I got caught up on Sunday so I didn't have a chance to work on the chapter. I worked on it for the past two days so I hope you like it. Thank you for everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed! Onto the chapter!
I own nothing!
Sleep didn't come easy for the blind man. With the normal ongoings of the city being intensified by his still glitching senses getting added to Leslie's pounding heart and erratic breathing, Matt is surprised he managed to sleep at all. Albeit it was only an hour or two, it's enough to get him moving when his phone starts vibrating.
Foggy... it rings after a second, causing Leslie to gasp and tense violently from fear. Foggy...Foggy...Fo-
Matt smacks the phone haphazardly a few times before he manages to answer it. "Hello," he grumbles, the word slurred heavily from exhaustion.
"Are you still not up?" his friend asks, more energetic than Matt deems healthy for whatever time it is this morning. "We have to be at the office in twenty minutes. Get up, lazy!"
The blind man breathes a chuckle and sits up, wounds from previous fights sore and straining from the effort. He didn't push himself too hard last night, but most of the wounds Claire stitched up weren't fully healed when he went out, so they either reopened a bit or just ache worse than before. "Sorry," he says running a hand through his bed-styled hair. "Rough night."
Foggy sighs his usual sigh of worry mixed with slight annoyance and, from the sounds on the other end, shifts the phone. "I'm assuming you don't mean the sexy kind of rough," he says, lowering his volume against any nosy passersby. "What happened?"
"Uuhh," Matt says, listening to Leslie try to settle herself on the couch. From the sound of her labored breathing and slower movements, she's still hurt from last night and she didn't get any sleep. "Long story," he settles through a huff.
Foggy is quiet for a second before he releases a similar sigh. "Alright," he says after a while. "I'll be right over."
Matt's brows pull together in confusion. "What?" he asks. "What do you-"
"I'm coming over," Foggy says again. "I'll call Karen and tell her we'll be in late and we're going to talk about what happened. And no, you can't talk your way out of this. I'll be there in a few." And with that, the line cuts off.
Matt would call back, but with the determination in his friend's voice, he doubts anything will keep him away. With a sigh, Matt presses the lock button and sets his phone back on the nightstand, turning his attention to the teen on the couch. "Are you hungry?" he asks, earning another sharp inhale from his guest. "Thirsty? Anything?" Leslie thinks about it for a moment, but her stomach gurgles before she has a chance to answer. "I'll take that as a yes." He stretches and rises from the bed, feeling the air shift when the teen tenses.
Claire's instructions ring slightly in his head as he heads for the kitchen. "Do you have to use the restroom?" he asks, noting the way the teen's face twitches slightly at the question. After a second, she nods hesitantly. Matt returns the gesture and lifts a hand. "You can go," he says gently before reaching up to the first cabinet he gets to in the kitchen.
Leslie pauses for a moment before shifting the blanket to the side and rising. She practically tiptoes around Matt in the kitchen and keeps turning her head to look at him. The lawyer makes sure to keep almost perfectly still through her entire walk to ensure she doesn't freak out. He's already worried about her too fast heart rate and overly shaky breathing, so adding more stress to her would definitely spell disaster.
Once the bathroom door is shut, Matt tunes her out and continues raiding his poorly stocked kitchen. A majority of what he has is take-out leftovers, dried fruits, crackers, old bread, and a few sketchy boxes in the back of a cupboard. He highly doubts any of the proper nutrients that Leslie needs can be found in his few options, so he makes a note to ask her for take-out options when she returns. He shuts the final cupboard and stands just as the bathroom door opens again.
"Hey," he says, making Leslie jump when she gets to the kitchen doorway. "I don't have much," he admits, taking a step back to help her relax, even if she doesn't. "So I was thinking take-out? There's a Thai place down the street. Or we can order pizza." Leslie's legs tremble under her as he speaks and Matt's not sure how much longer they can last. The stitches on her cut are starting to pull with her tension and her rebroken shin bone grinds every time she shifts her weight.
