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Matt had never really been a Matthew. Not once. His dad had been calling him ‘Matt’ or ‘Matty’ since he was born and that’s what he has gone by since. Matthew was left for legal documents or when he found himself in some trouble. Matthew was meant to be used sternly.
It wasn’t like he hated being called Matthew. This wasn’t some kind of terrible name that he had been cursed with. He had just never really been a Matthew. It was unfamiliar and left said by those who were unfamiliar with him. He was Matt to all his family and friends.
That is until he met Elektra. He isn’t sure if he introduced himself as Matthew or Matt. It should have been Matt, but with Elektra things tend to do everything but what they are supposed to. In the end, she chose to call him Matthew because she was Elektra and she would choose how she wanted to refer to him.
But with Elektra it just made sense. It sounded right in between her lips. It sounded right as she breathed it, laughed it, yelled it, whispered it, in her accented tones. With her, Matthew could be affectionate and sweet. It could be as if Matthew was the nickname, one chosen by her and to be used in such a way only by her. He called her “sweetie” and she would look at him, smile on her lips, danger in her eyes (he could just tell), and reply, “Matthew.”
With Elektra, Matthew did not carry the connotation of formality and unfamiliarity. It was the sign of how very familiar Elektra was with Matt. To a point where she knew him in ways even he didn’t. Matthew, in her voice, was a caress, when she wanted it to be. He could hear it in the way she breathed right after saying it, the release. He could hear it even when she didn’t say it out loud in the beats of her heart.
Of course, as with most things, Elektra was the exception to his rule.
However, he was right about one thing though, one rule that even Elektra followed. He was usually called Matthew when he was in some form of trouble.