A Tale of Ice and Snow (Daredevil/Defenders)

[justaquirkygirl]

Time to spend more time torturing Matt Murdock. This fic is 99% comic compliant, including Matt's inability to function when it's snowing. It's also TV compliant, so take your pick. Not a ton of sneezing in the first part - I promise to make up for that later.

 

Matt Murdock hated snow. He hated the way it swirled around him, making it hard to detect things in his normal manner. He hated how it muffled sounds, changed the familiar landscape of his city and turned the sidewalks into icy, slush covered tunnels. It also made his normal parkour through the city considerably more difficult, and he has taken more than one fall into a dirty snow bank. 

Snow was the reason he had been reaching out to the other Defenders more recently; given how it messed with his senses, it made sense to have some help now and then. Unfortunately, the others had taken that as an invitation to start both hunting him down on a regular basis and inviting him along on more team ups. All of them in the freezing snow that none of the others had trouble navigating in because all of them could see patches of ice on the ground and didn’t get turned around in a snowstorm suddenly blind and heading right for a freezing puddle of slush. Again. 

 

Matt and Jessica had been out trying to get information on a local gang that was stirring up trouble. Some new drug had hit the streets that was sending people into a frenzy and setting off crime waves. No one knew where it was coming from; it had simply appeared on the scene one day and the harsh winter weather was making it hard to find the usual informants. 

This was their third night out in the freezing cold trying to track down someone that might give them something more to go on. Danny had heard a rumor earlier about an underground club where you could score the new drug and they were attempting to find it. 

Matt’s job was to listen in on various locations and try to get a sense of what they were looking for. But a pounding headache and the swirling snow were making it hard for him to focus and hear anything. 

He didn’t want to give up though, so he kept pushing, focusing so hard on the buildings they were passing that he failed to detect the icy ruts in the sidewalk ahead. Instead, he hit them hard and felt his feet go out from under him. Swearing under his breath, he tried to right himself, but went sideways off the sidewalk and into the slush filled gutter, soaking himself from head to toe instantly. 

From above him, he was sure he could hear Jessica’s amused smirk as she reached down to pull him up. 

“Have a nice trip, Murdock?” She grinned at him. Matt simply glared in her general direction through his glasses and tried to suppress a shiver. His head was really pounding now and his nose was starting to run from the cold. He rubbed it with a knuckle, which caused it to start itching as well. 

“Ah’tssch!” He sneezed suddenly into his fist, turning away from Jessica and shuddering as he tried - and failed - to suppress it. Sniffing, he turned back toward Jessica who was now studying him with one eyebrow raised. He waited for a beat, then asked her, “What?”

 

“Nothing,” She answered, not bothering to try and hide her grin. “You look like a frozen, drowned rat.” 

Matt sighed and started down the sidewalk again, this time trying to split his attention between the sidewalk and the buildings he passed. He hoped they found something soon; he wasn’t sure how many more nights like this he could handle.

Thankfully, Jessica had a similar thought. “Why don’t we finish this block, then call it a night? See what Luke and Danny have turned up.” Matt could have kissed her. They were nearly to the end of the block, and Matt’s apartment wasn’t far. By dressing in civilian clothes for this part of the reconnaissance meant that he could grab a cab and let himself in the front door - no need to scale some icy fire escapes and risk falling off his own roof on the way to his access door. 

 

The next morning Matt woke up feeling sluggish. His head was still pounding and his throat felt scratchy when he swallowed. He groaned. He could not be getting a cold. This was the worst possible timing. He had three client meetings that morning, court that afternoon, he was supposed to stop by and see Maggie about some charity thing that evening, and they needed to follow up on Danny’s tip from last night. 

 

Well, it couldn’t be helped. The mind controls the body he reminded himself. The mind controls the body, you will not spend the day sneezing your head off. 

 

“Heh-etsch!” Matt sneezed into his arm for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. His meetings had been blessedly brief, and Foggy and Karen were both busy, so he’d been able to put his head down and just push through the morning, but court was proving to be a problem. 

His cold was getting worse, the sneezing was getting more frequent, and he was having trouble concentrating. 

