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She had her hair down. Matt loved it when she kept it down. He smiled as he heard Karen make her way into the building and quickly finished adjusting his collar over his sweater before walking over and opening the door, listening to the rustle of her dress as well as the bags she was carrying.“Wow, such service, Mr. Murdock”, Karen said with a smile as she came up the stairs to find him waiting for her. “Only for you, Miss Page”, Matt said, reaching for the bag containing a couple bottles of wine.Karen gave him a quick kiss before she stepped inside, and Matt followed, setting the wine on the counter. She put her purse on the table before taking her overnight bag into the bedroom and Matt reminded himself again to make some space in his drawers and medicine cabinet so she didn’t have to keep taking everything back and forth all the time. “Ahhh..much better. Merry Christmas Eve” Karen said, walking over to give him a proper greeting, her arms finally free.Matt smiled and pulled her into a hug, and a much longer kiss. Karen took a step back, laughing, as he let his hands wander down her body.“We don’t have time, Murdock. We’re supposed to be there in twenty minutes.”Matt groaned.“I have to take advantage while I can.”Karen laughed. “It’s only a few hours. And then we have all night,” she whispered, before placing a soft kiss on his lips, “and all day tomorrow”, she finished, kissing him again. “Besides, I’m sure they’ll have mistletoe up somewhere. We could always ‘accidentally’ find ourselves under it.”Matt smiled. “I’m going to take you up on that.” He told her, and went to get their coats as Karen grabbed her purse and retrieved the 2 bottles of wine from the counter.“Ready?” Karen asked, slipping her arm into his.“Lead the way, Page.” Karen smiled, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before they set off for Christmas Eve dinner at Nelson’s. They had been dating for about ten weeks. After several months of both of them trying their hardest to ignore their feelings for each other, one late night at the Nelson, Murdock and Page office they found themselves alone after Foggy had gone home. It wasn’t until both of their stomachs had started growling that they realized they had skipped lunch and decided a trip to their favorite Indian place was in order. Being there again, together, had seemed to awake something in both of them. And after a few drinks, some heavy flirting and a deliberately long walk home, they had ended up in Matt’s bed.Neither one of them had ever been happier. But they were keeping their relationship a secret.They both vividly remembered how their first attempt at dating had crashed and burned, and they were determined not to rush anything this time. Things were much different now, but they were both scared of it ending in disaster again. So in order to keep the pressure off of themselves they decided to go the secrecy route. As far as everyone they knew was aware, they were just friends. They were very, very careful around each other at the office. Foggy didn’t seem the least bit suspicious, so either he was a much better actor than Matt and Karen realized, or they were doing a good job of making it seem like nothing had changed between them. *************************“It’s about time you two got here”, Foggy’s voice boomed at them the moment they stepped inside the shop. “Foggy, we’re two minutes late.” Matt said, pulling him into a hug as he came to greet them. “I’m amazed you even noticed we were missing”, trying not to wince at the volume of the guests.“No kidding. Jesus Foggy, who are all these people? I thought I had met most of your family.” Karen looked around in amazement.“Not my extended family. What can I say? The Nelsons are breeders.”Karen laughed and rolled her eyes. “This place looks fantastic!” Karen said, kissing Foggy on the cheek and looking around at all of the Christmas decorations. A huge tree decked out in silver and gold ornaments was in the corner and lighted garlands and wreaths were hanging from every available surface.“That would be my mom. She never trusts Theo to do it. She says his idea of decorating for Christmas would be wearing a Santa hat and putting a tiny Christmas tree in the window.”“You mean she didn’t ask for your decorating advice? I’m shocked”, Matt teased him.“I will have you know, Murdock-”“Foggy Bear!” Marci called out, interrupting Foggy as she approached them.