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In the seven days since Matt had proposed, he had noticed Karen had developed a habit of fondling the band of her engagement ring. She would run her fingers over it reverently, almost as if she couldn’t believe she was wearing it. It seemed to be a subconscious gesture, and he loved it, while it made him just the slightest bit envious. He wondered if he would develop a similar habit when he had a wedding ring on his finger.
Karen was doing it now as she talked to Marci, and he smiled into his champagne glass as he took a sip. It was almost hypnotic to him, the little metallic ”zing” sound that only he could hear. He was only half listening to Foggy, who was busy rhapsodizing over his dessert.
Marci had received a couple of extra invites to her firm’s big New Year’s Eve bash, and had invited him and Karen to join her and Foggy. Matt had gone out every night since they had returned from their jaunt upstate on the 26th. Karen had told him that it was fine if he needed to go out, but it was New Year's Eve and they were newly engaged. He wanted to spend it in Karen’s arms, not chasing down criminals.
Marci’s offer had taken them by surprise, but after discussing it, they decided to accept the invitation. They were both in the mood to celebrate, why not do it at a fancy party?
Karen had splurged on a new dress (‘It’s red and black. I match your old suit’, she had told him gleefully), and judging by the reactions of some of the guys at this party when she walked by them, she looked gorgeous. Of course, Matt didn’t need to see her to know that.
“Foggy Bear, I want to dance”.
Foggy, still making his way through his dessert (‘this cake is delicious, Matt. I have to savor every bite’) sighed.
“Can’t I finish my cake?”
“You’ve been eating that same piece of cake for a half an hour, so, no,'' Marci said, grabbing his arm and hauling him to his feet.
“Don’t touch my cake,” Foggy called over his shoulder as Marci led him to the dance floor.
Matt laughed, rolling his eyes, as he got up, moving to sit in the chair vacated by Marci.
He linked his fingers through Karen’s and brought her hand up to his lips to kiss.
“Having a good time?” she asked a little breathlessly. He couldn’t help his smirk; he would never, ever tire of the way her heart sped up around him. And based on her reaction when he had changed into his tux earlier, he had vowed to try to find excuses to wear it more often.
“Mmm. Although-”, he leaned in closer, moving a strand of her hair away from her face, loving how her body was responding to him.
“I am very much looking forward to getting you home, Miss Page.” he whispered in her ear.
“Oh, is that so, Mr. Murdock?”
He grinned, and kissed her temple. “Would you like to dance?” he asked, holding his hand out.
“Thought you’d never ask” Karen responded, slipping her hand in his.
They stood up and started making their way to the dance floor when Matt’s phone started chirping Luke Cage’s name.
“Shit,'' he whispered, stopping in his tracks.
“I don’t suppose he’s calling to wish you a happy New Year?” Karen chuckled.
Matt sighed.
“It’s ok, get it,” Karen whispered, reversing course and leading him into the lobby.
“Hey Luke”, Matt answered his phone. Karen started to walk away to give him some space, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her back beside him.
After conferring with Luke for a few minutes, Matt hung up, placing his phone in his pocket, turning to Karen with a sigh.
“You have to go?” she asked softly.
“Yeah”. Matt rested his forehead against hers. “I really don’t want to.” he whispered.
Karen squeezed his hand. “It’s ok”, she reassured him.
Matt flashed her a sad smile. “I really wanted to kiss you at midnight.”
Karen smiled, taking his face in both of her hands, and kissing him, soft and sweet. “Go. And please be careful, `` she said softly.
Matt kissed her forehead. “Will you stay?”
“Yeah, I guess. I’ll be Foggy and Marci’s third wheel,” she said with a giggle.
Matt grimaced. “This is not how I wanted this night to go.”
“I know.” She placed her hands on his chest. “Luke’s waiting, you better go.”
He kissed her once more and was gone.
***************
Matt landed with a thud on the roof, an overwhelming feeling of relief rushing over him that he was finally home. He didn’t know how long he had been in Harlem. Things had quickly grown out of hand, but between the two of them they had manged to contain the damage.
He was happy he could help Luke, and he knew Luke would return the favor someday, but still. He just really wished it hadn’t been on New Year’s Eve.
He could hear Karen downstairs, so at least she wasn’t still at the party. He had no idea what time it was.
He started walking down the stairs, looking up in surprise as the opening strings of “Auld Lang Syne” filled the apartment
Karen was waiting patiently, standing at the kitchen table. She didn’t have her dress on, she had changed into her usual evening ensemble of yoga pants and a tshirt, and a bottle of wine and two glasses were on the table beside her.
“Funny story, there was some weird time glitch that only affected this apartment, that put us back in time three hours and forty-nine minutes, which means it means you’re just in time for midnight!” Karen announced.
“Karen?” he asked, taking his mask off and tossing it behind him.
Karen thrust a glass of wine into his hand. “I tried a couple of places on my way home, but I think the entire city is out of champagne. So I got a bottle of wine-the cheap stuff, of course”.
Matt beamed,, wrapping his hands around her waist, pulling her closer.
“Ten, nine-” Karen started.
“Oh, we’re doing the countdown too?” Matt asked, with a delighted chuckle.
“Of course. Eight, seven, six”. Matt tightened his hands around her waist, and licked his lips, enjoying the hell out of this, while at the same time desperate to finally kiss her.
Matt joined her on the last numbers, or he tried to, but he was smiling so hard it was hard to do much else.
“Happy New Year”, Karen whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck
Matt beamed. “Happy New Year”, he said, and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was so many things at once: soft, passionate, sweet. He had already noticed a difference in their kisses in the short time they had been engaged. There was a new kind of comfort in them, a permanence. He pulled her closer to him, even though she was already as close as she could possibly be. He could not wait to make this incredible woman his wife.
He deepened the kiss, or maybe Karen did, it was hard to tell. They kissed, and kissed and kissed. Matt couldn’t think of a better way to ring in the New Year.