Hello readers! I don't know if I'm late or not, but I know I've been busy. And unmotivated. And nervous. But here it is!
To the guest who said it was hard to believe Matt was blind because of things, I'm sorry I didn't make it clear. In my mind it made perfect sense to write things the way I did. The way he tells if something is bruised in my mind is the skin moves differently than normal skin because of the clumped blood cells and broken blood vessels. The cuts are clear because of the way the broken skin moves around the normal skin. The TV show says he can tell when someone shakes or nod their head, so that's pretty obvious. But yeah. I'm sorry my mind wasn't clear.
Anyhow onto the chapter! I still own nothing!
Matt lets another brutal fist pass across his most recent victim's face. "We can do this all night," he says, slightly out of breath from the six other fights he's been in tonight. "Tell me who's in charge!" The Russian spits, a small piece of whatever was in his mouth landing on Matt's cheek. The vigilante frowns deeply and lets another fist fly, earning a satisfying crunch from the other man's nose. "Are you done?" he asks after a moment of pained moans. "Now. Unless you have anymore brilliant plans like that, I say the rest of this can go smoothly." He takes a handful of the Russian's hair and lifts his head to look at him. "Who's in charge of your human trafficking ring?"
"I don't know!" the man finally shouts, voice slurred from bloodied lips and a swollen jaw. "I just follow from my informant!"
Now he's getting somewhere. "Who's in charge of him?"
"I don't know!" he repeats. "I don't ask and he don't tell! I just follow his orders and we go smoothly!"
Matt pauses and listens, halfway surprised to find the man's heartbeat steady. As steady as it can be, anyway. He's telling the truth. Which means another dead end. Which means he's back to what he started with. Nothing.
The blind man releases an agitated sigh through his nose and turns away from the Russian. "Wait," he says as Matt takes a step forward. "Are you going to let me go?"
"Of course not," Matt states flatly. He hears the man's breathing change to speak, but Matt whips around and knocks him cold before he can. "You just aren't useful anymore." After reassuring himself that the Russian is unconscious, he walks behind him and makes sure he's still secured to the pole before turning and leaping onto the next building.
That's the fourth Russian tonight that had nothing to say about who's in charge. It was either they didn't know anything, or they was too loyal to say anything. Matt huffs in annoyance as he lands on another roof three buildings over. It may only be the first night, but he thought he would at least have something by now. Ah well. Tomorrow's another night and he has more time. For now, he just wants to get home and get to bed.
Matt turns in the direction of his house and gets ready to jump to the next building but pauses before he does. A thought crosses his mind and turns in another direction, having made the mental decision to go check on Foggy and Leslie before he heads home.
The trip across Hell's Kitchen doesn't take long and soon Matt ends up on Foggy's fire escape, his heightened senses already picking up on the inside of the apartment. The slight burn on the popcorn on the table. The loud explosions and swear words from whatever is on TV. Foggy's resting heartbeat and the sleeping one on the couch beside him.
That's not right. Sleeping? Leslie doesn't sleep. Steadily anyway. When she tried to sleep a few hours ago, her nightmares scared her awake. Why is she so calm now?
The blind man reaches out and lightly taps on the window in front of him, causing his friend to jump slightly and turn. "Matt?" he asks, rising from the couch to approach the window. Matt gives a sheepish smile in response as Foggy unlocks and opens the window. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see how things were going," Matt replies, stepping inside when Foggy steps aside. "Is Leslie asleep?"
Foggy turns and looks at the sleeping girl on the couch. "Yeah," he says. "She didn't even make it to the best part in the movie. I look over to comment and she's out."
"And she stayed asleep the whole time?" Matt asks, keeping half of his attention on the sleeping teen on the couch.
"Yeah?" Foggy responds through a yawn. "Why? Was she not suppose to?"
Matt shakes his head. "Not that," he says. "When she was with me, she didn't sleep. Then when she did, her nightmares scared her into waking up."
"Oh," the second man responds, almost sounding like he regrets asking. "That sounds about right." He yawns deeply and stretches his arms over his head. "I think it's the bear," he says as he drops his arms back to his sides, voice a bit cheerier than a second ago. "She curled up with it once I set it down and she didn't move."
A small smile tugs up Matt's lips and he nods. "Told you she liked it," he says.
