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Matt took a moment to catch his breath as his senses registered everything happening in the room. He could hear the four heartbeats of the men he had just knocked out beating slowly, indicating their unconsciousness. He didn’t hear anyone else.
He had been tracking a certain criminal for a few days after he had stopped a mugging. He had been preoccupied with stopping the bleeding of the man who had been mugged and hadn’t been able to catch the asshole who did it. Fortunately the man was ok and Matt had managed to find the criminal and his friends and follow them to their hideout. He had called 911 and hung up, so he knew the police would be there shortly. He could smell gunpowder and traces of cocaine, so he knew there would be enough weapons and drugs lying around to get them arrested.
He stepped carefully over broken glass, a large tank of some sort had gotten knocked over in the fight. It was weird, there hadn’t been any water in it, so it wasn’t a fish tank. In fact, he felt the heat of a lamp, which he quickly unplugged. He didn’t want to burn the place down. He took a deep breath and focused his senses and was surprised when he sensed something small in the corner.
It was a tiny heart with a double beat. He could sense some sort of venom, but not enough to be deadly. He continued to observe and sensed some strange fur or hair of some sort. He took a breath when the creature moved with multiple legs. A tarantula. He remembered one of the guys in his dorm in college had had one, that’s why it seemed familiar. He was surprised it didn’t get squished during the fight. Fortunately the tank had been sitting on the floor, so it hadn’t fallen. He vaguely remembered tarantulas couldn’t fall or they’d die.
He could hear sirens in the distance he needed to get out of here. But he knew the spider would die if he left it. It would either get trampled by responding officers or would escape but not be able to survive on its own. Matt sighed and carefully crouched down, tracking the spider’s movements. He had gloves on, so he didn’t have to worry about bites or hair splinters. He carefully scooped up the spider, using his other hand to make sure that it didn’t try to escape. It must have been in shock, because the spider didn’t move a lot. Matt listened as he walked up the stairs to the roof; he could hear the tiny double beat of its heart so he knew it was alive.
He was so busy listening to the spider’s heart that he didn’t hear someone approach.
“Hey! Mr. Daredevil!,” a voice cried out happily. Matt jumped slightly and turned around.
“Spiderman. What are you doing here?,” he asked. It was kind of funny that Spiderman showed up while he was rescuing a spider.
“I was in the neighborhood. I heard fighting, but I guess you had it under control. What do you have in your hands?,” Peter asked.
Matt opened up his hand carefully to reveal the spider sitting in his palm. He heard Spiderman’s heart rate spike and a rush of adrenaline hit.
“Oh man! Is that thing poisonous? Why do you have a spider?!,” Peter exclaimed backing up.
“Is Spiderman afraid of spiders?,” Matt asked surprised.
“I’m not afraid. I just...you do know how I got my powers right?,” Peter asked.
“Not really, no,” Matt replied. He had never thought to ask, he just assumed Spiderman was born with his powers.
“I got bit by a spider. Some sort of weird radioactive spider,” Peter replied.
“That...makes a lot of sense. Sorry, I wouldn’t have shoved a spider at you if I had known,” Matt replied.
“No it’s ok! I love my powers, I’m glad it happened. It’s just spiders kind of weird me out after that. But as long as it stays over there with you I’m good. Where did it come from anyway? It’s a tarantula right?,” Peter rushed.
“I found it in there,” Matt replied, gesturing at the apartment below them, “I knew someone in college who had a tarantula so I was able to figure out what it was and knew it was safe to pick up. I didn’t want to leave it there.”
“No, definitely not. I actually found a ferret when I beat up some bad guys. It took him home and named him Loki,” Peter replied.
“Loki?,” Matt replied amused.
“He’s really mischievous. He got loose in Mr. Stark’s vents, it’s a long story. The real Loki wasn’t too happy about the name, but he got over it when he saw how cute ferret Loki is,” Peter replied excitedly.
Matt smiled. He liked talking to Spiderman, his enthusiasm and excitement were contagious. He had only recently learned Peter’s real identity and had been honored that he would trust him with his secret. In turn Matt had revealed his. All of the Avengers now knew his real identity, but he knew he could trust them. They had trusted him with a lot of their secrets too. Outside, he and Peter made sure to use their “made up names” as Peter referred to them, to be safe.