“Your honor, heh-etsch! Excuse me. My client is an upstanding citizen, eh-tsch! Excuse me. Who has served his community for several years.” This was not the impression Matt had hoped to make, but he thought that the judge seemed sympathetic. Thankfully, court today was really a formality. He still had to go through the motions, but he didn’t need to be on his A game. It didn’t take long for the judge to rule in his client’s favor to Matt’s relief: 

“I knew this would go your way, Heh-etschew!” Matt felt his cheeks grow red as he sneezed again, nearly into the client’s face, but the client simply thanked him, blessed him, and headed to be with his relatives who were waiting in the hall.

[silentdreamer789]

Great start!

[justaquirkygirl]

Part two! There will be one more part after this.

At this point in the day Matt was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to get home. But he had promised Maggie he would stop by to help sort charity donations. And Danny’s tip about the club’s location still had to be followed up on. So instead of calling a cab and heading home, he headed out into the snow to walk the two blocks to the church. 

 

And as luck would have it, he once again missed detecting a patch of ice. This time he was trying to fight back another sneeze and lost just as his foot hit the ice. He wound up sprawled in a slushy puddle with his suit pants torn, and a long bloody gash on his leg. His handkerchief was also soaked and his nose was running freely. 

 

Sniffing, he limped the last block to the church cursing snow, ice, winter, and head colds under his breath the whole time. 

 

Maggie was already in the basement when he arrived. When he made it down the stairs, she looked up and froze when she saw him. Soaking wet with snow clinging to his head and shoulders, torn pants, bleeding leg, and chapped nose and lips, he sniffled hard trying to keep his nose from running as he greeted his mother. 

 

“Goodness Matthew! Did you fight off a street gang on your way here?” Maggie crossed the room to him, brushing snow off his shoulders and helping him out of his coat. 

 

“Nope. Just fought an icy sidewalk, at-tsssch! Also fighting a cold and losing at the moment.” He tried to smile at Maggie but it came out more as a grimace. 

 

“Bless you! Let me find you something dry to wear. I’ll get you a bandage for your leg as well. Go sit down. You look dreadful.” Maggie pushed him toward the cot in the corner as she spoke, gathering clothes, tissues, antiseptic and bandaids in her usual efficiency. 

 

She gave him a moment to change then cleaned and bandaged the cut on his leg before sitting back to survey him. 

“Are you hurt anywhere else?” She asked, running a critical eye over him.

 

“Only my pride- heh-etssch! Excuse me,” Matt sniffled miserably, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand.

 

“Bless you!” Maggie handed him a box of tissues, “Blow your nose; I can barely understand you.”

 

Matt rolled his eyes but complied. It took three tissues to fully clear his head but he felt better after. He asked after the donations, but Maggie shook her head.

 

“I can manage, you sit and keep me company for a few minutes. Then you should probably head home; that snow storm is supposed to get worse.” 

 

Matt groaned before he could stop himself. At Maggie’s inquiry he explained the hunt for the drug ring and how he’d been out searching with the Defenders in the snow every night for the last week. He went on to explain how snow messed up his awareness of his surroundings and just how many times he’d ended up in a puddle of slush or a snow drift. He couldn’t be sure with the way his ears were clogged from his cold, but he thought that Maggie might be trying to hold back a laugh. 

 

She composed herself before answering him, “Well no wonder you’ve caught a cold; out every night getting soaked. I suppose it will be useless to tell you to stay in tonight and rest?”

 

Matt was shaking his head before she finished speaking, “Can’t  - ah-etsch!  - we’ve got to find this ring  - heh-etscch! - too many people are getting hurt - heh-etschew!” He grabbed another tissue to try and blow his nose, but congestion was setting in making it impossible. He briefly wondered how it could keep running even though it was so thoroughly blocked. 

 

“Bless you! Well I hope you find it quickly for your sake, and that you can stay home and rest tomorrow. You’re going to end up with pneumonia if you keep this up.” Maggie reached out to brush his hair off his forehead, checking his temperature. Matt let her even though he hated her fussing. 

 

“From your lips to God’s ears - heh, heh-etschew!” Matt felt for his watch to check the time. It was later than he’d thought and the snow was going to make it slow going. He stood to go.

