can move."

Your eyes shot open wide and you stared at him with very determined focus just to be sure you were reading his lips correctly in your fuzzy mind state. "I'm sorry, did you just say that we'll move? Are you serious? You love it here."

"I love you more," he shrugged. "This is just a building. There are a million other buildings for us to live in, but there's only one you."

"Awww," you smiled coyly, allowing the mood to shift for both of your sakes, "that so...sappy."

"Hey! Rude!" he gasped, slapping his hand to his chest dramatically. "And on our anniversary! For shame!"

"Okay, okay," you relented, but you weren't ready to let him fully off the hook just yet. "So, since you're the one who brought it up, why are you so late? Didn't see what time it was?"