“I should probably get this guy home,” Matt said indicating the spider.
“Sure, do you need any help?,” Peter asked.
“I think I’ve got it. I can rope Foggy into going to the pet store with me later,” Matt replied.
“Cool. I’m going to stick around and make sure the cops get these bad guys,” Peter replied.
“Be careful,” Matt said.
“I always am,” Peter replied, swinging away.
Matt knew that was a lie, but he trusted Peter to not make any really bad decisions. It would be hypocritical for him of all people to lecture Peter on making good life choices and being safe.
About twenty minutes later he was home and had gotten the spider settled in. He had found a large plastic bin and settled the spider in it on top of a blanket. The container was tall enough that it wouldn’t be able to climb out. He had called Foggy and informed him of the situation. His best friend had just sighed and said he’d be over shortly.
Matt answered the knock on the door.
“A spider? Really? Why couldn’t you find something cute like a kitten?,” Foggy asked, as Matt directed him to the bin with the spider.
“I mean, I think it’s kind of cute. It’s fuzzy,” Matt replied.
“Says the blind guy,” Foggy muttered.
“Describe it for me,” Matt replied, smiling. He could tell the basic shape and texture of it, but he wanted more details.
“Ok, so it’s big for a spider, but not huge, like the size of the palm of your hand,” Foggy started.
“I know, I carried it home,” Matt replied.
“Do you want me to describe this thing or not Murdock?,” Foggy said with fond exasperation.
“Sorry, continue,” Matt replied, smirking.
“Ok, so you know that a spider’s like. Eight legs, it’s fuzzy, got a big round badonkadonk,” Foggy continued.
Matt laughed. “Badonkadonk? Really?.”
“Really. So it’s brown, but it’s got some redish/pinkish color to it. Ok, it actually is kind of cute. Its legs are wiggling around,” Foggy finished.
“I’m glad you are getting along. It’d suck if I had a best friend with arachnophobia,” Matt joked.
“I’m admittedly afraid of a lot of things, but fortunately spiders aren’t one of them,” Foggy replied.
The two stood observing the spider for a moment as it explored its tank. Then Foggy spoke. “Let me guess, you want to name it Shelob.”
“It’s either that or Ungoliant,” Matt said smiling.
“Shelob it is. Nerd,” Foggy replied.
“I’m a nerd? I’m not the one that knows Klingon,” Matt protested.
“Dude, I’m not fluent or anything. I’ve just picked up a few words here and there. Star Trek is one of the greatest artistic creations of the twentieth century,” Foggy replied.
The two bickered for a while about who was nerdier before deciding to head to the pet store. Matt had remembered the pet store Doctor Strange mentioned when he had told them about the lizard he had found.
Matt and Foggy entered and found an associate. Matt said he had found the spider in the apartment building and no one had claimed it. He didn’t like lying, but he couldn’t tell them the real story about where he found it.
“It’s a rose hair tarantula,” the employee explained. “They’re pretty good spiders. They have a good temperment and they’re easy to take care of.”
The employee helped him get set up with a small tank and accessories, a heat lamp, and crickets. Luckily tarantulas weren’t huge eaters, so he wouldn’t have to get a ton of crickets.
He and Foggy ordered pizza and set up the tank. They kicked back with a few slices and some beer, watching Shelob explore her new enclosure. Foggy laughed when Matt told him about Spiderman and the spider.
“That’s hilarious! Not only did you run into Spiderman while carrying a spider, but it turns out he doesn’t like spiders,” Foggy said laughing.
“I mean I don’t blame him. If I had been bitten by a radioactive spider I wouldn’t like them either,” Matt replied.
“Well, let’s hope Shelob doesn’t give you any freaky powers. Your super hearing is weird enough,” Foggy stated.
“It’s not that weird,” Matt muttered.
“You can hear my heartbeat. And don’t get me started on your sense of smell. You’re like a bloodhound on crack.”
Matt threw a pillow and hit him in the face. There were perks to having super senses.
