For a while, things worked out great. Word about “Nelson, Murdock and Page”, an attorneys’ practice, curiously residing above a butcher shop, spread fast. The two attorneys and their investigator helped people in need, for as much as they could pay, even if that amount was zero. They were very capable and their reputation was good which brought in some wealthy clients as well. Endorsement of city heroes like Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and the Daughter of the Dragon helped, too.
When Foggy realised how peaceful everything was, he knew that he was on thin ice. Peace never lasted in Hell’s Kitchen and certainly not in Matt’s life. So Foggy made sure to be prepared.
Matt stormed into his apartment. The familiar heartbeat he heard in the living room usually caused a warm and fond feeling. Today he rolled his eyes in annoyance. Right now, he did not have time for Foggy or his lectures. Yes, for a time being, things went great without Daredevil, but that specific gang that at the moment terrorised innocent people in Hell’s Kitchen needed a visit from a vigilante, not from Nelson, Murdock or Page.
Weirdly enough, Foggy did not say a word. His heart worked not faster than normal, not in the way it usually did when Foggy was about to give Matt a lecture. All the better. Quickly, Matt marched to his bedroom closet and opened it. He squatted down in front of the safe, installed after defeating Fisk, home to the new suit. Both safe and armor had been gifted to him by Danny Rand, “just in case”.
Determined, Matt punched in the code. The squeaking of the leather sofa indicated that Foggy was getting up. Matt opened his mouth to tell Foggy to spare him any sermon, but the unpleasant sound of a rejected code stopped him.
“You know,” came Foggy’s voice from the living room. “It’s funny. I was fully prepared for it to take hours. But it was a pretty short affair.”
“What are you talking about?” Matt growled while he put in the code again, this time slower, more careful, making sure to hit the right numbers. Again, it was the wrong combination.
“I knew of course that you’re not the type to use what normal people use,” Foggy continued. “Happy occasions like birthdays, wedding days, anniversaries of a success.”
Matt pressed his lips together. He absolutely did not like where this was going. By now, Foggy had entered the bedroom, heat and the smell of coffee emanating from his right hand. Infuriatingly calm, Foggy carried on.
“So I thought, what is the dark and gloomy counterpart of a loved one’s birthday?” he said, and answered his own question right away, “A loved one’s dying day. You of course wouldn’t pick an unproblematic loved one.” Foggy snorted. “Oh no, not you. Which people left you the most vulnerable and disappointed? Your fathers. Among Jack, Lantom and Stick, the latter is undeniably the worst of fathers. Plus, he was not killed by someone you disliked or even hated but by a woman you once loved and trusted which adds to the sweet sweet guilt, right, Matt?”
“You found out the code and changed it,” Matt said flatly.
“Yupp, a few weeks ago” Foggy confirmed. “Elektra killed Stick just one day before a building fell on you. So it was easy to remember the date.”
Matt stood. Slowly, he walked over to Foggy, stepping into his friend’s personal space.
“I made up my mind,” Matt said, dangerously calm. “I’m going out tonight.”
“Hmhm.” Foggy sipped at his coffee. “So you said. And you’re gonna need the suit for that, right?”
“Exactly,” Matt pressed out between gritted teeth.
“Yeahhh,” Foggy said, audibly sucking his teeth. “Too bad it’s in a safe you don’t know the combination for.”
With a clattering sound, Foggy’s cup collided with the ground. Countless clinking shards danced across the floorboard before finally coming to a rest. With a growl, Matt grabbed the lapels of Foggy’s suit and walked him against the wall.
For a second Foggy’s heart beat spiked, in shock not fear. But he appeared unfazed when Matt snarled in his face.
“I need the code,” Matt demanded.
“You sure do if you want to open the safe,” Foggy said matter-of-factly. “That’s the whole point.”
“Foggy…”
“I just don’t think you’ll be as good at finding out as I was,” Foggy said. “But don’t feel bad. That’s just because I’m smarter than you.”
With a low rumble, Matt pressed Foggy even harder against the wall. Matt tried not to be distracted by Foggy’s aftershave, mingling with his individual scent, by the hitch of his breath or the give of his soft form under Matt’s muscled body.
“I don’t know about smart,” Matt whispered. “How smart is it to provoke the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen? Give me the code, Foggy.”
“Right now, I’m not inclined to do so,” Foggy said with a shrug.
“Right now?”
“I’m well aware that you have skills that I can’t even begin to understand,” Foggy admitted. “You were trained by a mean old ninja who was a member of an ancient organisation, fighting a centuries old war. They know their way around getting information, I’m certain. I’m a hundred percent sure, you can dish out amounts of pain that will sway me.”
Matt tensed even more. Then he loosened his grip a bit.
“I would never hurt you,” he said, voice softening.
“Except for that one time you made me eat 15 hotdogs.”
Despite himself, Matt smiled. “I only said, ‘Wow, Ray Miller just ate 14 hotdogs. I bet nobody can beat that.’”
“What choice did I have but to rise up to that challenge?” Foggy asked dramatically.
They both laughed. Matt loved moments like this. Moments in which they were just Foggy and Matt, two dorks who met at law school and set out to change the world.
Matt also liked how their work was going. He loved the way things shifted between him and Foggy. The friendly hug they shared for greeting or as a goodbye was tighter these days and always a bit longer than it used to be. Sometimes when their hands touched unexpectedly, Foggy’s heart would jump and his face would heat up. Marci and Foggy had split up, amicably but strictly this time, no casual meetings and booty calls anymore. And while Matt and Foggy spent a lot of their free time with Karen, Foggy more often asked only Matt to hang out. Matt really enjoyed that development.
He hated bringing darkness to Foggy’s world. But he could not deny the Devil forever.
“I need that combination, Foggy.”
“If it’s so important, beat it out of me,” Foggy said casually. “You are good at that.”
Matt heightened the pressure again. Anger rose, but then he paused. He sighed, then smirked.
“You’re doing what I do,” he stated.
“I am.”
Foggy was using Matt’s affection for him against Matt. But Matt did the same. There had been a time in which Matt had kept the Devil in check due to fear of losing Foggy. These days, Matt knew that he would never lose Foggy. All the things he had done to Foggy, said to Foggy, hid from Foggy - and yet he was still right here, being the best friend Matt could wish for. Even trying to protect Matt from himself. Matt was taking advantage of the fact that Foggy cared too much for him to ever leave. How could he blame Foggy for taking advantage of the fact that Matt would never hurt Foggy?
“Just so you know,” Foggy said, the boyish grin vibrating in his tone. “I’m looking very smug right now.”
“I’m sure you do,” Matt said.
Again, they could not help but chuckle. With their foreheads pressed together, their breath mingled and Foggy’s heart beat familiar in Matt’s ear. Matt could smell and taste the coffee and pastries Foggy had rewarded himself with this afternoon. The ample body was still in Matt’s hold, the broad chest rising and falling with steady breath, the soft stomach pressing against Matt’s lean form. All of Matt’s heightened senses were filled with Foggy.
Matt swallowed. His rising arousal gave him a wicked idea. Smiling, he let go of Foggy’s clothes and grabbed his wrists instead, pinning them against the wall.
Licking his lips, Matt brought his mouth to Foggy’s ear. He enjoyed how Foggy’s breath hitched and his body tensed.
“You’re right, you know,” Matt whispered. “I do know some methods to get people to talk.” Tenderly, he brushed his nose along Foggy’s cheek. “Your error is assuming that they all are based on pain.”
Satisfied, Matt noticed that this time, Foggy’s pulse did quicken. A lot.