"You can sit down," he says, motioning to the couch she was on last night. "I can get some menus and we can order as soon as you're ready." Leslie nods once and starts back to the couch, once again sending glances at him as she walks. Matt digs through a spare drawer by the fridge, grabs what he assumes to be menus and walks back to the living room. Leslie is lowering herself back into her blanket nest when Matt returns, allowing her feet to stay on the floor instead of pulled onto the couch like before. That small detail alone lets Matt know she really is in pain.
He approaches from the side she doesn't occupy, which helps some of her nerves, and extends the menus out to her. "Here," he says. "You can look over these." Leslie shifts nervously and clenches a fist, biting her lip so hard she draws blood again. Slowly, her hand creeps out and she accepts the papers. "Tell me what you like..." Matt says before he remembers Leslie doesn't talk. "...or...indicate..." he continues, then realizes he can't read what she might point to. "...or..."
Leslie's brow twitches slightly and Matt reads it as her first indication of confusion. At least we're getting somewhere, he thinks through an inward and outward sigh. "I take it those aren't food menus?" he says, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. The teen slides closer to the edge of the couch hesitantly before giving a curt shake of the head in reply. Matt sighs and drops his arm to his side. "I thought I put those in that drawer," he mutters to himself before extending a hand to retake the papers. "Sorry," he says in genuine sorrow. "I couldn't see what was on them."
Another confused brow twitch from Leslie and Matt nods. "I'm blind," he explains, earning a twitch of a different emotion that flashes on Leslie's face. Matt smiles faintly. "Yeah. Totally blind. Well, sight wise." Confused twitch from Leslie and Matt continues. "My other senses are heightened to the point that I don't need my sight," he explains. "I can feel the vibrations and air shifts when something moves. I can hear everything from here to three blocks away. I can smell anything there is to smell in this building and the next. The tastes are awful." He realizes he's probably overwhelming the teen and stops before he blows into a full out rant.
"Sorry," he says again, causing the teen to lift her head in his direction. Of course it only happens for a split second, but it's enough to let Matt know she's at least starting to get used to him. Foggy's scent rolls into his nose a second before Matt speaks again. His decently priced hair gel. The three day old suit. The half dozen people he bumped against getting here. Most importantly, Matt smells the large meat lovers pizza his friend has in his hand and the bottle of soda in the crook of his arm. That settles the food problem, he thinks as a smile tugs up his mouth. It's not that healthy, but it's something.
"My friend's here," he informs, finally realizing he probably should have told her earlier. "Not Claire. Another friend." As expected, the teen switches to panic mode again, starting with the accelerated heart rate. "Don't worry," he assures, holding his hands up to help her calm down. "He's harmless. Trust me, the guy couldn't hurt a fly."
Leslie responds by pulling her knees up as best she can and hugging them to her chest. Matt sighs through his nose and rubs his neck again, making his way to the door as Foggy does. Like he did with Claire, Matt opens the door before his friend knocks and makes him jump slightly. "Jesus, Murdoc!" the other man exclaims, nearly dropping the soda in his start. "Stop doing that!"
In the next room, Leslie jumps at Foggy's volume and her breathing kicks up again. Matt lifts a hand and waves his friend down. "Please calm down," he says tentatively, listening to Leslie's racing heart in the living room. "I have...uh... I have a...guest..."
Foggy's jaw hangs open slightly before a wide grin spreads across his face. "It was the sexy rough!" he declares proudly, shoving the bottle in Matt's hands and pushes past. "Ooooh, I have got to see this!"
Matt turns to grab Foggy before he scares Leslie even more, but he misses and his friend is down the hall. "Foggy, wait," he pleads, his voice going unheard.