 

“Bless you again. I’ll pray that you find it quickly. Give me a call tomorrow and let me know how you are. The state you’re in now, I’m bound to worry.” Maggie handed him his coat along with the rest of his soaking wet belongings in a bag. 

 

Matt promised to call and headed back out into the snow. It took forever to navigate the 8 blocks to his home and he was glad to find a message from Danny saying that he had narrowed down the location of the club, and that he was sending a car to bring the Defenders directly there so they could check it out. 

 

Danny said the car would be there in about 30 minutes. Matt quickly changed into comfortable clothes that he could fight in if needed. He had been debating taking cold meds all day, needing his senses clear to function, but his cold symptoms were making that nearly impossible by themselves. He finally caved and popped two capsules, hoping that they’d help. He smirked to himself thinking about how otherwise all he’d be good for is making the crime ring mildly ill by sneezing on them. 

 

By the time the car arrived, Matt was feeling pretty optimistic that the cold meds were doing their job. He had plenty of lingering symptoms, but he’d dealt with worse, and he figured he could make it through the night. He was also an expert in masking just about any form of discomfort while out as Daredevil, and was certain he could hide any emerging symptoms from the others without an issue. His thoughts on this were proved semi-correct when within 10 minutes of getting picked up, he found himself needing to stifle several sneezes that had clearly broken through the medicine. He did so by holding his breath and simply swallowing them down, making them nearly silent. He was sure he probably looked odd, bobbing forward slightly each time, and he was also certain that one or two actual sneezes would have been much more satisfying and effective at relieving the itch in his nose, but this would have to do for now. If it gave him a headache, well, he’d dealt with worse.

[silentdreamer789]

Love this!

[justaquirkygirl]

Last part! Admittedly, this part is a little long - I got a bit carried away. 😆

Inside the club was another issue altogether, though. While Matt was incredibly grateful that they weren’t outside in the snow, the atmosphere in the club wasn’t much better. The crush of bodies, pulsing music, and mix of smells was the exact environment he tried to avoid at all costs. He had to work 10 times harder than normal to filter everything out, and a cold, plus cold medication, made that even harder. Worse was that his job was to try and listen in on any conversations that might tip them off while Jess worked the bartender, pretending to be a ditzy bar-hopper, Luke prowled the edges of the room, and Danny was basically himself; a very rich, happy-go-lucky socialite working the crowd. They figured that this way, they could cover all angles and if the drug was there, they’d find it fast.

 

But trying to focus on individual words and conversations in the crowded room was nearly impossible. Worse was the way he kept sneezing despite his best efforts. He’d evidently attracted the attention of some young women to one side who clearly thought that he and his sneezing problem were adorable. Their giggles were not helping.

 

Matt listened in on a likely conversation in a corner, “I can hook you up, no problem.”

 

Heh-itschew!

 

Girls at the next table, “Bless you, sweetie!” 

 

Men across the room, “Yeah I got a great personal trainer.” Damn. Dead end. Focus, find another source.

 

Huh-etischew!!

 

“Bless you! Omg. He is so cute!” Giggles.

 

“Have you tried it yet?” Excellent. Another potential source.

 

Heh, heh, HEH… lost it. 

 

Girls at the next table, more giggling. One makes a comment about giving him some tissues. 

 

“Yeah, I did, but the original flavor is still better.” Still nothing. Keep focused. 

 

Heh-etISHchew!!

 

More giggling. Girls are now daring one another to approach him. Why? He must look awful. And contagious. Ignore them. Stay focused. 

 

“Boss says to wait here. He’ll let you know if he wants you to come back.” Sounds promising. 

 

Heh, heh, huh ITSSCHEW! Ow, his head. 

 

The girls at the next table dissolve into a giggle fit. A chorus of blessings. He acknowledged with a wave, and tried to refrain from wiping his nose on his sleeve. He would happily accept tissues right now if anyone offered them.

 

He strained to pick up the conversation from the last man and who he assumes to be the boss. It seems the third man may be invited to a back room soon. Definitely promising. He tried to locate Jessica in the crowd. 

 

At-tsch! God that was unsatisfying. 

