𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐓𝐖𝐎 - the lost man

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𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 had managed to haul Matthew's unconscious form back to bed, both Olivia and Sister Maggie had been sat waiting with bated breath for him to wake once again, and with the hopes that he would be at least somewhat aware of his actions and surroundings.

The wolf didn't speak a word as Father Lantom entered the room and took the Sister's place, only offering a small, tense nod. Just as Olivia parted her lips to speak, Matt sucked in a deep breath and his hand flew back to his right ear and clutched at it.

The two women shared a brief look and watched silently as his other hand roamed across the bloodied bandaged that covered his torso.

Father Lantom took a few steps forward, his voice was soothing and soft, caressing Matt's aching ears. "Matthew?"

"Father? I didn't know you were there."

Olivia and Father Lantom shared a quick glance before the Father spoke up again, "Olivia's here too."

His eyes widened as they darted around erratically. "Olivia?"

The wolf moved forward and carefully lowered herself to sit on the edge of Matt's bed. "Hey, Matt."

"You're okay?"

"I'm okay.

His head bobbed slightly as he took in her words. The second he had awoken all he could think about were Olivia and Elektra; terrified that they had been crushed under Midland circle. When he had opened his eyes the first time, he had thought he imagined the wolf's soft tone; that his mind was playing tricks on him. The tension that had left his body after the bed had dipped and her voice had filled his senses made his shoulders feel lighter.

The Father drifted his attention between the two, noticing the way Matt's ridged body had relaxed, even if it was only slightly and he certainly didn't miss the sigh of relief that parted Olivia's lips at the sound of the vigilante's voice. He let a beat of silence pass before opening his mouth again;

"It must feel strange to be back here. The place where you grew up."

"I haven't thanked you yet, Father," Matt replied, his voice hoarse.

"Figured we could count on the nuns for their discretion. The nuns know who you are, both of you, but Sister Maggie swore them to secrecy. After she swore at me." He paused and glanced at Olivia, catching the small smile on her lips that grew at the thought of the Sister swearing at the poor man. "If you want to take communion..." He trailed off as he placed a bible on the chair that had practically turned into Olivia's home for the past month. "We could, uh... Or we could just talk."

"Olivia?" The man croaked in response, his tongue darting out to wet his dry lips.

Olivia's fingers stilled and stopped twirling the ring around her finger as she focused her attention on the man. "What is it?"

"El-" He coughed weakly and barely managed to conceal the groan of pain that wanted to escape. "Elektra?"

Her brows furrowed and her eyes fell to the wooden flooring, suddenly interested in the different shapes she could make out. She didn't want to tell him. She felt awful. But she had to. "She-" Her hand darted to her brow and slowly dragged its way down her face. "I don't think she got out. I'm- I'm sorry."

Father Lantom looked between the two with furrowed brows; the last he had heard was that Elektra had died months ago. "Elektra passed months ago."

Olivia took it upon herself to offer some explanation. "No, the uh, the people we were fighting, they resurrected her; she was with us when the building came down."

"In any case, the building was surrounded when it collapsed. Nobody else was seen getting out. I'm sorry." He paused as he searched Matt's face that stayed plain, Olivia had bowed her head slightly; Once again, she was the person who got to live in favor of somebody else. The Father cleared his throat, "How about I take your confession and we go ahead with the Eucharist?"

Matthew swallowed, his faith shattering with every breath. "Not today, Father."

"Mystical thinking Is not my bag, Matthew. Hell, I'm probably the most rational crank in the whole diocese, but even I have to admit... it is a miracle you survived," He tilted his head to glimpse at the woman beside him, "Both of you."

The wolf watched on as Matthew turned his back to them, each white scar, every raw cut, and all of his deep bruises on show to the pair. The vigilante inhaled a deep breath as he croaked out, "Our conversations, they usually go this way. I come to you with questions. You tell me what you understand about God."

"Nature of the gig, I guess."

"Give it a rest, shall we?"

Father Lantom looked to Olivia who gave a silent nod, telling him to abandon the conversation, for now at least. The Father muttered a small 'Sure', patted the wolf on the shoulder, and slowly made his way out of the room, just a single glance back before he closed the door behind him.

The room was drenched in silence, bar the breaths of the two that remained. Neither knew what to say; Olivia had been there, by his side for the entire time he had been under, taking his pain whenever she could. Her eyes flickered to the clock on the wall, it was just moments before when she would usually sit down and relieve the man.

"Matt?" She muttered and the man rolled back onto his back with a sigh.

His head twisted towards the wolf. "Olivia... You stayed?"

