Chapter Text
It was somewhere around 3am when Claire heard Matt come home, slipping in through the window like a shadow. More accurately, she hadn’t heard him come in, but rather move around his bedroom—the soft squeak of the hinges on his dresser, the faint rustling of him removing his shirt, the little grunts of pain he tried to suppress when he bent over to remove his pants and boots. She tilted her head a bit, her heavy eyelids sliding up, catching sight of him as he wrestled into pajama pants. Even with the many scars adorning his back, it was a nice view, she admitted.
Once he was done, he started to shuffle towards the den, prompting her to speak. “What are you doing?”
He cocked his head towards her. “Going to bed.”
“Wrong direction.”
His head tilted in the opposite direction, a gesture of curiosity instead of trying to hear her. She smiled. “You’ve got enough things torn open on you, and sleeping on that couch is going to make it worse. We’re both adults, Matt. It’s fine.”
He swallowed. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
She snorted, raising an eyebrow at him. “I’m living with a masked vigilante and treating the myriad of injuries he gets from beating up the Russian mob, and you think sharing a bed makes me uncomfortable?”
He nodded a little. “Point taken.”
Her smile stretched. “Besides, you’re too banged up to try anything, so I think we’ll be fine.”
A surprisingly roguish smirk found his lips. “I think you underestimate the resilience of the male libido.”
She laughed. “Point taken. Guess we’ll have to risk it.” She patted the mattress behind her, turning onto her side and fluffing her pillow.
Matt wandered over and felt for the sheets, settling next to her with stiff movements. She closed her eyes and listened to him breathe, counting each breath to ensure he didn’t need her medical attention. Once she knew he was stable, she simply enjoyed the sound of someone warm and alive next to her, a presence she hadn’t felt in quite some time. Someone who cared, even if it was complicated. A nice (bizarre) lullaby.