Foggy laughs slightly before he yawns. "Oh, how'd it go with the Father? Can Leslie stay with him?"
Matt shakes his head. "I'm not giving her up," he says with his own slight yawn. "She's staying with me."
"I could've told you that was going to happen," Foggy says. "No offense buddy, but you get way too attached way too quickly."
Matt laughs quietly and nods in agreement. "I know," he says through a smile. "Trust me." His smile turns sore and his split lip starts oozing, reminding him of the fights he got in earlier in the night. "Oh," he says, lifting a hand to cover the injury. "Can I use your bathroom to clean up a bit?"
Foggy nods and points down the hall on the left. "Go ahead," he says, earning a grateful nod from Matt in reply. "I'll get Leslie ready to go."
The other man shakes his head and pauses in the hallway entrance. "Let her sleep," he instructs, turning slightly to face him over his shoulder. "I'll swing by before work and pick her up then. Father Lantom said he'd watch her for the day so I'm going to drop her off."
Foggy nods again and takes his seat back on the couch, causing Leslie to jump slightly from the sudden action. She doesn't wake, though, assuring Matt that she's good for the rest of the night. He gives one more nod in Foggy's direction before turning back and walking down the hall. When he gets in the bathroom, he nudges the door closed and up his mask.
He could feel the swelling in his lip and cheek as soon as he got hit, but the aches and stings of the rest of his body just start to come forward now that he's settled. He winces slightly as the two split knuckles on his hand pull open as he turns on the sink. Must've caught a tooth, he thinks tiredly as he fills both hands with water and runs them over his face. The action stings, but it's better than bleeding. So he does it again. And again. And again. Then he rinses the blood from his mouth and huffs.
He dries his face and hands on the clean towel on the rack and silently hopes he didn't leave any blood on it. Once he thinks he looks halfway presentable, he opens the door and walks back out. "Foggy," he calls quietly, listening for any changes in the area. "I'm heading-"
Faint snores. A second sleeping heartbeat. The small trail of drool that starts to form on the edge of his friend's mouth. Either he was in the bathroom for longer than he thought or Foggy was more tired than he picked up on. A tired sigh of his own falls past his lips and he steps over to the couch, grabbing one of the light blankets from the back of the couch and tosses it over his friend. Then a thought crosses his mind and he grabs the second one. He lightly drapes it over Leslie and pauses when she cringes and her heart rate jumps. It settles quickly and Matt exhales in relief, straightening and walking over to leave through the window.
###########
Foggy...Foggy...Foggy...Foggy...
Matt groans awake and sits up, biting back a pained hiss as his bruised body tenses at the action. He smacks the nightstand a couple times before hitting his phone, answering it, and putting it on speaker. "Yeah," he slurs, a coppery tinge coating his tongue. "Hello?"
"Leslie has no taste in drinks whatsoever," Foggy announces as soon as the line connects, earning a small, involuntary smile from Matt in response. "I gave her some grapefruit juice to try this morning, and she all but spit it across the room! How insane is that?"
"Not everybody has a taste for sour, Foggy," he says through his smile. "Did you get her to try anything else?"
"Uh," Foggy starts, "spray cheese. She likes that by the way. Uuhh... A few girl scout cookies. I think she had a jelly filled doughnut."
"So basically you've filled her with junk food?"
"Junk food that she loved," the other man replies. "Besides, Murdock, not everyone has a taste for health food."
Matt gives a few chuckles in response, then grunts when his bruised ribs ache. "I haven't introduced her to it yet," he explains, tossing the blanket off but barely feeling it move. "I'm sure she'll like it when I do."
"Uh huh," Foggy says skeptically. "I'm sure."
Matt raises an eyebrow. "Did she brush her teeth after all that junk?" he asks, earning a mock groan of annoyance from his friend.
"You're such a party crusher, Murdock!"
"Foggy?"
"Of course she brushed her teeth!" Foggy declares proudly. "I'm not a bad influence! I gave her the spare toothbrush I had under my sink!"
Matt smiles faintly and feels the scab over his lip start to split. "Good," he says, running a hand through his hair. "Thanks, Foggy. I'll be over to pick her up in a few."
"No rush," he says, setting something down on his end. "I'm telling Leslie about the plot of Pirates of the Caribbean."
