Installment 1 of Another Love series
Before the masks, before the headlines — it started with a undercover mission.
Columbia University, 2008.
Natasha Romanoff is undercover as Natalie Rushman, chasing a human-trafficking ring and pretending to be an ordinary law student.
Matt Murdock is a brilliant, blind pre-law student with too much empathy and a sixth sense for trouble.
They meet by accident — or fate — and it’s instant chemistry: late-night study sessions, Thai takeout, flirty arguments, and the kind of tension that burns slow.
But between Natasha’s secret life and Matt’s buried anger, things spiral fast. What begins as friendship turns into something fierce, dangerous, and unmistakably real — until one violent night changes everything.
pairing: Matt Murdock x Natasha Romanoff
tags: angst, fluff, undercover missions, eventual smut, college matt murdock, matt murdock and foggy nelson at columbia
tw: attempted sex assault
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She hated these kind of missions where she had to pretend to be someone else for more than one night. No. She liked the tough and quick ones, where she could just get in, take what she needed, then head out home to a hot shower.
But not this one. She had to stay like this, like someone else, for at least the next six months. Natasha was not very pleased.
She was still glad for this opportunity though. After all she did for the Red Room, all the dirty deeds, the nasty stuff she’s seen… It felt good to be on the good side.
Two years ago, when she was just 19 years old, Agent Clint Barton was sent to kill her. He looked at her straight in the eyes, her red braids falling on each side of her face, arms up in surrender. She was just a kid. A lost, for-son-long abused kid.
He made a different call.
No one at SHIELD trusted her, and she knew that. She couldn’t blame them after all. Fury made sure to make Clint responsible for every step she took, and he took her under his wings gladly. Took her on his missions, because they never allowed her to handle one on her own.
But now they finally did. This was her first solo.
Of course, Clint is around most of the time. Sitting there at the safehouse, waiting if she needs any help. She doesn’t, though. She had the next six months to uncover a human trafficking scheme, that involved powerful mafia leaders and two Columbia University teachers.
And there enters Natalie Rushman. Just finished Politics at NYU, now a fresh Law School student at Columbia University. 21 years old. Great school records. Adopted dead parents, one adopted sister. Born in Russia, like Natasha herself. Rich thanks to her dead parent’s fortune. Her sister is traveling abroad in Europe, God knows where. They didn’t talk much.
She kept running her story on her head, words at the tip of her tongue in case anyone asked. She made sure to keep a lot of half truths on her lies. She was indeed born in Russia, parents dead, separated from her adopted sister.
Oh, Yelena. She wishes she could find a way out of there, too. She wished she could come back for her.
“Natalie!” A female voice snapped her out of her thoughts, turning to face Olivia with a warm smile. The brunette was handing her a gin and tonic, while holding her beer on the other hand.
“Thanks.” Natasha replied, taking the drink. Olivia was her roommate at Columbia. She was a computer science student and they met two days ago. She was smart and enthusiastic and treats Natasha as if they’re friends since kindergarten. Was a very good cover.
“You’re having fun?” Olivia asked kindly.
They were at some random guy’s party, hosted in a fraternity house near the campus. Natasha had no idea whoever those people were, or what exactly they were celebrating, she just thought it would make sense to blend more and act like a normal freshman girl. And that implied being around drunk frat boys and pick me girls, extremely loud music and beer that tasted like piss. All for the mission.
She was glad she never went to real college, after all. Imagine four years of that.
“Good. Come dance with me and the girls.” She grabbed her arm gently.
Natasha was good at telling lies, she kinda liked to brag about that. She was never nervous about lying or nervous about anything, for most of the time. She was focused. She always knew what was coming and what she had to do. Her life taught her that.
After dancing with Olivia and her extremely loud girlfriends, Natasha decided to take one of the piss-tasted beer and head to the high benches on the bar, a little far from the loud electronic music. She would wait a few minutes and excuse herself after Olivia couldn’t notice that she was around anymore.
Lost in her thoughts again, Natasha was pulled back by a small consistent tap sound on the floor. She turned her head to the right and noticed a small group of friends entering through the door. One blonde girl wearing an extremely tight pink dress and one guy wearing a beanie, long and greasy blond hair falling on his shoulder. Behind them, the source of the consistent tap sound.
Natasha stared at the group briefly, switching her attention to the blind guy behind them.
He was tall, pale, had rectangular dark shades covering his eyes, his dark messy hair combed to the side and was wearing a gray shirt with a pair of jeans. His large hands squeezed his cane once they stopped by the door, his knuckles getting white.
Natasha stopped staring quickly, suddenly aware of the fact that she was staring at a blind guy and that probably was very rude. He wouldn’t notice, of course, but it was still rude. She returned her attention to her beer, taking a large sip of it.
Matt didn’t really want to go to the party Foggy was suggesting. Honestly, he wanted to stay in their shared room and study. Enjoy the silence of a saturday night on campus, when everyone was out partying and getting drunk. Not exactly silence, of course. There was never enough silence for Matt.
Everything was so loud most of the time. The heartbeats, the voices, the screams, steps, phones ringing, dogs barking, sirens, cars. He learned how to focus a long time ago. To shut most of the noises when everything was too much.
But now, after one hour or so at Chad Miller’s party in a frat house near the campus, alongside Foggy and Marci, he needed to focus on something, or it would drive him crazy. They decided to move to a different place after staying outside at the pool area.
And then it hit him. Near the bar.
A steady heartbeat. Never faltered, always consistent. A steady breathing. Full lips brushing on the glass of a bottle. Beer. But she was drinking gin before that, he was sure. At least two glasses of it, with tonic.
Matt didn’t know why, but she was fascinating.
Matt felt her stare heavy on him. Foggy and Marci stopped at the door to take a look around, he did the same.
