A/N: I forget who prompted asking for a Steph/Matt story, but this is what I've got for you for now!

Life was made up with thousands upon thousands of moments. It was impossible to say which were to credit or blame for the way an individual turned out. He knew that.

And yet there was a part of Matt Murdock that had always blamed his soulmate for the man he had become.

Sure, growing up without his mother around and with a father who was a fighter was different from most kids' childhoods. Try though Jack Murdock had to encourage Matt to study and work hard to be something more than a fighter, having to stitch up and tend to his father's wounds had left an impression.

You see there was something to be said for the influence of people's soulmark words on their life. Some people never really bothered to slow down or keep an eye out for others because their words said something like, "hey! Watch where you're going!" Still others would go on to push themselves to do great things because they were blessed with words like, "wow, it's an honor to meet you."

Others weren't so lucky. And being a young boy who, from the time he could read, learned from his words that he was going to go blind at some point in his life was difficult by its own right. Knowing that his soulmate was going to hold that fact against him was almost unbearable. Sure that's where something like a counselor would come in handy, but that wasn't something the Murdocks could afford. And so it was that his words started him down a darker path in life, especially after hearing his father be murdered.

On the other hand, knowing that your soulmate was going to reject you was freeing in a way. Matt wasn't burdened by trying to become a man she (he was fairly confident it was a female) would want to be with because he already knew she wouldn't. He took what he knew- fighting taught to him first by being around his father's life and later by Stick as well as everything learned in pursuit of his law school degree- with him to protect the people of Hell's Kitchen or wherever he happened to be at any given moment.

As it was, he was walking down the streets of Trenton, New Jersey investigating a drug cartel operating in the tri-state area when he noticed the sounds of someone being chased a distance away. Quickly reasoning out where they were and the most likely path that would be taken, Matt made sure to be in their path as he figured out what was going on.

When the person in the back turned out to be a woman and he could hear her voice yelling out, "stop! Bond enforcement!" followed by a string of curses from the man in the front, he knew what he had to do. They were running past a deserted alley when Matt grabbed the man, pulled him into the shadows and restrained him. Wordlessly he took the cuffs the woman handed him while trying to catch her breath and stood once more, holding onto the man with one hand and grabbing up his white cane from where it had fallen to the ground.

"Oh that's just great, you're blind," the woman blurted out. Then she began rambling to herself, "maybe you should apply to the safety pin factory after all, Steph. I know you're worried about stabbing yourself day in and day out until you decide to just stab your eyes out, but if a blind man can perform a takedown that you as a professional bounty hunter can't make, it must be time to quit."

The rest of the world dimmed a little as Matt took in her words. It wasn't that she was upset that he was blind and was rejecting him- in fact, she didn't yet realize who he was to her. Rather she was upset with herself for what she perceived as being inferior at her job.

Unable to let her berate herself any longer, Matt finally managed to clear his throat and say, "it's a little more complicated than that."

The woman's head snapped in his direction, and if he wasn't mistaken, she actually sounded excited as she said, "holy crap, it's you!"

"Matt Murdock," he said, shifting his cane out of the way and holding out his hand to her. "And why don't we escort this man to the police station then have a chat."

"Stephanie Plum," she said with a smile in her voice as she shook his hand. "You can call me Steph."

When he held on, she didn't pull away, though he did have to hide a smile as she tried valiantly to guide him through the streets in a manner that was helpful to his blindness.

Their pace was slow, and their prisoner was less than pleased about his situation. Still, when they made it to her car, he happily let her take over the man to shackle him in back while Matt settled himself into the front seat. He was unwilling to let her get too far away from him while he worked on mentally grasping this turn he never expected his life to take.

They'd only made it a few steps into the police station when a voice called out, "you bringing them with attorneys now, Steph? You gotta make our lives even harder? It's bad enough we have to constantly clean up your messes!"

Matt felt her jolt in surprise before he sensed her turning to him. Her confusion was clear in her voice as she asked, "what?"

"I'm an attorney," Matt whispered. "And I've done some defense work."

The voice came closer, and Matt identified the man moving forward as he said, "Nelson and Murdock, they had a big case a little while ago. That Frank Castle guy who pled guilty after tearing up Hell's Kitchen."

Matt grimaced as he said, "we actually closed the office after losing that case, I'm merely accompanying Miss Plum as she turns in this man. I'm not representing him."

"Jesus Christ, Cupcake!" A new voice moving fast came in from the side. "You're asking blind men to help you now? What, Ranger throw you over and refuse to help you anymore?"

Steph let out a sigh and said, "Joe, this is Matt. Matt, this is my ex, Joe Morelli."

Then she continued in the direction they'd been walking, ignoring the rest of the ribbing and questions called out to her. Matt felt his hands clenching into fists, and relaxed only when Steph gently ran her hand along one of his arms and whispered that it was okay. It wasn't okay, but if she didn't want a scene, he wouldn't cause one. It would be difficult to do without revealing himself to be more than just a blind lawyer anyway.

Thirty minutes later, he was hesitantly following her into her apartment, the two having waited to offer their explanations to each other so far by unspoken agreement.

"It's not much," she said awkwardly, and he could tell that her hand kind of flapped around nervously.

"I really can't tell," he said with a wry smile. She laughed and then covered her mouth, so he reassured her, "it's okay; it was a joke."

"So, how did you-" she cut off her question when Matt held up a hand, sensing someone else in the apartment.

"He's the Devil of Hell's Kitchen," a voice he quickly recognized said.

Matt let out an honest to God laugh of surprise and then asked, "Ranger?" When Steph's ex had said the name, he'd assumed it was a coincidence, but there was the man himself.

Steph threw her hands up in the air and said, "great, Ranger knows more about my soulmate than I do!"

"Soulmate?" Ranger said, pausing thoughtfully. Finally he nodded his head and pronounced, "he might just be able to keep you out of trouble, Steph. Or at least keep you safe while you're in it. I'll leave him to explain."

"Are you two…?" Matt asked at the same time Steph shot out, "how do you know Ranger?"

There was an awkward pause, but Steph broke it first saying, "no. There were a handful of nights here and there but not currently and not for a while. He's more just mentor and friend at this point."

Matt nodded, accepting her word. It was likely Ranger wouldn't have left Matt alone with "his woman" anyway if he had one.

"I can't tell you how I know Ranger," Matt offered remorsefully. "But if you'd like, I can tell you the rest of it?"

With a nod, Steph guided him over to her couch so they could sit side by side and begin what was bound to be a long, difficult conversation. But Matt had hope that maybe, just maybe, if fate had chosen to bring them together the way it had, Steph would be the woman who would be able to accept him as he was.

A/N: I'm trying (and struggling) to ease my way back into writing with oneshots, so if you have any prompts, soulmate or otherwise, please send them along! You can also find me on Tumblr as jdho2.