𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, what Matt had just told her moments before she sat down at the table with a man she knew little to nothing about besides the fact he was here on 'business' to see Foggy and Matt. How did he know they were here? Did he know who she was? Both of those questions and more ran through her head as she faced the man in her vision.

The guy didn't look well, and Holly wasn't just saying that. He was obviously exhausted, and most likely drunk considering his pupils were dilated larger than the heavy bags under his eyes were. His hair was matted, crimson blood staining the tips of his dirty blonde hair as sweat pushed it against his forehead. It was understandable why he was so warm, I mean the guy was wearing a trench coat in the middle of summer in probably one of the hottest bars in Hell's Kitchen.

"50 men, all of them blown to pieces." The man said as he leaned against the wood of the table. "Complete fucking massacre. I've never seen anything like it before."

"Is there a chance it was a rival family?" Foggy examined.

"No fucking way," His accent was thick, Boston without a doubt. "I'm telling you, we were hit by an army. We had to have been, there's no way in hell this was some rival family shit."

Foggy turned his head in the direction of Matt who was listening inventively, while also keeping Holly's hand firmly in his grasp of his. As worried as Matt was about this man's situation, his stubbornness kept his poker face alive. From the look of it, he had no emotion to this state of affair before him, looking as professional as any lawyer could be after downing four beers just an hour before.

Yet, Holly knew he was worried. She knew him better than anyone in this room. And of course, the grasp on her hand wasn't helping prove he was unphased.

"That's quite the story." Foggy continued.

"It's the truth," The man sneered. "You think I'm lying about this shit? Believe me, you can go see it for yourself."

Something about the man was odd to Holly. The trench coat in summer thing was a worry in itself, but something else about him was intriguing to her. His face was pale, yet he was sweating as if he had just run a marathon. By the look of it, breathing seemed to hurt too. With every breath he took his body would shutter, leaving his motions small.

"What's your involvement in their organization?" Holly spoke before she could think, and she blamed that on the number of martinis and beers she had consumed that night. Alcohol never worked well with her, mainly because it pushed her eager attitude before her logical reasoning.

The man remained silent, one eyebrow raised slightly as he turned to Foggy and Matt.

"Who's she?"

"It doesn't matter who she is, she asked you a question." Matt's tone was soft in tone, yet harsh at the touch it left when it left his mouth.

He turned to Holly, now keeping his gaze solely on her rather than switching between the men. "Brannigan." He sighed, "I've been with them for years, I can't deny that. The pay is good and I get a shit load of protection against police and other shit-heads who try and take our organization down."

"So you weren't fully involved, just scratching the surface." By the tone Holly had it seemed as if it was a question, yet everyone knew it was more of a statement.

He nodded. "I'm no choir boy, that's a fact. But I'm telling you, truthfully," He over annunciated his final word, "I barely scratch the surface as you said. I'm not like the guys I work for." Matt squeezed Holly's hand slightly, making her head turn in his direction. He nodded, letting that stand as a silent confirmation that he knew Grotto was telling the truth. "I had nothing to do with that massacre."

Matt started, "If you were correct and the Irish were hit by some sort of army and you were the only one who survived, your good fortune is gonna rub some guys the wrong way."

"What do you mean by that?"

"He means your ass is carrying a taillight on it and whoever tried to kill you the first time certainly won't stop now," Foggy stated, making all heads turn toward his voice.

Holly would be lying if she said it wasn't kinda humous to hear Foggy use the phrase 'Your ass is carrying a taillight' in a professional setting. But now wasn't the time to confess that, now was the time to figure out why the hell this guy was still sweating bullets. I mean, sure, he still had the trench coat on, but he was sweating. His pale face didn't help to prove he was completely okay either. Holly squinted her eyes, tapping her finger on her leg as the rest of the group continued speaking.

"So, what exactly can Nelson and Murdock do for you?" Matt questioned.

"Get me the hell out of here. Witness protection program, hell, send me anywhere, I'll even take Florida if that's the only place I can guarantee my safety. I just need to be as far away from this shit show as I can be." He spoke quickly, with heat in his tone. "I can't stay here. As you said, I'm a target for whatever asshole came for the rest of my guys."

"We're a private law firm." Foggy stated.

"But a trusting one," Holly said, without even realizing it. All heads turned towards her. "Every other big shot law firm is gonna shoot him down. Trust me, I see people like him on a daily, I can tell you for a fact it's this or the DA's office. Even then working with the DA is like trying to create snow in hell."

The man's face scrunched, along with his eyebrows. He faced the rest of the group. "Again, who is she?"