“Hey guys”, she said, acknowledging Matt and Karen. “Babe, can you get me another glass of wine?” she asked Foggy, handing him her glass. “I would, but your mom is over there and I do not feel like listening to yet another lecture about how freezing my eggs would be a wise choice for a woman my age.” Foggy kissed her cheek before taking her glass, as well as the wine Karen had brought and headed up to where the makeshift bar had been set up. “Karen!” Karen looked up in surprise as they all heard Anna Nelson called her name.“Yeah, you might want to hide too” Marci muttered to Karen under her breath as she walked past her.Before Karen could respond, Marci was gone and Foggy’s mom was in front of her. “Karen! I’m so glad you’re here! Oh, hi Matt!” Anna embraced them both.“Merry Christmas Mrs. Nelson,” Matt said, kissing her cheek.“The manners on this one”, she said, playfully rolling her eyes at Karen. “How long have you known me, Matthew, huh? Anna, please.”“It looks beautiful in here-” Karen started, but Anna cut her off.“Listen, there’s someone I want you to meet!” She waved to a man standing on the other side of the room. “Jonathan! Come here!” She beckoned to a man who was playing with Foggy’s niece and nephew. Hearing Anna calling him he started to make his way over. Anna nodded when she saw his approach “His mother and I are old friends, and he just moved to New York. He’s a lawyer too!” she told Karen.“Jonathan, this is Matt. He’s Foggy’s best friend and partner. And this is Karen, she works with Foggy and Matt; she’s a partner in the firm as well. I think you two would really hit it off”, Anna playfully nudged him.“Nice to meet you both” Jonathan said.Karen could feel Matt tense next to her and she wished she could grab his hand to reassure him. “Nice to meet you too,” she responded, and shot a nervous glance at Matt, who managed a tight smile in Jonathan’s direction before shaking his hand.“Come on, enough with the formalities, sit, sit!” Anna interrupted the awkward silence. “Karen, I have you and Jonathan right here together and Matt you’re down at the other end with Foggy and Marci”, Anna said, practically forcing Karen and Jonathan into chairs at the table. Matt stood completely frozen for a minute, not knowing what to do. He wanted to stop whatever it was that was happening, but he didn't want to blow their cover in front of Foggy's entire family. Before he knew it, Foggy’s mom was ushering him to a seat at the other end of the table. Karen twisted around in her seat, trying to get Matt's attention, but his back was already turned. “I’m sorry” Karen whispered. She hoped he would be able to pick it up; the room was getting louder and louder as everyone was finding their seats at the table. She turned to Jonathan and gave him an awkward smile. “Not exactly subtle, is she?” Jonathan said with a laugh.“Yeah, not so much.” Karen said. “Did you have any idea she was planning on setting us up?”“Not a clue”, he laughed. “I have a feeling this was my mother’s idea. My divorce isn’t even final yet, and she’s been encouraging me to get back out there practically the minute I told her my wife and I were splitting up.”“Yikes.” Karen said with a laugh. “No worries, I’m actually-” she caught herself just in time. “I guess I’ll just leave it at I’m not looking for anything right now.”“Oh that is a relief.” He blushed, embarrassed. “That sounds horrible. I didn’t mean that how it sounded. I’m sure you’re great, I’m just-“ Karen touched his arm in reassurance. “No offense taken, I promise. So, is your mom here?”“No, I’m actually from Pennsylvania. I went home for Thanksgiving, so I don’t feel too guilty about not being there for Christmas.”With the awkwardness out of the way they were both able to relax and enjoy dinner. Jonathan was easy to talk to, but Karen’s attention kept wandering to the opposite end of table; she wished Matt hadn’t been seated so far away from her. There were so many conversations going on in the room, she had a feeling he hadn’t heard the mundane details of her conversation with Jonathan. Judging by the way his jaw was set and his rigid posture Karen had a feeling he was probably imagining the worst. She was suddenly starting to hate that they were keeping their relationship a secret. Granted, this was the first time it was posing a problem, but Karen was realizing she was sick of pretending Matt was nothing more than a friend. They had never talked about how long they would keep things hidden. Maybe they were due to have that conversation. ************Matt let out a heavy sigh and sat back in his chair. He had barely touched his food, and had turned down dessert entirely. This was not how he had imagined his evening going. Even though they were keeping things secret, he thought at the very least he would have been able to sit next to Karen, maybe even hold her hand under the table, not be across the room while some other guy flirted with her. It was too loud for him to overhear their conversation, aside from a few words here and there. He did hear plenty of laughter though. He knew he was being ridiculous. But a part of him couldn’t help but be bothered by how the evening had unfolded. Keeping their relationship a secret had made sense at first. But he hadn’t even considered the complications that would arise from people thinking they were just friends. Foggy was saying something, but Matt cocked his head, distracted at what was going on at Karen’s end of the table.