Chapter Text
It’s raining today. The sound of water droplets smacking into the pavement below his window alerts Matt of this fact. The incessant smacking is of course accompanied by that sharp smell of wet asphalt, so he’s awake now. He breathes in deeply, incorporating the wet asphalt smell into his lungs. The soft, gray light of the morning filters in through his effectively useless curtains along with all the sounds of the morning. Matt blocks out most of them, but focuses on the rain. He hears the droplets sliding off of leaves, plopping on metal mailboxes, hitting rain jackets; it’s a symphony of rain drops.
A memory hits him hard, almost physically, as if someone were pushing against his chest. The sensations flood into his mind as he remembers her. Elektra in all her glory, on a rainy morning like this one. He had woken up with his body pressed against hers, her hair in his face as always, skin smooth and bare. He remembers his fingertips following the curve of her ribs down to her hip and the way her belly would be soft and relaxed, a small round swell that she didn’t like when she was awake (her tummy was perfectly flat, thank you). Matt loved her belly always, in all of its configurations (except slashed open). He felt the scars that were raised on her skin, some small and hard to detect, others glaring. He could never hold her back from a fight. He loved the way she fought anyway.
He sighs as he continues to remember her body, her skin, her hair, her lips. The way she felt when she loved him. When he loved her. A morning like this would be soft and romantic. He would kiss her shoulders softly until she woke up giggling and rolled over to face him and kiss him back. It would be slow and gentle as they made out until someone decided they wanted more. They never rushed though; mornings were for rest and recovery after their long nights.
Matt’s startled when a heavy leg flops over his. He smiles. Frank isn’t slender and seductive like Elektra was, but he didn’t need to be. The rain continues to play its symphony in the background and soothes Matt while he turns toward Frank. He props himself up on one hand, face resting in his palm, while his other hand wanders around Frank’s back and shoulders because somehow the man is sleeping on his face (again). Frank hums and Matt scratches his back, to which Frank moans softly. Frank flops his arm on top of Matt, then rolls the smaller man into himself as he rolls onto his back. Matt nestles his face in Frank’s neck and appreciates the way he smells with the scent of the rain.
“Ya got a kink for the way I smell, huh?” Matt laughs softly. Frank bites his shoulder gently.
“S’okay. I got a kink for everythin’ about you. ‘Cept when you’re annoying. Fuck that.”
“Huh, that’s almost always, though, right?”
“Shut up, Red.”
Matt smiles. Frank growls lightly and tugs Matt’s hair. Matt sighs, but it’s sort of sad and far away so Frank stops.
“Hey, ya alright?” he asks softly. His arms come around to hold Matt tight against him, reminding Matt of how damn strong the guy is.
“It’s raining,” Matt says. He leaves it at that. Frank hums in response and keeps holding onto Matt, stroking his back and listening to the rain.
***
“You’re fuckin’ shittin’ me, right?” Frank shouts as rain plasters everything to his being. It had rained throughout the day and started pouring as night fell. Matt shrugs and keeps walking. Brett had given Foggy a tip earlier that day about people disappearing, mostly teens or young adults in their 20s. Some were going missing then coming back, but others were still missing. Matt had been listening to whispers at night about training for something, but nothing had made sense. The words sounded like gibberish to him. This was the first night that he and Frank were going out to investigate things and maybe collect some decent intel.
“I think they’re probably operating near the docks. It seems like they want to stay away from everyone,” Matt half-shouts above the rain. He wanted to at least go to the place to learn something. Frank sighs.
“If we ain’t killin’ nobody I don’t wanna go!” he shouts back. Matt whips his head around and glares. Frank smirks in response. He was joking, of course, and was also very lucky Matt knew this. He falls in stride beside the smaller man and slings an arm around his shoulder.
“Let’s go get these bastards,” he says with the smirk still on his face.
The rain doesn’t ease up as the two men approach the docks. Frank can barely see anything with the way the water distorts the lights. He wonders if the rain distorts Matt’s hearing in a similar way.
“I can’t really hear anything,” Matt growls, on cue.
“An’ I can’t see anything, so we make a great pair, huh?” Frank offers. He smirks again because Matt’s glaring again. They sneak around the containers for the cargo ships and Frank has to admit that the sound of the rain hitting the metal containers is distracting even for him. The noise on top of the inescapable cold rain is making him agitated. He’s about to suggest going home when he runs into Matt’s back. He waits, expecting Matt to dart forward toward whatever he seems to be hearing. Matt turns to face him instead, looking defeated.
“All I can hear is this damn cat crying. I thought I heard voices but I can’t be sure with the rain and the cat,” he explains, frustrated. Frank shrugs. He doesn’t want to discourage the guy but he wants to be realistic too.
“Ya wanna wait a little longer or…?” he offers cautiously. Matt’s head shifts towards him in that bird-like way and he waits a couple beats before replying.
“Your body temperature’s lower than normal. I guess that means it’s time to go back. We can try again when it’s not so miserable.” He pauses for a second and chews on his lip. “Fuck, this was stupid, I’m sorry. I guess I just wanted to get back on the streets again to do something meaningful.” He keeps his eyes cast down and starts walking back toward the apartment, listening for Frank to follow. Frank doesn’t move at first but catches up quickly and slaps him on the back.
“I’m here for you, Red, ain’t got nothin’ else to do at night now. I’m just as bored as you are.” Matt smiles a little at that but doesn’t answer. He lets his mind wander to the near future when they’ll be out of the damn rain and dry in bed. With the extra time and energy, maybe their night won’t be such a waste after all.