"I was battered too; they took me in and have been helping me heal."

"But you-"

"Have supernatural healing? Yeah, well, I was beyond tired and beyond broken, so. And uh, I've been taking your pain."

"Taking- taking my pain?"

"Yeah," She sighed as she twisted her ring, "Another werewolf perk... How are you feeling?"

Matt huffed a small laugh before a groan broke out. "That answer your question?"

"Give me your hand." She instructed and watched as the vigilante obliged and stretched his arm out, wincing as he did.

Her hand reached out and grasped his; they were different, warmer than they had been. Slowly the onyx colored veins crawled up her arms and a grunt of pain left her lips. Matt, on the other hand, released a breath, reveling in the small pain-free moment the Hale offered to him.

Eventually, the pain became too much and with a pained expression, Olivia dropped his hand and clutched her own to her chest as her heavy breaths brushed against her skin.

"Thank you." The vigilante exhaled. His body felt lighter but he could hear the heavy pants escaping the woman that had stayed by his bedside. He rose his hand that she had dropped to lightly touch her arm. "You alright?"

"I will be."

"You've been doing that since we've been here?"

"Yeah, well, you uh, you were knocking on death's door. Not a good look for you."

And as ever, Olivia had somehow managed to make a man riddled with guilt and pain, crack a smile. It was small, but it was there and the wolf herself had seen it. He'd be okay.

⋆⋆⋆

The pair had ultimately fallen into a calm silence. Matt's mind was racing with thoughts from the battle in Midland Circle; everything from the fight he had with Elektra and how he couldn't get through to his friend to the pounding that emanated from his and Olivia's hearts as they laid on the dusty ground and waited for the inevitable death. The wolf's trembling tone echoed through his mind as he slowly drifted off.

Olivia, on the other hand, closed her eyes and listened to the steady beats of the lawyer's heart. As she rested her eyes her ears twitched at the sound of sneaking footsteps. She cracked one eye open to catch the sight of two of the children who lived within the church walls creeping into the room, ogling at Matt. Rather than say anything, she simply tucked away the amused quirk of her lips and closed her eye.

"Is he dead?" One of the young boys whispered as he continued to creep forward with about as much stealth as the Hulk.

"Boo." Matt croaked as he opened his eyes and the young boy who had an arm outstretched ready to poke him, flinched back with a small yelp.

The sound made Olivia opened her eyes and flash the boys a small smile.

The boy closest to Matt took a small step forward, "Who are you?"

"Same as you. I grew up here."

"Damn." The boy that had been lingering by the door whispered. "What happened to you?"

"Life."

At that, Olivia rolled her eyes at his ever worsening words of pessimism and leaned forward with a smirk. "He's lying." The young boy's eyes darted to her. "I beat him up." She whispered teasingly.

"You did?" The boy by the door gasped as he walked a step forward, "Why?"

"He was mean to me." The wolf responded, her tone oozing with false innocence.

The boy shook his head and pouted. "She messed you up, man."

Matt sighed, a small huff of a laugh escaping him as he nodded, going along with Olivia's words. "Yeah, she did."

As the young boy opened his mouth, Sister Maggie entered the room and scolded the boys, she quickly sent them off and the boys scurried away, but not without sparing a quick glance at the wolf who narrowed her eyes at them even though the teasing smile remained on her face.

The boys giggled and quickly ran out of sight whilst Sister Maggie shook her head at them in disapproval, yet the wolf caught the small twitch that pulled at the corners of her lips. The Sister walked towards a cabinet that rested against one of the plain walls and grabbed the supplies she would need to re-dress Matt's wounds.

Matt chuckled lightly. "They're scared of you, huh?"

Olivia shifted in her seat to rest her elbow on the arm of the chair and placed her chin on her fist. "So, were you, Matt." Matt turned his head towards her as his eyebrow rose and she couldn't help but grin, "Oh, yeah, Sister Maggie told me everything."

"Great." he drawled out as he faced the ceiling. "Thank you for that."

The Sister hummed as she approached his side, telling the man that she needed to address his wounds. "I hope this time you won't flail around like an idiot."

In all honesty, Olivia found it difficult to not laugh at some of the things the Sister would say about Matt if only the poor man knew. The Sister made her way over to Matt and placed her supplies on the bedside table as Matthew unzipped his jacket, revealing his bandaged torso.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised by any of this." The Sister spoke as she slipped her hands into a set of blue gloves. "You were always pissed off. Of course, back then, you were just a boy who lost his eyesight." She rose her brows and shared a look with the wolf who had been focused on her actions. "And now, you're the Devil of Hell's Kitchen."