“Aha! I knew you two would hit it off! We do have mistletoe around here somewhere you know!” Matt heard Mrs. Nelson say to Karen and Jonathan as she cleared their dessert plates and Matt clenched his fists, having the sudden urge to punch something. Or someone.“Earth to Matt.”Matt snapped to attention at Foggy’s voice.“What?”Foggy laughed. “What is with you tonight, man?”“Nothing.”He could sense Foggy raising his eyebrows. “Uh huh. Whatever you say.”Matt stood up from the table, suddenly feeling claustrophobic. “I’m, uh. I’m going to go get some air.”“Are you sure you’re ok?” Foggy asked.“Yeah, I’m fine.” He said, pushing his chair back and heading to the back of the store.********************Karen noticed Matt’s hasty retreat and briefly closed her eyes, knowing he had overheard the mistletoe comment. Surely he knew there was no way in hell she would kiss this guy? She mumbled an excuse to Jonathan, and waited to make sure everyone was occupied before following Matt into the back of the store. Matt stopped pacing when he heard Karen approaching.“Matt?” she called quietly.“What are you doing back here? You don’t want to give your date the wrong idea. He’s probably already waiting under the mistletoe” he said softly, stepping out into the hallway so she could see him.Karen walked over to him and put her arms around his waist. “Too bad for him there’s only one lawyer at this party I’m interested in kissing.”“Is that so, Miss Page? You two seemed to be enjoying yourselves.”Karen brought both of her hands up and gently cupped his face. “He’s a very nice guy. Who was as uninterested in being set up as I was”Matt smiled, relief rushing through him as she pressed her lips softly against his. “It was too loud in there, wasn’t it?”, she asked him softly running a hand through his hair.Matt nodded, and rested his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry we were so far away from each other.” Karen placed another soft kiss on his lips. “I have to say, you’re pretty cute when you’re jealous, Murdock.” “Jealous?” Matt scoffed, smiling, and wrapping his arms around her waist. “I plead the fifth, Miss Page.”“Uh huh” Karen laughed.Matt pulled her closer to him and kissed her, slow and deep. He sighed happily as he let himself get totally lost in her. So lost that he didn’t hear Marci approaching muttering about the awful wifi until it was too late.“Holy shit!” Marci cried, her eyes widening at what she had interrupted. “Oh my God” Karen mumbled.“Well, this is quite the development. What are you two, 16 sneaking off to go make out?” Marci said with a laugh. Matt stood speechless; he had absolutely no idea where to even begin. “Marci…look, could you…not say anything? We’re uh…” Karen attempted to explain.“Are you guys doing the friends with benefits thing? Cute.” Marci interrupted.“Uh…not exactly” Karen managed, glancing at Matt. “We’re just-ahh, I guess you could say we’re-““Oh thank God, I finally have a signal”, Marci said looking down at her phone. “Look, your secret is safe with me, alright? Have fun you two!” She turned her attention back to her phone, typed a response and headed back to the party.Matt could feel Karen’s eyes on him, and flashed her a smile. Karen let out a nervous laugh. “Matt-I” she started, but immediately cut herself off. “Yes?” Matt asked“Oh, um. Nothing. Come on, we should probably get back out there” She grabbed his hand and started walking, but Matt tugged on her hand, making her turn around and face him.He had been thinking it all evening, and getting caught was the final push he needed.“Matt?” Karen asked quietly, not knowing why he had stopped her. “I-um. I don’t want to keep this secret anymore. I hated a lot of things about tonight, but do you know what I hated the most? That I couldn’t even hold your hand. I know we wanted to go slow and not put any pressure on ourselves, but I just-I don’t want to hide this anymore. Karen-I love you and-”Matt stopped, realizing what he had just said. It was something he had known for a few weeks now, practically ever since they had started dating (although, if he was being really honest with himself he had known long before then). But he definitely hadn’t planned on telling her tonight, it had just slipped out. Shit. She probably thought it was way too soon. