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It’s been almost a year and a half. Matt hasn’t been Daredevil for almost a year and a half.
He’s been trying to be normal. To forget. To lie to himself and pretend that Matt didn’t do all the things that Daredevil did. He’d wanted to separate the two of them—his two selves—and try to live his life as someone entirely separate from that vigilante that had been through so much pain and suffering.
Maybe, if he convinced himself that it hadn’t been him, he would stop feeling miserable.
He couldn’t and can’t, though. He won’t be able to do it and he knows that very well, too. At least, his pain has luckily faded away and he keeps moving on. Even the longest night won’t last forever, and all of that.
But Matt can’t deny what he is—and he is Daredevil, besides being Matt Murdock. He’s the masked vigilante that got out at nights to fight triads and dangerous criminals, just as he also is the suited attorney that sometimes people mistakenly underestimate because he’s blind.
What he also knew for sure was that after trying to be only Matt Murdock for so long, eventually his Daredevil life would chase him—hunt him.
And the moment just arrived.
It all starts with Claire. She tells him that she has some friends that could use his help. Then, before he registers it, he’s meeting all these people that he’d heard of on the news.
Luke, a former wrongfully imprisoned man. Also the bulletproof, of unbreakable-skin man.
Jessica: private investigator, ex-superhero wannabe, sarcastic and dry lady 90% of the time.
And Danny.
Danny, whose purpose in life is to defeat The Hand. Danny, who is the current Iron Fist and can make his hand light up and has a dragon inked on his chest. Danny, who’s far too innocent to be involved in this business of vigilantes and fighters.
Danny, that trained day and night in a parallel dimension and that Matt was lucky enough to cross paths with in this lifetime. Danny, who believes in people that don’t deserve it. He believes in dark people, in people that could hurt him, in people that shouldn’t be allowed to have Danny in their lives. He believes in Matt.
And Matt can’t disappoint him. Not after Danny has saved him several times from imminent danger and has put so much faith in him and has shown him the kind of person that he is. He has honor. He is a fighter. A believer. So many things. So many beautiful and important things.
Danny. The man Matt fell in love with.
He doesn’t even know when it happened. When he learned the kind of tea Danny liked or the lyrics to his favorite songs. He just did. Naturally, like if things couldn’t have happened differently.
Matt knows by heart half of the sayings Danny quotes to people and he knows, too, what can make Danny’s blood boil and lead him to lose control.
Matt knows how Danny felt back in K’un Lun and why he’s so glad to have returned to New York.
He knows that Danny drives an expensive car, where he takes Matt wherever he wants, but that it wouldn’t matter if it were a damn rattletrap just as long as they were together.
Matt has witnessed Danny’s progress as a fighter. As a hero. It’s been a crazy journey since they met. They’ve had ups and downs. They’ve won and lost.
But what matters now is that Danny has grown. He’s more focused. Thinks clearer. His tactics have improved. His control, as well. His emotions, his temper, his chi. All of him.
And Matt has grown with him just as he’s helped him grow. Matt taught him all he knows about the duty and about how important it is to defend what one loves. Although Danny was always better at standing up for what’s right (because he’s always been better at being good).
Now sometimes Matt’s the one drinking tea and Danny’s the one drinking coffee. Or Matt’s the one with the sayings, while Danny’s the one with the prayers.
Now Matt can’t make out their breaths when they’re alone. He can’t tell whose heart beats faster when they kiss. It’s like if they’ve become one, somewhere along the road.
And Matt isn’t scared about that—about sharing himself so deeply with someone else. He’s happy. Safe.
Danny, the love of his life.
Danny. Safety.