"You've heard of me."

"I live in an orphanage, not under a rock. I just never imagined it'd be one of ours running around in that Halloween costume.

"That's exactly what Olivia calls it."

The two women shared a look before Olivia chuckled, "Well, we aren't wrong."

"Mmm. The things I've heard you can do..." The Sister continued as she slowly cleaned the wound on Matt's stomach, ignoring his winces. "You are blind, right? You weren't just faking it the whole time?"

"Congratulations," Matt spoke, his voice laced with a small hint of sarcasm. "You finally caught me."

Olivia rolled her eyes once again, something she seemed to constantly do in the vigilante's presence. Rather than listen to the two Olivia reached down to the floor and picked up the book she had discarded by the leg of the chair.

The conversation wasn't something she needed to listen to, so she instead opened the book and found the page she previously been making her way through. Her eyes trailed over the word's and her mind digested the story as she kept a single ear on their conversation.

"No, There's no one," Matt whispered, breaking Olivia out of her focused reading. "Just Olivia."

"And Olivia has nowhere to go." The Sister stated; Olivia had told her about her plans to find a new home after giving up her space to Malcome; Jessica's new and official assistant.

Matt's brows furrowed in thought, wondering not only why the woman couldn't go back to Jessica, but also why she had stayed with him.

The Sister let out a heavy sigh as she placed her hands on her hips and looked between the two. She couldn't let her... She couldn't let her son leave with no place to stay and she couldn't let the woman who saved his life and kept him alive leave either. Well, it was settled then, they would both have to stay, but stay somewhere safe and away from the children.

⋆⋆⋆

To say that Olivia was surprised when she heard Sister Maggie announced that the pair could stay would certainly have been an understatement. She really didn't expect the woman to allow them to stay; she had already shown them kindness unlike any other.

The Sister and Father Lantom guided them through some underground halls as Olivia pushed the wheelchair that Matt was perched in. The man could only walk for short periods of time and Olivia didn't want to be the one to catch the man if he fell down a flight of stairs.

"It's away from the kids, so you can stay here as long as you both need. Bit musty though."

"I can't smell anything anyway," Matt responded plainly as his thumb picked at the wooden walking cane in his grasp. With every mention of a smell or a sound, it was made clearer and clearer just how much his senses had been nullified. He couldn't hear a single thing from his right ear and his left one had to strain to catch a whisper. His sense of smell was almost entirely gone; all he could smell was dirt and blood; though he wasn't entirely sure whether it was from his surroundings, or just from him.

He knew he should be thankful for even being alive, Olivia had risked her own life and that was ultimately what saved him in the end. But knowing that more of his senses were stolen from him made him want to scream at the world and never stop.

Olivia tried her best to ignore his statement, she felt sorry for him, not that she would ever tell him that, he was like her in many way's and sympathy wasn't oftentimes the right way to help them. So instead, she continued to wheel him along and steer him into a room that the two in front had led them to.

The Father was right; it was must, and dusty for that matter, but it was something. She wanted to stay with Matt, she needed to make sure that he would get better and not do anything stupid. After all, she had once had her senses taken from her, everything that made the woman who she was faded with every second and she herself came far too close with seeking an easy way out. She didn't want to be human; she didn't want to be normal and she could only imagine how the vigilante felt.

As they continued inside Matt rose a hand, indicating for the wolf to stop. Her steps paused and she watched the man.

"That music..."

"The chapel is right above us." Father Lantom clarified for him.

"Yeah, but isn't that Arabic?"

"The mosque on 39th had a pipe burst, so we're sharing our space for a few weeks."

Olivia and Sister Maggie shared a small look, the pair of them feeling a small weight drift from their shoulders as the Devil of Hell's Kitchen listened to the music as intently as his ears would allow.

After another second, Olivia picked up her feet and continued to move them towards wherever the Sister was leading them. The nun pushed open a flimsy wire gate that led into a smaller section of the underground area they were to inhabit.

The space was... well it was the same as the rest of the place, musty and plain; but on the upside, there were two beds to the left of the room that the two would be occupying for the time being. They were a complete contrast to the rest of the room; a vibrant white against the dim and dull bricks.

The wall right in front of them had two small, stained glass windows and with each ray of sun they lit the floor up in a series of reds, yellows, and purples. Beneath them was a shelf filled with books and Sister Maggie carefully settled Olivia's rucksack that she had carried down onto it; a small puff of dust dancing in the air after being disturbed.