 

More giggles from the next table. Something flies through the air and lands in front of him. He feels it; travel tissues. His cheeks redden, but he grabs them gratefully and blows his nose anyway. More giggles. Great; he’s a circus act. 

 

Jessica seems done at the bar and is headed his way. 

 

Heh-itSCHEW!

 

Girls giggle and call blessings.

 

Jessica reached the table as he lost his battle with the last sneeze.

 

“Jesus, Murdock! You allergic to nightclubs now?” She collapsed in the chair across from him, ignoring the glares of the girls at the next table.

 

Matt quickly filled her in on what he thought was the most likely lead. She hadn’t gotten much from the bartender and Luke and Danny didn’t look like they were having too much luck either, so they figured they ought to try and follow the man when he went into the back room - wherever that was. 

 

Jessica quickly flagged down the other Defenders, Matt indicated their target, and they spread themselves out behind him to discover where he was about to be led. The first speaker returned quickly, leading the man through a carefully disguised door the Defenders had missed earlier. Once it closed, the four quickly grouped around it. 

 

“Hear anything, Hornhead,” Luke asked Matt as Jessica and Danny made sure no one was watching them. Matt shook his head then turned and sneezed to the side. This was getting old.

 

“Jesus, Murdock, a little stealth would be nice,” Jessica muttered. Matt felt his cheeks redden. Danny noticed and reached out to grab his sleeve, getting his attention.

 

“You OK? I can use my chi to heal you with my fist if you need it.” He could what? No, Matt would rather suffer from 10 head colds than let Danny get anywhere near him with a glowing fist powered by “chi”.

He tried to decline a little more gracefully than that, though. 

 

Luke was more pragmatic, “You gonna be able to help in there? Cuz, you look like shit, no offense, and if you’re not up to the job, I’d rather know now.” 

 

No way was Matt going home now, not when they were this close. Murdock’s don’t quit. He assured Luke and the others that he would be fine, and went back to listening at the door. 

 

The conversation from inside was definitely proving that they were on the right trail. This wasn’t the place producing the drug, but it was where people were getting it. A quick conversation later, and the Defenders figured that they should try to slip into the back and see if they could spot the main supplier, maybe get a lead on where it was coming from. 

 

Matt fought back a sneeze as Jessica broke the door knob to let them in. The mind controls the body, he reminded himself. The mind controls the body. You will not sneeze and give your position away. 

 

Once Jess had the door open, the four slipped inside, and found an alcove to hide in while they listened. The good news was that the club seemed to be running low; the boss promised to contact the supplier for more. If they were lucky, they’d be able to wrap this up tonight. 

 

Things were rarely that simple, though, Matt reflected as they listened to the boss on the phone. The boss was arguing for having the drug picked up quickly, as they had buyers; the supplier clearly wanted to control the drop. Eventually, the boss seemed to win, though. Luke indicated to the others that they just needed to stay out of sight long enough to identify whoever it was picking up the supply. They could then slip out, follow him, and hopefully be done before midnight. 

 

It was crucial that they just stay quiet for a few more minutes, so of course Matt’s nose took that moment to start itching again. He took a deep breath, trying to hold it off. The others glanced at him, then went back to watching for the buyer. Matt did his best - the mind controls the body - the mind controls the body - but within minutes his breath was hitching badly. The buyer had just stepped from the bosses office when Matt lost control and sneezed. He did his best to stifle, but it was no use - hi’ignthx! - the boss had heard him. They heard the boss order the buyer to go while he went to investigate. Jessica cursed while Luke and Danny groaned. Luke quickly took charge of the situation, ordering Matt and Danny to follow the buyer while he and Jessica stayed behind on damage control. Fine with Matt, he aimed a punch at the boss as he rounded the corner, knocking him into Jess who was only too happy to get her hands on him.

 

In the ensuing chaos, he and Danny were off and out the nearest fire exit. Too late, Matt realized that he’d left his coat and cane back in the club. It was still snowing, and while he could normally navigate without his cane by focusing, the snow and congestion from his cold meant he needed to hang onto Danny’s arm, the two of them sticking to the streets, rather than to the rooftops. Could this night get any worse, he wondered as he slipped sideways on some ice and righted himself only after soaking a foot in a slush puddle. 