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but before he knew it Karen was practically leaping on him, crushing her mouth on his.“I love you too” she whispered when they finally came up for air. “You do?” Matt asked, his heart pounding. Karen laughed, and wiped the tears from her yes. “Yes.” she whispered. “I love you. And I don’t want to hide anymore either.”Matt’s cheeks started to hurt he was smiling so much and he pulled her into another kiss. “So what happens now?” Matt wondered, nodding towards the room where everyone was gathered.Karen giggled. “How about we go tell Foggy”, she said.“Ahhh...I like the way you think, Miss Page.” Karen slipped her hand in his and they walked back out to the party, and quickly made a beeline for Foggy, who was busy playing bartender. Foggy finished pouring for his cousin, and smiled as he saw who his next customers were.“I don’t even have to ask for you two”, he said reaching for the scotch.“Actually Foggy, we have something we want to tell you.” Karen said.“You’re quitting the firm and joining the circus?” Foggy teased.“Uh, no. We-um. Matt and I are dating.”“Oh thank God. If you would have pulled that ‘not labeling it’ crap again I might have had to strangle you both.”“You don’t seem surprised.” Matt observed.“Probably because I’m not.” Foggy laughed.“Foggy did you know this whole time? And here we thought we were being so careful!”, Karen said.“I didn’t know for sure, but let’s just say I had my suspicions. Do you two have any idea what vibes you give off whenever you’re in the same space? It’s always there, but the past few weeks, it’s been more intense than usual. I figured you’d tell me when you were ready.”“We give off vibes?” Matt said skeptically, raising his eyebrows.“You do, Murdock. Major vibes.” Foggy smiled as he walked out from behind the counter, and pulled Karen into a hug.“I’m really happy for you guys. Come here”, Foggy let go of Karen and hugged Matt.“Now how about those drinks?”Matt and Karen looked at each other and smiled.“Pour away”, Karen said. They stayed a little while longer, and when Karen spotted Anna by herself she walked over, leaving Matt discussing Columbia Law glory days with Foggy and Marci.“Hi sweetie! Can I get you anything?”, Anna smiled at her.“Oh my god, thank you, but I am stuffed. I can’t remember the last time I ate this much. Everything was delicious.”“So, what did you think of Jonathan? Are you going to see him again?”“Yeah, about that...I’m already seeing someone. It’s Matt, actually.”“Really? That’s wonderful! I’m so happy for you both. But why didn’t you say anything earlier?”Karen smiled, and felt heat in her cheeks. “It’s a long story.”Anna laughed.“Well, you will definitely have to fill me in sometime.”“It’s a deal”, Karen smiled and gave her a hug and walked back over to Matt, a little thrill going through her as she slipped her hand into his. It felt good to be able to do such a simple gesture in public.Matt kissed her forehead. “You ready to get out of here?” he asked.“I thought you’d never ask.” ********Later, back at his apartment Matt sighed happily as Karen sat next to him on the couch and adjusted a blanket over them before taking a drink from his mug of hot chocolate. Karen had made some after their walk back to warm them up.“I like this. Just us.” Karen said softly before taking a sip of her cocoa.“Me too”, Matt.“But I am very glad we don’t have hide anymore.”Matt smiled. “Me too”, he repeated and placed a kiss on her temple. He pulled away and smiled even wider when he realized what was happening outside. “It’s snowing.”Karen looked out the window, and laughed as she saw that he was correct.“It will never cease to amaze me how you can do that.”Matt put his empty mug on the coffee table and wrapped his arms around her as she leaned in closer to him.“I’m glad. It wouldn’t feel like Christmas without snow.” Karen mused. “Speaking of, it’s midnight. It is officially Christmas Day, Murdock.”“Merry Christmas Karen” he whispered. Karen put her mug on the table and took his face in both of her hands.“Merry Christmas Matt”, she answered before touching her lips to his. They melted against each other as the kiss deepened.“I can’t think of a better Christmas” Matt said softly when they broke apart.“Neither can I” Karen whispered, wrapping her arms around him as Matt pulled them back to lean against the couch. They fell asleep like that, cuddled close together, whispering to each other, keeping each other warm as they snow continued to fall outside.