"This will have to do." the Sister spoke as she turned to face the pair, nodding to Olivia as the wolf mouthed a 'Thank you'. "It's also the laundry room, so it'll be noisy at times."

Matt, the pessimist nodded. "I can always turn a deaf ear to it."

Olivia rose her brows and continued to push the man forward as Sister Maggie spoke; "See? There's a bright side to everything. Do you need some help getting him into bed?" The nun directed the final sentence towards the wolf but before she could reply, Matt interrupted.

"I'd like to stay up a while."

"Alright, we can take it from here, Paul."

Father Lantom hesitated, giving the women a skeptical look before finally relenting; he sighed and nodded, giving Matt a pat on the shoulder before taking his leave.

Sister Maggie moved closer to the pair, gesturing for Olivia to move to the side. The wolf followed onwards as the nun wheeled Matthew closer to the bed. "The bed's right in front of you. Sister Anne wired you up." She grasped Matt's hand and rested it on a button beside the bed. "If you press that, we'll hear you and come running." Her gaze slowly moved to Olivia as she let go of her grip on the man's hand. "That goes for you too, if you need anything-"

"-Thank you." Olivia cut her off softly, reassuring her that she would use it if necessary.

Maggie hummed as she smiled at the wolf before patting one of Matt's shoulders teasingly. "Because we have nothing better to do."

"Very Christian of you." The lawyer muttered.

"Angry, sarcastic... and stubborn." Maggie drawled out as she made her way over to the sink on one of the walls before whirling around to face them. "Maybe you don't have any friends."

Matt's jaw tightened as he slowly lifted himself from the wheelchair, the cane in his hand holding most of his weight as he stood to his full height. "Someone once told me that warriors were meant to be alone. That caring for people would make me weak."

The Sister scoffed as her eyes trailed over the wolf who had taken a seat on her own bed, staring intently at her intertwined hands. "Sounds like he needed to get laid." The words drew a light chuckle from the wolf's lips, a chuckle that no matter how hard Matt might try to deny it, made a small smile flicker at his own lips.

"Anyway," The Sister continued, "Caring for people is why you're here, I doubt little miss furball would've saved you if she didn't care for you."

Olivia let out a noise of disbelief, "Little miss- I tell you what I am and the animal insults start, I see how it is."

Now at that comment, Matt couldn't quite contain the small chuckle that parted his mouth, one that drew the attention of both of the women back to him. "He was right though, I did let people in and I paid a price. I won't make that mistake again."

And just like that, the conversation had returned to its somber setting. Olivia watched on as Matt made his way over to the small shelf filled with books, questioning the nun on what they were. As it turned out, they were bibles, bibles in brail and apparently the ones Matt had used in his youth.

She didn't speak a word as the two spoke about religion. It wasn't something she was educated on and it certainly wasn't the time for her to offer her own opinion; Matt was struggling with his relationship with God, his faith was shattering and, in all honesty, there wasn't too much that Olivia could do about it. So, until a time would come where Matt might ask her for her opinion, she would leave it to Sister Maggie or Father Lantom.

"I am what I do in the dark now. I bleed only for myself." Were the words that snapped Olivia out of her own thoughts. It was difficult; Matt seemed to be throwing away every aspect of his life apart for the instances where daredevil was involved and whilst Olivia understood the hurt, he was experiencing, the betrayal he felt from God seemed to cut too deep.

Sister Maggie was silent for a moment before her hand moved to her chest and clutched at the cross that was hanging by a string. She carefully removed it from her neck and made her way over to the lost man, placing it in his hand.

He scoffed as he hung it from a finger as far away from himself as possible, his jaw tightened as a small scowl pulled at his features and he tossed the cross towards one of the beds, landing right beside Olivia.

The Sister let out a small sigh and leaned over to pick up the cross, her hand tightened on the string and her eyes were glossy as she looked at the cross as it swung in the air. Before she could turn away, Olivia caught her wrist. The wolf gave the nun a tense smile and carefully closed her own hand around the swinging symbol and tugged if out of the woman's grip.

She didn't have a relationship with God, but Matthew did, and whilst his relationship was confusing and broken, she wanted him to have the option to rebuild it. She would keep the cross for a time where Matthew felt ready, a time where he wanted to reestablish his relationship with the entity he had so dutifully followed and served.

"I had friends, I had a life. I care about people, and I'm choosing to let them believe I'm gone because I am." The man sniffed. His words were broken. "I know my truth now."

Olivia frowned as she clutched the cross tightly as if she herself were begging the lord the symbol represented to help the man find his way.

"I'd rather die as the Devil than live as Matt Murdock."

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30-07-2020