 

The buyer was on foot, and they were able to tail him fairly easily. Once they found the source - and Matt confirmed it by its smell, which sent him into a fresh round of sneezes - they contacted Brett Mahoney at the police station and tipped him off. Brett thanked them profusely; he’d been working just as hard as the Defenders on finding and taking down that drug ring. Matt and Danny hung out on the corner to make sure no one tipped off the people inside and let them get away. Thankfully, the NYPD were quick and had the place surrounded in minutes. In the chaos that followed, Matt and Danny were able to slip away. They got back to the club just in time to watch Jess tie up the boss while Luke phoned it in. The sound of sirens cut the air soon after, and the four quickly slipped back into the club, gathered their things and were gone again before the police arrived to shut the club down.

 

Outside, the other Defenders were now in a great mood, congratulating each other on a job well done. Jessica suggested drinks (of course she did) and Danny and Luke seemed happy to go along. Matt wanted nothing more than to call it a night and get out of this damned snow, but when he opened his mouth, it was only to quickly suck in air before sneezing harshly and repeatedly as he tried moving away from the others, “Heh-itSCHEW! Huh-ethITschew! Huh-itschew! Ah-tschEW! Heh, heh, HUH-etSCHEW!” When it ended he hung onto a nearby lamppost panting for a moment before turning back to the others. 

 

They were silent for a moment before Danny breathlessly replied, “BLESS you! Wow!” and Luke and Jessica rolled their eyes at Danny before turning back to Matt. “Yeah, so raincheck on the drinks, Murdock, huh?” Luke asked, not unkindly. Matt nodded, then quickly dodged Danny’s repeated offer to heal him with his fist, and accepted Jessica’s offer of flagging him down a cab. 

 

“It’s really no trouble, Matt,” Danny followed close behind Matt to the curb where the cab was pulling up. “It will only take a few minutes to power up my chi,” he went on. Matt was grateful to get out of the snow and away from Danny and his glowing fist - what was he hoping to do with it anyway? Punch the cold out of him? - and he nearly dove head first into the cab, sneezing so hard as he went that he whacked his head on the door. 

 

“You oughta watch that,” Oh great. The cab driver was feeling chatty. “Out inna snow wit a cold like that? Yer gonna get newmonia.” Did the cab driver know Maggie? She’d basically told him the same thing.

 

As the thought occurred to him, Matt mumbled something about his mother telling him that earlier to the driver. Being rude to cab drivers was a good way to never get a cab again, so he was trying to stay polite even though he was beyond done for the day. 

 

The cabbie nodded approvingly. “Gotta listen to ya mother. That’s what I always say. Hey, bless you!” He added as Matt began sneezing again.

 

Heh-itETSchew! Heh-itSCHEW! Was this misery ever going to end?

 

Thankfully the cab ride was short and Matt only had to listen to the cabbie droning on about cold remedies and hot toddies for a few minutes. 

 

The cab driver let him out at his door with another admonishment to watch that cold and also to call his mother; let her know she was right. While he was sure Maggie would love that, Matt had had enough for the night and simply nodded and thanked the cabbie before stumbling up stairs and into his apartment. 

 

Upstairs he checked his regular phone for messages and discovered that Foggy had called. More snow was predicted for the next day (would it ever end!?) and he was proposing they work from home the next day. Matt nearly wept with relief. He sent a quick text, which took him 4 tries to record properly due to congestion and the two times he sneezed mid-message, letting Foggy know he approved and immediately got ready for bed. If he was lucky, he could sleep in the next day and hopefully by the time the snow cleared and he needed to go back in he’d be functioning more normally or at least maybe not sneezing so damn frequently. 

He knew that it was only a matter of time before something or someone needed his attention, but for now, he was out of the snow, no one was around to watch him sneeze his head off or give him more advice, and he could finally relax for the first time all week.

 

That's all! Yes, the girls at the table next to him have the fetish, and yes, I could not resist inserting a sneezing while hiding trope. Matt is just way to easy to torture.

[silentdreamer789]

Great fic, thanks for sharing!