"How is she?" he asks, finally realizing he fell asleep with his uniform on. "Has she-"
"She's really good," Foggy states. "She slept through the night. She's eating well. I even gave her a few books someone left behind."
Matt blinks a few times before speaking. "Really?" he questions. "How? She's always so nervous."
"She's still skittish," Foggy responds. "Really skittish. Like, she nearly jumped off the couch when I had to wake her up this morning." He pauses for something on the other end before speaking again. "But she's getting calmer."
"How?"
"I don't know," Foggy responds. "Maybe it's cause you're so damn tense all the time."
Matt pauses in thought. Foggy does have a point. In the short time he spent with Leslie, he did always tries to tip-toe around her to not scare her. Foggy just...is Foggy. He doesn't try to scare her, but he doesn't dance around her. Maybe he should take a lesson from him.
"Ah well," Foggy says, pulling Matt from his trail of thought. "I gotta go. Leslie just got out of the bathroom. I'll see you when you get here."
"Alright," Matt replies with an unseen nod as he pulls the mask off. "Bye Foggy."
He receives a finalizing farewell from his friend before disconnecting the line and rising from the bed. He groans tiredly as he stretches his arms over his head, then winces slightly as a bruise starts to ache. Once slightly more awake, he strips himself of his uniform and starts for the bathroom. Plans can restart tonight. For now, Matt needs to shower.
After a decently heated, probably longer than necessary shower, Matt shuts the water off and steps out. Most of his aches got worn out with the warmth of the water, so his movements are less stiff as he wraps himself in a towel and walks back to his room. He dries himself and pulls on some hopefully matching clothes. Once dressed, Matt pulls on his shoes and sunglass before gathering his other normal day belongings and starting for the door.
The trip back to Foggy's house is a bit more difficult in the daytime. The greasy scents of opening food trucks. The multiple phone conversations that need to be held as they walk. The obviously distracted tourists that have to take pictures of everything. Crying babies with dirty diapers. Hungry dogs tied to poles outside of restaurants. Car exhaust. Rushing commuters. Road work. Matt's almost surprised he didn't have a breakdown before he hit the doorstep.
He knocks on the door and listens as Foggy pads to the door, tossing trivial piece of Pirates information over his shoulder before opening the door. "Matty!" he declares happily, throwing his arms up in childlike enthusiasm in a way that makes Matt smile.
"Hey, Foggy," Matt says, less enthusiasm than his friend but still happy. "Is Leslie ready?"
"Yeah," the second man says, stepping aside to let him in. "I just have to get her bag."
Matt furrows his eyebrows in confusion and follows Foggy as he walks to the living room. "Bag?"
Foggy nods in confirmation and motions to the couch. "I told you I gave her some books, right?" he asks as Leslie flips a page of the book she has. "Well, I had a lot more than I thought. Oh and I found some of Candace's old clothes. Leslie fit them so I gave them to her. I figured it would be better than wearing your stuff."
Matt nods in agreement and he steps toward Leslie, who looks up when he reaches the coffee table. "Hey," he says as Foggy heads to his room. He earns a silent nod from Leslie in reply as he moves to sit on the other end of the couch. "How was your night?" The teen nods and lifts a slightly trembling hand in a thumbs up. Matt smiles and nods in approval. "I thought you'd like it here. I'm taking you to the church today. I'll get you after work and you'll be staying with me."
"Here we go," Foggy says, returning from the room with a decent sized bag. "Leslie's stuff. I put her toothbrush in there too. I almost forgot."
Matt smiles gratefully and rises from the couch. "Thanks, Fog," he says, taking the bag from his friend as Leslie stands. "I'll see you at the office."
"No way man," Foggy says with a quick shake of the head as he grabs his briefcase. "I'm coming with you to the church. I wanna see Leslie off to school on the first day."
The blind man laughs and shakes his head as they start for the door. "It's church, Foggy," he says as he listens to the door open. "Not school."
"It is a church," Foggy says, holding the door open as Matt steps through. "You're going to learn something whether you want to or not."
Matt laughs again and waits for Leslie across the hallway as she exits in front of Foggy. "I hate to say you're right..." he says while Foggy locks his door. "Ready?"
Foggy nods and holds out his arms expectantly. "Waiting on you Murdock. Let's go."
