he doesn’t need to see her glare to know she’s upset with him, though he can’t imagine it’s anything less than deathly sharp and cold to the touch – like a pair of twin daggers, perhaps. the sort she’d probably love to carve him up with, given the opportunity. her tone speaks volumes to the fact, as do her words, though they’re more direct than the aforementioned, to be sure. and truth be told, matt knows he can’t argue with her. nor does he plan to. she is angry, and rightfully so. they’d thought that they’d lost him, for good. he could have eased their weary minds, proved them wrong the second he’d woken up in the basement of the church, went to them as any good friend might – but he did not. rather, he walked the streets of the city covertly, in disguise, did his bidding and his business on his own. walled himself off. walled them off. at the time, he thought he was doing them a favor – protecting them from who he really was. from daredevil. he was wrong.
agent nadeem had said to him, once: ‘your friends keep coming back. how do you hold onto them?’ matt had answered, simply: it’s not me. it’s them.
he’d told the truth, then, and nothing but.
❛ yeah – you haven’t changed a bit, marci. ❜ in spite of himself, of the venomous truth she now spewed, he chuckles, softly, wryly. he shifts in his seat, turns his head away. his brow furrows as the faux-amusement tapers off, and all he’s left with is – quiet contemplation, at least for a moment. then, finally: ❛ … … i’m not going to leave. not again. ❜ there’s a sense of resolution about him, of conviction. he’ll no longer waver, no longer hurt himself, his friends, his loved ones. he won’t allow himself to. ❛ before, when i was … … when foggy and karen thought i was gone – i thought that things would be better off. that i could move forward alone, and that they’d be alright without me. but, i – i was wrong. i know that now. and i’m not planning on making that same mistake again. ❜
a pause. he turns towards her again, now wearing something of a smile. ❛ even if i was, i, ah, don’t think i’d get very far. foggy wouldn’t hesitate to bring me back, and you’d kill me when he did. … … – hey, kidding. ❜
marci had bristled at first when matt had laughed -- it wouldn’t be the first time a man had dismissed a threat from her “just because she’s a woman” -- but when his body language changed, marci’s own turned less offended; although, she does cross her arms when he starts speaking.
there had been a time, marci remembers as matt paints a picture of his renewed devotion to both foggy and karen, when matt and foggy had never been apart except for classes. even then, you could usually see them walk together. where one went, the other one was soon to follow until they became mattandfoggy rather than two separate entities together.
remembering this, and hearing how matt thought that both foggy and karen could be better off without him -- it was ridiculous. at least he seemed smarter about it now, but marci can’t trust matt because one of them had to pick up the pieces when foggy had fallen apart, and it had been caused by matt.
so, when matt does his joke, marci just says sharply in return,
still, in the next moment, she sighs -- the fight not drained out of her yet, but her next remark is perhaps the closest she’ll come to a truce ( she still doesn’t trust matt, and matt would probably understand that, but marci won’t at least be too antagonistic to matt -- just as much as usual ),
❛ well, it’s a good thing you’re
not going to do that again
then. i’d hate to get blood on
my new carpet. ❜
theartofmadeline
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