Matt told Foggy goodbye, thanking him for his help. He was glad his friend was back in his life. He checked on Shelob before going to bed. It had been a weird day, but it was surprisingly nice having an animal in the apartment. Even if it was an arachnid.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It had been a long night. Matt stopped a robbery and managed to track down a drug dealer. Fortunately, he had the day off and was looking forward to relaxing in his apartment and getting some sleep. Unfortunately, because this was his life, that apparently wasn’t going to happen.
As he approached the door leading from the roof to his apartment he stopped, listening. There was someone in his apartment. He was too far away to identify who it was by their heartbeat or smell, but he knew someone was in there. He sighed. Foggy and Karen always texted him before they came over. Plus it was three in the morning, he doubted either of them would be coming over to his apartment unannounced at this ungodly hour.
There was only one person Matt knew who would be crazy enough to break into the apartment of a vigilante at three a.m. Matt kind of hoped his suspicions were wrong and it was a burglar, then he could just knock them out, dump them outside, and go to bed.
He crept into the stairwell and sighed again; he knew that smell. The smell of coffee, gunpowder, dog hair, and leather combined with a deep thunderous heartbeat could only belong to one person.
“What the hell Castle?,” he said as he entered the living room, bracing for a fight. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that; he didn’t want to have to replace his furniture again. Matt sensed Frank crashed out on his couch like he owned the place.
“Hey Red. ‘Bout time you got home,” Frank replied casually.
“What do you want Frank?,” Matt asked wearily. He was exhausted and not in the mood to deal with Frank Castle and his bullshit.
“I was just in the neighborhood, thought I’d stop by and visit,” Frank replied with a shrug. “I got here and you were out.”
“So you broke into my apartment?,” Matt stated.
“It’s not really breaking in if it’s that damn easy. You really need to invest in some better locks, get a guard dog, something.”
“I’ll get right on that,” Matt muttered, grabbing a beer out of the fridge. He chucked one in the direction of Frank’s head, slightly disappointed when he caught it.
“So what’s with the spider?,” Frank asked, opening his beer and taking a swig.
Matt sat on the nearby chair and took a sip of his beer. He wasn’t getting rid of Castle at the moment, so he might as well have a conversation. He wasn’t in the mood to fight the Punisher tonight.
“I found it in some criminal’s place and decided to take it with me.”
“Over on 9th avenue behind the old warehouse?,” Frank asked.
Matt nodded.
“I thought that was you. Was gonna go after them myself, but you got there first,” Frank added.
“And that’s why they’re in jail as opposed to having their brains splattered around their apartment.”
“They won’t be in jail forever Red. I’ll be waiting,” Frank replied nonchalantly.
“So will I,” Matt replied in challenge. The two sat glaring at each other for a little bit then slipped into a slightly tense silence, drinking their beers.
“You know my real name,” Matt reminded Frank after a moment. Frank had discovered his identity a while back; that’s how he knew where Matt lived. True to his word, Frank had kept it a secret.
“Yeah.”
“You still call me ‘Red’,” Matt continued.
“And?”
“You could call me by my actual name.”
“I could,” Frank said with a shrug.
“Also, my suit’s black,” Matt added.
“I don’t care Red,” Frank replied, finishing off his beer.
Matt sighed deeply. This was his life now. Battling criminals on the streets of Hell’s Kitchen and dealing with homicidal vigilante hitmen casually breaking into his apartment. Honestly it could be worse, he supposed.
Matt and Frank sat and talked about some of the criminal activity going on around the city, carefully avoiding discussing their respective methods for dealing with it. Matt went to change into some comfortable clothes and came back to find Frank looking into Shelob’s enclosure.
“You can hold her if you want,” Matt said, sitting on the couch. “Unless you’re afraid of spiders.” He really hoped the Punisher secretly had arachnophobia. That would be priceless.
“I’m not afraid of spiders jackass,” Frank replied. Matt smirked.
“You should see the size of the ones in Afghanistan, Camel spiders. Big ugly bastards. Not nice and pretty like this one here,” Frank added.
“Did you just call my spider pretty?,” Matt asked laughing.
“Compared to some of the spiders I’ve seen, this one’s a damn supermodel,” Frank replied, carefully opening the tank. He gently scooped Shelob into his hand and looked at her.
