Work Text:
You stumble into the office, rubbing your tired eyes, and spilling your coffee slightly. You curse quietly to yourself and try to wipe off the mocha drips on your white blouse to no avail.
“I didn't know you had such a dirty mouth.” Matt stands in the threshold of his office smirking at you. You hate that shit eating grin he does and the way it makes your heart jump involuntarily.
“I'm sure my mother is somewhere punching the air right now. She suspects the internet is to blame.” You quip back but your voice has lost its usual lightness, a deep exhaustion creeping into it. Matt senses this immediately, cocking his head to one side and letting his glasses-vieled gaze linger on you.
You blush knowing he was listening to your heartbeat, breathing in your scent, searching for any red flags, any conditions he could aleeve.
“You ok y/n?” He asks quietly, his voice void of joking, now soaked with concern.
“Yes Mother Hen Matt. I'm fine. Just tired.” You try for a smile but quickly give up.
He nods and says gently “Been there. Let me know if you need a break today,” and walks back into his office.
~
It’s lunchtime and every time you blink, your eyes threaten to stay shut. You feel like your moving through syrup and your head is stuffed with cotton. You’ve mixed up the bills you're referencing to a client three times in a row now and them still being in the room is all that’s keeping you from throwing your briefcase at the wall and screaming.
Your last client finally files out the door for the day and as soon as the latch clicks you find yourself slumping into the crook of your elbow on your desk. You feel like you could fall asleep right there. But when you close your eyes, you see strangers’ hands grabbing you, shoving a bag over your head, drugging you, holding you for ransom to reach the fierce vigilante of hell’s kitchen, your coworker, your best friend, the person you love. You sigh in exasperation. You can feel the tears of utter exhaustion leaking onto your coffee stained white blouse. You can't find it in yourself to care.
A soft rap sounds on your office door. Matt. You lift your head and meet his blank stare with your bloodshot eyes.
“Y/n. What’s wrong?” His words are so gentle. You hate that he’s concerned for you. You’re being a baby. You’re just a little tired. You slept for… a few hours? …last week? You couldn’t remember.
Matt starts walking slowly towards your desk while you think of a way to answer that question. Your brain feels slow and you have a relentless pounding behind your eyes, radiating towards your temples. Matt reaches just beside your desk chair. You push your palms down on your desk as hard as you can, rising to meet Matt’s stance, your faces so close you can feel his breath on the bridge of your nose.
You start to say something when the world tilts. Matt cocks his head at you, or maybe you twist yours? You close your eyes, trying to stop your office from spinning so nauseatingly, feeling impossibly light for a moment. Strong, lean arms grab you, one around your rib cage and the other cupping your head as it falls back limp. darkness calls to you and you find yourself too exhausted to object. You let yourself crumple in matt’s warm embrace and everything fades away.
~
“Y/n? Y/n what is going on please wake up.”
You squint your eyes open, seeing first Matt hovering over you, face laced with worry. The next thing you see is the bright fluorescent ceiling lights that dot your office, causing you to squint your sensitive eyes so hard it hurts.
“Matt. Sorry.” You croak, trying to sit up. Matt reaches out to support your back as you sway half sitting, your surroundings once again starting to rotate and black dots spotting your hazy vision.
“Y/n please lay down for two seconds and tell me what is wrong with you.” Matt's voice clips, annoyance mingling with his previous worry. What a hypocrite you think, smirking.
“I can’t do anything if I don’t know that’s happening,” he adds gesturing helplessly to your form on the office carpet.
“I haven’t been sleeping that’s all,” you finally say, Your voice small and embarrassed. you hate being a burden.
“How long have you not slept for?” Matt asks deadly serious.
“Not sure”
“Try to guess” Matt was starting to sound a lot like a disappointed mom which was making you not only embarrassed but petulant and pouty. You unsquint your eyes to find his lips pressed into a thin line and his forehead wrinkled in concern.
“Probably five days to a week?”
“A WEEK Y/N?!” You flinch at Matt’s incredulous tone, his raised volume causing your head to shoot blinding pains across your face.
“Sorry it’s just- a week y/n? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” His voice is gentle again. Matt Murdock is no stranger to insomnia, but for the woman he loves to be suffering from it? He can’t help but think it’s his fault.
You yawn a little and nod, sad and embarrassed and feeling like your bones are made of lead.
Matt cups one of his warm callused hands around the back of your neck and before you can control it, a contented sigh escapes your chapped lips.
Matt huffs a small chuckle but grows quiet quickly and whispers, “Is it because you’re having nightmares?”
You nod again, eyes closing now as the hand behind your neck traces little circles on the very top of your spine, sending calming shivers down your limbs. You felt like every circle matt made with those damn fingers of his was manually relaxing each and every one of your muscles, releasing weeks of tension from sleepless nights and terror inducing nightmares.
“Alright sweetheart, we can’t have you falling asleep on the office floor now can we?” Matt’s voice melts you with its playful sarcasm and intense adoration.
You whine as his hand shifts away from the nape of your neck. He chuckles and quickly the soft and warm touches resume, this time lifting you into his lean muscled arms and holding you firmly to his chest.
You vaguely register Matt moving while carrying you but you have drifted even further towards unconsciousness. You finally release that last tether, melting into Matt’s broad chest carrying you towards his office couch, shielding you from every monster, real or imagined.