Chapter Text
Matt
“Ok, just a small question, why is he here?” Clint scoffs before addressing Matt, a brow raised in skepticism. Lord help him. Taking a slow breath, Matt pinches his brow, “Because Clint,” he emphasizes, “Stark asked for extra help,” he pauses before pointing to Frank and finishing, “and there it is.” Biting back a grin at Frank’s annoyed scowl, he turns to Tony, “You got a game plan Stark?”
Tony laughs before placing a hand on his chest, mocking hurt, “Of course, double D’s! Who do you take me for, just some billionaire?”
“Yeah, pretty much,” Matt bites out under his breath. The only one close enough to hear him is Frank, who snorts out a bark of laughter at the Avenger’s expense.
Most of the time, Matt liked to work solo, or preferably with Frank. It wasn't until recently that he had begun to toy with the idea of temporarily teaming up with the Avengers. After accidentally finding Clint Barton’s ass in a dumpster during his routine rounds and saving him, Tony Stark had somehow gotten ahold of him and tried on many occasions to recruit him. It was stupid, Stark never listened once, not even when he had threatened the man, trying to make the superhero stay far, far away from Hell's Kitchen. As if his city needed any of the trouble a major Avenger like Stark would bring, but a band of criminals in Hell’s Kitchen just had to get their hands on some of Stark's high tech weaponry, and now it was his problem.
Turning to Frank he nudged him with a boot, “No killing today Frank. We need to know where they got their stuff.”
“You don’t need 'em all for that Red, just leave a few and be done with it.” Pushing further Matt insists, “Frank no. I swear on all that is holy I will not be the reason someone dies tonight.”
To outside ears, it may have sounded like a threat, but to Frank it was a plea, a soft reminder of all of their arguments.
“I-fuck. Goddamn it Red. Fine. No killing, but if I see any of ‘em pull sneaky shit on you, I won’t hesitate. Got me?” Matt doesn't answer, just bobs his head in understanding before turning back to the main group.
“Hey Stark, wanna let me in on the game plan?” Frank’s rough voice questions. Matt can sense Tony’s eyes flicking over to him before addressing Frank, who is sighing as he moves closer to the group.
Ears ringing at the cacophony of so many bodies nearby, Matt shakes his head trying to clear his senses. Yet another reason he refuses to work with the Avengers full time, Tony’s suit alone makes him want to clap his hands over his ears and scream until he can’t; always whirring and buzzing, the Iron Man suit turns the normal den of Hell’s Kitchen into a madhouse.
Overlooking the warehouse, Matt can hear the separate heart beats inside, each one beating at a slightly different pace than any other, but every rhythm has its tell. Pursing his lips, Matt turns away from the building and the rest of superheroes, while he drags Frank to the other side of their rooftop. “I don’t like this Frank,” giving another one of his famed snorts Frank replies, “What part? The superheroes, or their plan?”
“No Frank, it’s not that, it's something else I can feel something’s wrong.” That catches his attention, heartbeat spiking he leans in, “Red, something you wanna share?”
His mouth shuts with a clack, “I-no, it’s nothing.” He can feel the eyes on them, Romanoff especially has had her eye on Frank, her and Barton both. But, as long as they don’t say anything to the others, they should be fine. “If there's something wrong that you can sense with your blind ninjaness, Red I’d really rather be safe than sorry.” Frank’s voice draws him back to their conversation. “No, just a feeling, it’s really nothing to worry about.” He’s starting to regret this conversation now, it only looks suspicious to the others, and he needs to keep them off his trail. Although it wouldn't be the end of the world for the Avengers to know that the Punisher and Daredevil were an item, he’d rather not give them any leverage, or make himself appear too human. Because he’s pretty sure a few of them think he’s the actual Devil, he definitely heard Steve ward off evil in latin earlier.
Turning to face Frank, he smiles before leaning in close and murmuring, “No killing.”
“Aw fuck off Red. I can go a night without killing, you can stop goddamn reminding me now.” Matt grins again before it gets wiped off his face by Frank’s retort, “If I can’t kill, you can’t do any of the self sacrificing shit you do. No jumping in front of a bullet for a person wearing kevlar." His last sentence is pointed and too specific to be a hypothetical. Sighing he replies, “I don’t even remember that, and that's probably because it only happened once.”
“Twice.” Frank quips. Hands reaching up to his face, Matt shoves Frank away grumbling, before making his way back to the main group.
Stark is too jovial in everything he does, Matt can’t help but get annoyed at his endless supply of it. Clapping his hands together, Tony exclaims, “All sorted are we?” Without waiting for a reply, he continues, “So, Double D will target the top floor with me, Rogers, and Nat, we’ll take out the guys on the top floor, before joining the others on the bottom. And the bottoms:” he snorts at his own joke, “Barton, Castle, and Barnes, you guys are gonna be the distraction and use the main entrance so we can sneak to ambush on the roof.”
He claps his hands together again as Matt sighs. Would it be too weird to demand Frank stays with him? Probably. He’s gonna have to just suck it up.
“Ok team, sounds good. 3, 2, 1, break!” He wants to groan, this would probably be so much easier if it was just him and Frank, the only complication being the alien super tech. Great.
“Frank. Be safe.”
He doesn't know why he just said that, but a feeling gnaws at his gut, something that won't go away.
He can hear the smirk in Frank’s voice as he replies, “No promises.”