DISCLAIMER: Netflix's Daredevil is not my property. This is only a tribute to a series I really enjoyed.
A/N: I figured this would be an interesting conversation between Matt, Foggy and Karen. It may contradict canon a little bit, so feel free to see it as an AU. Reviews are welcome!
COLORBLIND
The Nelson & Murdock law office brimmed with hope and enthusiasm after the visit of Elena Cardenas. Matt Murdock, Franklin "Foggy" Nelson and Karen Page shared a Chinese take-out lunch while discussing the good news.
"A new client, buddy!" said Foggy. "Don't you like how that rolls off the tip of your tongue? It sounds sexy."
"Are you sure it's not the Mongolian chicken?" said Matt grinning.
Foggy rolled his eyes. "Back me up here, Karen."
Karen shrugged and smiled.
"I'm pretty sure it's the chicken."
Foggy made a face.
"You're lucky Spanish is one of the skills in your resume, Ms. Page. Otherwise you'd be out the door."
"I know. Trust me," Karen said as she swallowed another bite. "You didn't even try, Foggy."
Foggy ran a napkin over his lips and chuckled.
"Oh. I took a Spanish course in college but Mr. Murdock here took Greek. Ask him if it ever helped us," he said. "What was the name of that girl you wanted to hook up with, bud? Nachos?"
"Natchios, Mr. Nelson," Matt admitted, his cheeks turning slightly red. "Elektra Natchios."
Karen shot glances at both attorneys with her mouth agape.
"You guys are the worst!"
"Why me?" Foggy asked.
"Because you threw me under the bus," said Matt.
"It's how it must be, Matt," said Foggy while shaking his partner's shoulder. "We're the captains of this ship and we sink together."
"I guess," Matt said raising his eyebrows. "It's good you didn't tell Mrs. Cardenas what you told me that day on the steps outside our dorm. Remember?"
"What? ...Oh!"
Matt put down his chopsticks and laughed. Foggy ran both hands over his hair and grinned.
"What?" Karen said. She narrowed her eyes. "I gotta know now."
"Remember, buddy. We sink together," said Matt.
Foggy scratched his nose and pretended not to listen. He relented when he noticed Karen's stare.
"Oh, fine," he said. "Inspiration struck and I told Matt we were going to be avocados."
"Avocados? What do you mean?" Karen asked. She was laughing a second later. "Avocados? Abogados? Are you serious?"
Karen's laughter increased when Foggy nodded.
"But like... aren't avocados called the same thing in Spanish?" wondered Foggy.
Matt shrugged.
"No they're not," said Karen still laughing. "It's a different word."
"Do you know what it is?" Matt asked.
Karen pressed her chopsticks against her chin and rolled her eyes.
"Aguacate. That's it."
"You serious?" Foggy said. "That sounds like the name of some angry Aztec blood god." Then he deepened his voice saying: "Cast all your virgin daughters into the waiting maw of dark lord Aguacate."
Karen laughed again. She did that a lot in the company of Matt and Foggy.
"And you guys graduated from Harvard?"
"You can ask the man who forged our degrees and that's what he'll tell you," said Matt.
Karen smiled and took another bite of Chinese take-out.
"You know... ––No, nevermind."
"What is it, Karen?" Matt asked.
"It's nothing. I thought of something pretty weird and probably inappropriate."
"Weird and inappropriate are both great words to describe the conversation at this point."
"Yeah," added Foggy. "What's up?"
Karen smiled and looked out the window.
"It's just that I'm surprised about Hell's Kitchen."
"How?" asked Foggy.
"The people. I mean... I grew up thinking it was an Irish neighborhood full of Catholics and 24-hour bars. But I see a lot of Hispanic and Asian families. Was it always like this when you guys grew up here? You know... diverse?"
Foggy turned to Matt.
"I think so. You don't pay much attention to stuff like that when you're a kid. Or that's what my experience was. How about you, Matt?"
Matt tilted his head and made a brief thoughtful sound.
"It's more or less the same. People are more likely to call each other out on their bigotry nowadays if that's what you're talking about."
"I didn't care about color growing up," Foggy said with a shrug. "I locked myself in my room, listened to Alice in Chains and hated everyone equally. I was the coolest teenager."
Foggy threw up the horns and hummed the first bar of "Man in the Box". Karen grinned while Matt shook his head and chuckled.
"That still includes people of color, partner."
"Spoken like a true attorney," Karen said.
"Stop showing off," Foggy said. He finished the last bite of his meal and sighed. "That hit the spot."
"What Karen said does make me wonder though," Matt said.
"What about?"
"About the people here and my dad. About something that used to happen when I was little."
"Really?"
Matt put his chopsticks down and scratched his chin.
"Yeah."
Karen and Foggy looked at Matt. They shrugged at each other.
"Is that all you're going to say about it?" Foggy said.
"What do you mean?"
"Come on, man. Aren't you going to tell us? You love talking about your old man."
"I do, yeah," Matt said. He was lost in thought for a moment. "But I'm not sure if I want to tell this one."
Foggy nodded. Karen rarely saw him being serious outside of work hours. Then she remembered what happened to Matt's father and lowered her head.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to pry," said Foggy. Karen seconded him.
"No. Please," Matt said raising one hand. "I'm fine telling the story. I'd just... I'd like you to understand."
Karen nodded. "Sure."
"You know nobody's gonna say anything," said Foggy. "It stays between us and the people listening through my wire right now," he joked while tapping on his chest.
Matt laughed. He reached over and grabbed his cane. He rested his chin on it.
"Before I had the accident –-and even after–- my dad used to take me to Fogwell's Gym where he trained," he began. "We had no close relatives I could spend that time with but I didn't mind. I liked being with my dad and I could tell he enjoyed having me around. Plus you get used to the gym smells pretty quick.'
"Anyway. Sometimes we'd leave the gym later than usual. My dad would grab me by the shoulder or by the hand and we'd walk together back to our building. We had to turn around this corner and sometimes some older black kids would be hanging out there. And every time they were there my dad would squeeze harder with his hand. Sometimes he would walk faster."
Foggy and Karen were speechless. Matt read the awkward silence and continued telling his story.
"My dad's the reason I'm a lawyer. He wanted me to use my brains instead of my fists like he did," Matt says, smiling at something unknown to Karen and Foggy. "I know he wanted the best for me. He would also give everyone a fair break no matter who they were or what they did. So it makes me wonder.'
"They say that when people choose to hate someone because they're different the justification comes after the fact, meaning bigots discriminate first and rationalize it last. So was my father trying to protect me in his own way or was he prejudiced? What came first? I'll never know."
Foggy whistled. Karen chewed on her lip deep in thought. Both remained quiet while Matt drummed a finger on the tip of his cane. He smiled.
"That's messed up and way too deep for me, buddy," said Foggy. "If you keep telling stories like that after lunch you'll end up giving me heartburn."
"Sorry," said Matt with a chuckle. "Color's not something I care that much about these days anyway. So don't worry, Ms. Page. These eyes can't see but I bet your green skin looks lovely."
Foggy and Karen broke into laughter. Matt felt their heartrates relax and smiled.
"You can't be sure these days, partner," said Foggy. "Maybe the American legal system is going to be ready for green women sooner than you think."
END