“Maybe you need to get yourself a tarantula.”
“Nah. My dog’d probably eat it,” Frank said with a shrug.
“That’s disgusting,” Matt replied, yawning. He was starting to crash.
“They say the average person eats eight spiders per year.”
“Pretty sure that’s fake,” Matt said.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
Frank continued to hold Shelob, watching her crawl around. Matt struggled to keep his eyes open.
“Lisa and Frankie liked spiders. They were always poking around in the yard, dragging things inside. Drove Maria crazy,” Frank said fondly after a moment.
This statement drove away Matt’s drowsiness. Frank never talked about his family. Matt knew the story, but he had never heard Frank say anything about his wife or kids. Matt could hear Frank’s heart beating harder.
“I remember my dad took me to a natural history museum, it was before the accident,” Matt began, “I thought it was the coolest thing ever seeing all of the exotic animals. I wanted a snake after that.” Matt smiled. The memory hurt, thinking of his dad and the time before he lost his sight, but it had been such a good day.
“Yeah, how did that go over?,” Frank asked.
“It didn’t,” Matt replied laughing. His dad had quickly laid down a strict no snake policy.
“Yeah, Lisa and Frankie asked us for all kinds of weird shit. Snakes, parrots, hamsters, goldfish. You name it, they wanted it as a pet.”
The two made small talk for a while, bonding over their mutual liking of nature programs. Matt obviously couldn’t watch them, but he liked listening to the narration. Plus it was hilarious when Foggy added in his own narration. Matt definitely wouldn’t have pegged Frank Castle as the type of guy to sit down and watch
Planet Earth
.
“Yeah, well, you tell anyone and I kick your ass,” Frank said in reply.
“Sounds good Frank,” Matt replied, half asleep.
After a while Frank put Shelob in her tank. Matt had finally drifted off to sleep. Frank grabbed a blanket off a nearby chair and put it over the dozing vigilante. He made sure the doors and windows were locked as he let himself out.
He began the walk home, taking in the lights and sounds of the city. He was tired enough now that he might actually get some sleep. He was glad he had decided to break into Murdock’s place; it had given him something better to do than pace around his apartment. Plus it had felt surprisingly good to talk about the kids. It hurt still, but he had gotten some joy from those memories he had mentioned.
He wouldn’t admit it, but he was glad Murdock seemed to be doing ok. He knew things had been rough for a while after losing his girlfriend and dealing with Fisk. It was good he had decided to get a pet. Sure a spider was a weird choice, but it was better than being in an apartment alone.
Frank made it to his apartment and opened the door, feeling more calm than he had earlier.
Later than morning, Matt groaned at the knocking sounds and turned over. He heard a voice.
“It’s Foggy, I’m coming in. Please don’t punch me.”
Matt snorted and slowly sat up as Foggy entered the apartment.
“I tried calling, but you didn’t answer. I thought you might have fallen down a manhole or something,” Foggy joked, disguising the slight worry. He still remembered the night he came over to find Matt bleeding out after his fight with Nobu.
“What time is it?,” Matt asked.
“11:30.”
He had slept a lot later than he had planned. “I had a late night,” Matt replied.
“Anything interesting?,” Foggy asked.
“Well…”
“Are these bullets?,” Foggy asked, holding up several that had been wedged in the cushions of the chair.
“Yeah, probably. Frank Castle stopped by,” Matt stated, trying not to make it sound like a big deal. Maybe Foggy wouldn’t freak out.
“Frank Castle?! The freaking Punisher?! He was in your apartment?!”
No such luck. “Yeah, he stopped by, wanted to talk. We had a couple of beers and he left.”
“So you just casually hang out with the Punisher now?”
“So it’s ok when Karen does it, but not me?,” Matt replied. Foggy just groaned.
“What did you and your pal talk about,” Foggy asked. He was actually curious. What does one talk to Frank Castle about?
“He just wanted to see how things were going. Talk about some of the crime going on. I must have fallen asleep.”
“So the Punisher tucked you in?,” Foggy asked laughing, noting the blanket.
“Shut up.”
Matt got up and made the two of them coffee and they continued their discussion.
“So Frank Castle comes knocking on your door and you just let him in?,” Foggy asked.
