A/N mildly truncated because I had an unexpected late night and I am tired my niblings @_@ Porn will ensue soon if I have any say in the matter.
--
Foggy liked to call Matt's series of interactions with the Avengers "a partnership." Matt detested the description, if only because his partnerships were far and few, and his relationship with the Avengers certainly didn't fall under it. Partners required trust and honesty, both traits that Matt withheld from Steve Rogers and his little band. He could admit that they made useful allies -- he wasn't that stubborn. In another life maybe they would have been friends and Daredevil would take them up on that invitation to movie night, with audio descriptions and everything. Clint would pelt his head with popcorn while Bruce and Natasha pretended to ignore them. Maybe while holding hands. Tony would split his attention between the movie and whatever he had thought up now -- Matt liked to fantasize about brand new accessability devices tailored to him. Steve and Sam would probably be the only team members that paid attention to the screen.
It sounded nice, in his head. In another life.
Just not this one.
"I don't want a room at the Tower."
Tony made a noise like a wounded elephant and slumped over the table. It was almost worth coming to Stark's lab to observe his reaction whenever Daredevil deflated his newest idea.
"Come on! Everyone should have a room at the Tower! It's roomy! It's nice! There's a little kitchenette and a private bathroom!"
Matt bit the inside of his cheek and counted to five. Then he exhaled. "There's JARVIS too."
Tony straightened. He set both hands on the table, palms down. His heart rate ticked up a little. "You're protective of your privacy and I understand that. I'm willing to do you a solid and remove JARVIS from your suite."
Lie. Possibly. Or just nervousness. It was a big risk to take, which only made Matt suspicious.
"Sounds like a big hole in your security net. You do that, there's no telling who would climb through my window."
Tony rolled a shoulder. Heart rate going down again. Were they already over the biggest hurdle? "I thought of that. JARVIS can stay whenever you're not using the suite. He'll vacate whenever you're there. Microphones, sensors, everything off. You get to keep your identity and Steve stops losing sleep worrying about you wandering New York with a head injury."
Matt sincerely doubted that Captain America lost sleep worrying about him but he knew better than to say so. Instead he fought to keep the rising irritation in his chest in check. The chances were very good that Tony was simply trying to be nice and not building secret dossiers on vigilantes in New York City by listening in on their conversations and recording their features via invasive AI, uploaded to private servers fortified against government intrusion and oversight, ready to be sold to the highest bidder at a moment's notice.
It was possible that Frank Castle was rubbing off on him.
Matt realized that he had grabbed one of Tony's small, delicate tools off the tabletop and was fiddling with it. He put it down.
"It's generous. I'll think about it." Which they both knew meant: thanks, but no.
Tony was good about it. He just said, "It's on the sixty-seventh floor if you change your mind."
Matt let himself out through the windows. He didn't need a suite at the Avengers Tower, he reasoned. He had Frank's safehouse after all. It was certainly more secure than the Tower for God's sake. Matt didn't need to be woken in the night because one of Stark's robots losing its mind, again. Say what you would about Frank: he didn't keep unstable AI on a computer chip logged into one of the most powerful networks on the planet.
Even when the Russians dropped an entire warehouse on Daredevil's head, he stood by that. When Iron Man personally dug him out of the rubble, lifted him out with one arm and said, "Yeah, remember that room I promised you?" Matt still struggled weakly, and replied "I already have a place to go. Put me down."
"You're not getting far on that leg," Iron Man replied. Matt flicked his tongue into the air and tasted blood, metallic and tangy. Shit. He had hoped that was just a bruise.
"Let Cap and Natasha clean up here. Let's get you fixed up and somewhere safe, yeah?"
Bossy, Matt thought as Tony tucked him under one arm and took off into the sky. Tony Stark was awfully bossy.
-fill- the breath that passed from you to me (1/?)
--
Foggy liked to call Matt's series of interactions with the Avengers "a partnership." Matt detested the description, if only because his partnerships were far and few, and his relationship with the Avengers certainly didn't fall under it. Partners required trust and honesty, both traits that Matt withheld from Steve Rogers and his little band. He could admit that they made useful allies -- he wasn't that stubborn. In another life maybe they would have been friends and Daredevil would take them up on that invitation to movie night, with audio descriptions and everything. Clint would pelt his head with popcorn while Bruce and Natasha pretended to ignore them. Maybe while holding hands. Tony would split his attention between the movie and whatever he had thought up now -- Matt liked to fantasize about brand new accessability devices tailored to him. Steve and Sam would probably be the only team members that paid attention to the screen.
It sounded nice, in his head. In another life.
Just not this one.
"I don't want a room at the Tower."
Tony made a noise like a wounded elephant and slumped over the table. It was almost worth coming to Stark's lab to observe his reaction whenever Daredevil deflated his newest idea.
"Come on! Everyone should have a room at the Tower! It's roomy! It's nice! There's a little kitchenette and a private bathroom!"
Matt bit the inside of his cheek and counted to five. Then he exhaled. "There's JARVIS too."
Tony straightened. He set both hands on the table, palms down. His heart rate ticked up a little. "You're protective of your privacy and I understand that. I'm willing to do you a solid and remove JARVIS from your suite."
Lie. Possibly. Or just nervousness. It was a big risk to take, which only made Matt suspicious.
"Sounds like a big hole in your security net. You do that, there's no telling who would climb through my window."
Tony rolled a shoulder. Heart rate going down again. Were they already over the biggest hurdle? "I thought of that. JARVIS can stay whenever you're not using the suite. He'll vacate whenever you're there. Microphones, sensors, everything off. You get to keep your identity and Steve stops losing sleep worrying about you wandering New York with a head injury."
Matt sincerely doubted that Captain America lost sleep worrying about him but he knew better than to say so. Instead he fought to keep the rising irritation in his chest in check. The chances were very good that Tony was simply trying to be nice and not building secret dossiers on vigilantes in New York City by listening in on their conversations and recording their features via invasive AI, uploaded to private servers fortified against government intrusion and oversight, ready to be sold to the highest bidder at a moment's notice.
It was possible that Frank Castle was rubbing off on him.
Matt realized that he had grabbed one of Tony's small, delicate tools off the tabletop and was fiddling with it. He put it down.
"It's generous. I'll think about it." Which they both knew meant: thanks, but no.
Tony was good about it. He just said, "It's on the sixty-seventh floor if you change your mind."
Matt let himself out through the windows. He didn't need a suite at the Avengers Tower, he reasoned. He had Frank's safehouse after all. It was certainly more secure than the Tower for God's sake. Matt didn't need to be woken in the night because one of Stark's robots losing its mind, again. Say what you would about Frank: he didn't keep unstable AI on a computer chip logged into one of the most powerful networks on the planet.
Even when the Russians dropped an entire warehouse on Daredevil's head, he stood by that. When Iron Man personally dug him out of the rubble, lifted him out with one arm and said, "Yeah, remember that room I promised you?" Matt still struggled weakly, and replied "I already have a place to go. Put me down."
"You're not getting far on that leg," Iron Man replied. Matt flicked his tongue into the air and tasted blood, metallic and tangy. Shit. He had hoped that was just a bruise.
"Let Cap and Natasha clean up here. Let's get you fixed up and somewhere safe, yeah?"
Bossy, Matt thought as Tony tucked him under one arm and took off into the sky. Tony Stark was awfully bossy.