“Here Matt, steps to your right.” Foggy held his elbow gently and they turned in that direction. “Let’s settle there in the kitchen.”
The three settled around the kitchen island. Matt sat in one of the high benches alongside Foggy, maybe 20 feet away from that fascinating woman at the bar. Marci set a beer in front of him.
“Thanks Marci.” He smiled.
“Do you want something?” Marci held Foggy’s face between her small hands. “I’m going to the bar.”
“A beer is fine, babe.” Foggy pecked her on the lips.
Matt focused again on that heartbeat. She took another sip of her beer and her head turned slightly to the kitchen, and Matt felt her stare again. Her nails tapped gently on the counter, and he could hear her let out a small breath.
Well, he couldn’t blame her.
Marci returned bringing Foggy’s beer, a tequila for herself and a friend that Matt was pretty sure was in his Criminal Law class. Maybe her name was Rebecca, he wasn’t quite sure. After a few minutes, Chad Miller approached them and they started a small talk. Matt wasn’t feeling like socializing much, so he stayed quiet for most of the conversation, drinking his beer and focusing on that anchoring heartbeat across the room.
“Wow.. Who’s that?” Chad asked with a hand over his chest.
He was pointing at her. His steady-as-fuck-heartbeat girl.
“She’s in my Constitutional class. Natalie, or something like that.” Marci stated. “She’s new”
“Yeah, she’s hot.” Chad smirked, taking a long sip of his beer. Matt winced at it, taking a sip of his own.
“Would not go for it if I were you. Apparently she’s very hard to get. My friend’s her roommate.” Marci’s friend made a comment beside her.
“What’s the fun in that?”
Matt heard her high reels on the wooden floor.
“It’s your funeral.” Marci shrugged, earning a small laugh from Foggy. “Here comes your shot, big boy, she’s heading here.”
Matt turned his head to the opposite side, but still focused his hearing on her. Steady breath, an empty glass on her right hand, quietly humming the song that was playing loudly in the other room.
She eventually passed right through the kitchen island. He felt her warmth when she crossed behind him, moving towards the fridge to get herself water to fill her glass. She smelled amazing.
Matt had a theory that everyone had an unique scent, and it usually was composed of three things. Foggy for exemple, he smelled like toothpaste, fresh books and smoked barbecue, for some reason.
Natalie smelled like lavender, autumn and… Gunpowder.
“Hey, beautiful.” He heard Chad get close to her on the other side of the kitchen.
She turned towards him. Heartbeat still steady, not a single wave in it. “Oh, hi.” He felt her smile fill the room.
“I’m Chad.” He offered his hand, getting closer than he usually should.
She looked at it for a while until she shook it. “Natalie”
A slight change in her heartbeat. Maybe Chad made her uncomfortable.
“This is my party. Birthday, actually” He kept invading her space.
“Thanks, Chad. But I’m actually with some friends.” She offered an apologetic smile. She was being polite, but she just wanted him to get out of her face.
Matt dropped his head and let out a small smirk.
Apparently not able to get a hint, Chad continued bothering her. “Oh, we can all be friends, doll. Want me to get you something to drink?”
“I can get my own drink, thanks.” She smiled again, this time a much less apologetic one. She waved him goodbye and Matt felt her warmth against his back once she crossed behind him again. She looked over her shoulder at Matt for a brief moment, returning to her spot at the bar.
“Told you.” Marci bantered, once the rest of her friends made fun of the situation.
Not exactly able to stare at her, but Matt kept his face on her direction at the bar. She would sometimes look over her shoulder for him, or tap her nails on the counter impatiently. Another half hour passed and Matt decided to call the night off, tapping a half-drunk Foggy Nelson on the shoulder.
“Hey, I’m heading out, Fogs.”
“Sure, bud. I’m happy you got your head out of the books for a while.” He tapped back. “Want me to accompany you?”
“No, it’s okay. I can get to the door.” He got up, unfolding his white cane and tapping the floor. “I’ll see you back at the dorm.”
Matt crossed the kitchen and moved towards the main entrance, closer to the bar. There weren't many people in this part of the frat house, so he didn’t have much problems using his cane normally. Once he was close to the door, he heard her let out a small breath again, and clearly this party was almost over for the mystery girl.
Matt stopped on his tracks. Took a deep breath and decided to head to the bar. Yes, she seemed like she didn’t want to get into social interactions, but she also sounded bored as hell. He approached her, standing up next to her.
She turned to him, surprised. Her heartbeat still didn’t skip a beat. A small smile filled her face. “Hi.”
Matt smiled. His dimples were adorable.
That slightly change again.
“Matt Murdock.” He introduced himself, his hands grabbing tightly on his cane. She was somewhat intimidating.
“Thanks.” Matt smiled playfully.
“Well, it was worth the shot.” He shrugged and heard Natasha chuckle at it.
A small pause. She stared at his amazing dimples again.
“You’re here with someone?” Natasha studied his features with narrowed eyes.
Straight to the point. He likes that.
“Surprising.” He smirked.
“Are you a serial killer or something?” She playfully brought the beer to her lips.
She hummed at the response, feeling herself blush. How the hell was he doing this? Natasha didn’t blush.
“Interested?” He continued, his hands now more relaxed around his cane. She stared at his hands briefly. They looked nice. Again, how the hell was he making her blush this much?
“Perhaps.” Natasha replied, setting her beer back on the counter.
“I’m starving.” She really was. She was filling herself with Gin and beer for the past two hours.
“Now?” She looked around, trying to find Olivia anywhere. She spotted the brunette playing beer pong in the living room. She probably wouldn’t even notice that she left. “Okay.”
Matt heard her take the last sip of her beer and stood up very close to him. “Lead the way, Matt Murdock.”