“He didn’t exactly knock. He broke in.”
“Of course he did. What did he think of your eight legged friend? Please say the Punisher is scared of spiders and screamed like a little girl,” Foggy said.
Matt laughed. “No, he actually likes spiders. He said his kids liked spiders.”
“He talked about his family?,” Foggy asked, surprised. They all knew about what had happened to his wife and kids, but throughout the case Frank never really talked about them.
“Yeah, it was weird. During the case he would talk about facts, but he never really opened up about them, not like last night,” Matt added.
“Wait, didn’t it happen around this time?,” Foggy said after a moment.
“Maybe. I can’t remember the exact date.”
Foggy pulled out his phone and searched. “It’s today. Today’s the anniversary,” Foggy stated, surprised.
“That, would actually explain things,” Matt said after thinking for a minute. That explained why Frank broke into his apartment. He didn’t want to be alone. It also explained him unexpectedly opening up about his family.
“Wow. Poor guy,” Foggy replied. Matt nodded.
The two ate breakfast and talked for a while, catching up. Later they watched as Matt threw in a couple of crickets for Shelob. Eventually Foggy announced that he had to leave to take care of a few things.
“So do you think Frank will be back?,” he asked, as he gathered up his jacket.
“I don’t know. Maybe.” Matt was surprised that the idea of Frank returning didn’t bother him.
“Well, just be careful buddy,” Foggy said, patting him on the shoulder.
I will,” Matt replied smiling. He knew Foggy worried, and he felt bad about that. But it felt good to know that someone cared about him and had his back.
Matt spent the rest of the day relaxing. It was rare that he got to spend time just chilling in his apartment, so he enjoyed every minute of it. He had gotten an idea earlier when he was talking to Foggy, but he was debating whether it was a good one or not. Eventually he sighed and pulled out his computer and composed a message (Foggy had convinced him to invest in speech-to-text software, and he had to admit it came in handy). He finished and printed it out, setting it on the table to deliver tonight when he made his rounds as Daredevil. For now, he grabbed a drink from the fridge and checked on Shelob before sitting down to relax for a couple of hours.
That evening, Frank sat at his table, cleaning one of his guns. It was soothing to him, something he had done countless times and didn’t have to think about. It was pure muscle memory. It had been a rough day; he had stopped by the graveyard and paid his yearly visit to his family’s graves. He had hoped that getting vengeance on their killers
would have helped, but it still hurt. Justice had been done, as much as it could be, but he was still alone. He sighed and set down the weapon.
Just then he heard a sound outside. He jumped up and grabbed the gun, switching off the safety. It had been a very slight sound, one most people would have missed. Hell, he would have missed it if he had had music or the TV on. He took a deep breath and threw the window open, aiming his gun. There was no one there. He sighed, either he had been too slow or they had gotten away; neither one was a comforting thought. He went to close the window and noticed a piece of paper on the window sill. Confused he picked it up and brought it to the table.
It was a typed note:
Frank,
Please stop breaking into my apartment, next time give me a call. I know what it’s like to lose someone you care about. I may not be able to do anything to make things better, but I know from experience that you shouldn’t be alone all the time. Feel free to visit Shelob- I think she likes you.
Your Friend, Red.
P.S. This doesn’t mean that Daredevil won’t hesitate to kick your ass if you continue shooting people.
Frank snorted and rolled his eyes. He set the letter down the on the table. He knew it hadn’t been easy for the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen to reach out and express his friendship. He sat back for minute and then laughed. If someone had told him he would end up being friends with Daredevil and bonding over his pet spider, he would have
called them crazy. Life was a bitch that way. It had a habit of taking you in directions you never would have guessed. Who knew, he might take Red up on his offer and visit his spider.
Matt crouched on the roof of a nearby building, listening to Frank’s heart rate. He had half expected him to tear the letter up, but he was pleasantly surprised that Frank hadn’t seemed angry at the letter. In fact, Matt might be so bold as to say he was pleased. He had laughed after all; not a bitter or derisive laugh, but a surprised and amused one. Matt had a feeling he would be seeing more of Frank Castle in the future. He just hoped he would knock on his damn front door like a normal person.