"Oh, I'm sorry I never introduced myself. I'm Holly," She smiled, putting her hand out in front of her. The man didn't know what to do, so he awkwardly placed his clammy hands out in the palm of hers, shaking it lightly before pulling back. "Nice to meet you."

"Holly," He repeated her name as he offered her a very faint smile, one of which showed he favored her over Matt or Foggy. "You're my lawyer?"

"No, she's not," Matt said quickly, cutting off any of his thoughts, and taking Holly's hand back in his. Maybe the reason his heartbeat was so fast before was that he was next to Holly. Suddenly now, his heartbeat was back to being spiked like before, but Matt ignored it. "Do you have any place you can stay Mr..." He awaited a response.

The man in front of them just stared straight at Matt, making Holly furrow her brows. That's when she looked down and saw the bright crimson stain that reflected off his trench coat. Instantly, she jumped out of her seat at the same time he began to fall to the ground.

His glass bottle shattered across the floor as Holly grabbed onto his arms, only letting his lower body fall to the floor. Matt quickly stood, following Holly as he took him from her grasp, lowering him to the ground slowly.

"Shitshitshitshitshit," Holly mumbled to herself. Her hand found its way to his neck, checking for a pulse. Luckily, he was still alive, but barely. "He's bleeding. Gunshot wound right next to his ribs." She looked up at Foggy, "Call 911."

Walking out of the hospital room, Holly slowly closes the door, making sure it fully shuts as she walks towards Matt. She can see by the look on his face he's exhausted, yet he won't admit that to her. Instead, he offers her a small smile, walking forward until he meets her outside of the window leading to the man's room.

"Grotto." She said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Just Grotto, that's it. No last name, no middle name, just Grotto."

"Well, at least we have a name. It's better than Trench coat guy." He nods, "How's he doing? I could hear from the ambulance when you guys were leaving that his pulse was weak."

Holly took a deep breath, "Luckily the bullet didn't pass through him, so not much damage, especially considering the spot he was shot. He got lucky. I made sure to change his name on the paperwork so for now he's known as Michael Smith." The dim lighting of the hospital was softly glowing on Matt's red glasses, showing just how late the night had grown. "What about you? Are you okay?"

Matt cocked his head, a small confused smile lining his lips. "I mean I'm not the one who got shot, so I would like to say I'm doing pretty good. Besides the fact you kicked my ass in pool, now that, Holly Nelson, hurt."

Holly smiled to herself as she lowered her head. Somehow in situations like these Matt was always able to mend the tension in her stomach, creating a small bit of ease in a world full of so much uncertainty. Like an oak tree standing tall in a storm, Matt never broke down despite the troubles around him.

"You know what I mean, with all of this." Matt started after Holly finished speaking, her name moving slowly and softly from his lips. "Don't. Don't act like I don't already know what's going through your head right now. You've been doing good, Matt." He still tried to speak, but she continued anyway. "We have a normal life right now," her voice lowered. "One that doesn't consist of you running around in a devil suit at night."

Matt couldn't deny the fact that putting the suit away had been the hardest challenge he had gone through. Despite the fact Holly didn't hear about the crime in the city as much, Matt heard it through the walls of his apartment every night. Like a never-ending siren, the city called out for help every night, causing his sleep to fade away and grow forgotten in his mind. Yet, despite everything, Holly was well worth any challenge he could ever endure.

"Holly," Matt put his hands on Holly's arm, lowering his head to her level. The material of her dress sleeves bunched in his fingers, keeping his grasp on her tight, yet loose enough for her to move. "I won't do anything without talking to you first. We're a team. Me and you. Holly and Matt. And I will not leave you in the dark as I did before. We don't even know if this is an issue that I'm going to get involved in. For all, we know this could be something small."

Matt's hand moved from Holly's arm to her cheek, placing his thumb under her chin as he lifted her head to face him. He could almost hear her thoughts, blaring so loudly in her mind yet never voicing loud enough for her to speak.

"We'll be okay," Matt reassured her. "And I promise you, when I get back from the scene with Foggy, we'll talk. We'll figure all of this out, together. Your my other half, Holly. I won't do anything without you on my side."

Holly nodded. Somehow the idea of all of this--everything going back to the way it was, brought Holly a headache that lulled in the side of her brain. It was enough that even the heaviest amount of alcohol couldn't press the idea out of her mind. Both she and Matt knew that this was something he wouldn't let go of.

It was bigger than before.

The heat of the summer had brought warm raindrops, ones which were pattering down the window that reflected into Holly and Matt's apartment. Not a soul roamed the streets outside as cars lined the pavement that was being lit by the yellow haze that shone down from the streetlights.

Holly was curled into the corner of the couch, holding her mug of tea in her hands as she leaned her head against the cushions, desperately trying to find some relief that her body would give, lulling her to sleep.

She had been home for two hours now after leaving Grotto at the hospital overnight until he woke up. Joe was working a night shift and she said she would call Holly if he woke up, so with every sound that alerted from her phone, Holly felt her heart patter against her chest anxiously. She gave up on sleep after tossing and turning for an hour, finally realizing the only way she would be able to sleep was if Matt was back with her.

An uneasy feeling gnawed at Holly's insides more than anything right now. A multitude of scenarios played in her head, every one of them ending with Matt in the same red suit he wore before. Holly had come to realize that in her life, she never usually wins against the devil. Sure she could pull a few strings with Matt, but when it came to that suit and what it stood for, she knew she had no ground against it. It was a curse and a blessing at times, yet right now, it was mainly a curse.

She had grown to realize that everything in life is very short-lived, never permanent. Even the hope that she had grown to love since Matt had put the suit away a few months ago. In her mind, she wanted to believe they both felt the same relief that rushed over her body when she would see the suit untouched. But both she and Matt knew, that hope only went one way.

She knew that the healing she felt was only a relief to her. She knew Matt was ascending, dancing, and transforming, but he never fully healed. He never would fully heal.

Holly listened as keys rattled against the front door, unlocking the space between them as Matt pushed through the door with exhaustion pooling over his body. When he first walked in, he didn't say a word. He didn't speak, he didn't make a sound besides dropping his keys into the bowl next to the entrance.

His figure became clear in Holly's vision as he stepped forward into the living room, his hand pinned to his hips as his free one ran through the mane of brown fluff that rested atop his head. That look. Holly knew that look, and it crushed her to see it back again. Like she had just lost a battle, Holly felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach.

"Your gonna do it," Holly's words were supposed to be a question, but they both knew it was more of a statement. "Aren't you?"

Matt took a deep breath, rubbing his hands over his face. "Holly, I said we would talk about it first. I haven't even made a decision yet, and I won't until you give me your approval."

Holly stood up, placing her mug down on the coffee table next to her as she padded across the floor to meet Matt by the staircase leading to the roof. Her hands found their way to his face, the scruff on his cheeks rubbing against her hands as she swiped her finger over his skin. His hands moved to his face, taking the red frames from his eyes as he folded them up and placed them in the pocket of his button-up. He almost melted into her hands, feeling every bit of pressure ease away from his body with her touch.

"I can't help everyone," Matt shook his head in the palms of Holly's hands. "I can't."

"It kinda seems like you can."

"Not if I stop," He sounded series, and Holly believed him. "Not if I just don't do it. I don't have to help everyone, I can put a pin in this idea. This is our choice, not just mine. We can live a normal life, I don't have to do this."

Holly paused, "But will you be able to rest if you do that?"

Matt hesitated, holding his breath before he shook his head. "No. No, I won't."

Holly knew that she needed to let him go. She needed to let the perfect idea of keeping Matt safe go. This was a game she knew she wouldn't win, one in which a series of tragedies would hit one after another, leaving their life in shambles once again as it did before.

All of this in Holly's mind is familiar, the stomach-dropping feeling of knowing that you've lost yet again. The feeling of happiness and bliss was starting to slowly seep out of her life again, and she knew it would only get worse from there. She wanted him to put the suit away, she thought he could.

But after all, the suit wasn't something he had. The suit was a part of him.

"If there is a point in any of this in which you start to wonder to yourself 'Is it worth my life?' Promise me you'll stop." Holly's words leveled softly from her mouth. "Because I won't be the person to tell you to stop. You know I can't stop you. As much as I want to believe I have some sort of control over all of this, I know I don't."

Matt's hands moved to her waist as he pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her body fully as if she was his possession. They both knew that the words which found their way out of Holly's lips were the hardest ones she had to say in a while. It was a confirmation that she was willing to let Matt risk not only his life but hers, and most of all confirm that the devil was back.

"I promise."

And with those simple words, they both knew their lives would change for better or worse.

And so it begins. 

A/N- I feel weird posting a chapter that is set in summer on the day of Christmas. Just me? Also, the mother fucking devil is back, bitches.

Anyway, how did we like this? I want to say so much but I know that I'll end up saying something that will spoil the rest of this book so I'm just going to keep my mouth shut. Also, sorry if there were some parts that weren't edited. I swore I did a double edit but yk how it gets the week of Christmas.

For those who have listened to the playlists I've made, how do you like them? Are there any songs you think I should add? Give me all of your thoughts! :)

With that, have a great day/night and stay healthy and safe out there! (Also make sure to recharge your social battery after the holidays!)

Daisy <3