"Hello, Ms-" Foggy starts as he crosses the doorway into the living room, his voice dying quickly at the sight of the cowering teen on the couch. Matt reaches his side just as Leslie's heart rate piques and she curls tighter into a ball, her entire body trembling as violently as the night before. "Uh...Matt?" the other man starts again, face never turning from Leslie. "Who's this?"
Matt runs a hand through his hair and releases an uneasy sigh. "Foggy," he starts, moving his hand from his hair and using it to motion to the teen. "This is Leslie. The guest I told you about..."
The other man nods and makes a thoughtful humming sound. "I assume she's what you meant by a rough night?" he concludes, using his free hand to indicate Leslie. Matt nods and Foggy makes a similar hum. "Well," he says, volume rising slightly and causing Leslie to flinch and curl tighter. Foggy must realize his mistake because his volume drops when he speaks next. "Does she like pizza?"
Matt shrugs and looks to Leslie. "Do you?" he asks, causing her to pause then shrug.
"Does she not talk?" Foggy asks, stepping forward slowly to set the pizza box on the table. Matt knows his friend must've picked up quickly on Leslie's anxiousness because he seems calmer than before. Matt is thankful for that fact, though Leslie is still extremely on edge. "Why doesn't she talk?" he says, taking a few steps away and turning his head to his friend.
Matt shrugs and steps forward, causing Leslie to twitch her head in his direction before turning back to her legs. "She never said," he responds, not needing sight to feel the 'no duh' look Foggy is giving him. "Claire got her to write a bit last night, but other than that..." Another shrug.
Foggy nods in understanding and turns his face back to the table. After half a second of looking, Foggy reaches down and grabs the slightly crumpled legal pad and still dull pencil from last night. He extends the objects in Leslie's direction, but pauses when she cringes back. "Hey," he says, tone softening as if speaking to a wounded animal. "It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you. I just wanna talk, okay?"
Leslie gnaws on the inside of her cheek for a moment and Foggy waits patiently, though Matt can feel the slight strain that forms in his friend's arm after a while. The wait ends when Leslie unwraps a shaky arm from her legs and accepts the offerings. Foggy grins widely and steps back beside Matt. "Great," he says, nudging Matt toward the other couch and sitting down. "Now, let's get started..."
Over the next twenty minutes, Matt finds that Foggy is way better at connecting with Leslie than he would've thought. Which is what he should've expected in the first place he guesses. Foggy has always been better at working with people being the easy going person he is. Matt wonders of he should've called Foggy earlier. She doesn't relax as much as Matt would like, but her heart and breathing rate has slowed down to her normal range. Foggy even got her to eat a slice and a half of pizza and drink half a cup of soda. Of course she had to drink some water after, but Foggy got it done without a hitch, other than her normal sipping routine.
Foggy always kept his questions light and basic, which helped keep Leslie calm. They found out her favorite color is lilac and she doesn't like red. She hasn't really eaten enough to decide a favorite food but she hates oatmeal. She doesn't really have a favorite drink, but she didn't really prefer the orange soda Foggy brought. No specific music choice. Never watched TV. Soon Foggy runs out of small talk questions and just talks, retelling the butcher story and recounting some of their college day stories.
The blind man listens to his friend crack terrible jokes and laugh mostly by himself, but occasionally Matt laughs or Leslie's mouth twitches with an involuntary smile. Of course she tenses for a negative reaction every time, but Matt takes the smile as a good sign. He can tell she's relaxing a bit more now that the air is lighter. Matt himself feels better now that Foggy is here. The terrified teen made him uneasy and he can tell she felt the same about him. She has seen him in action, so Matt kind of understand why. It's not everyday a blind man wearing your least favorite color breaks in and saves you from a human trafficking ring.
Foggy's phone vibrates in his pocket, but he's too busy laughing at his own joke to notice. "Foggy," Matt says, apparently too quiet to be heard. Matt lifts an arm and waves his hand in front of Foggy's face. "Hey," he says again, this time managing to get his friend's attention. "Your phone."
"What?" the other man says, wiping a laughter induced tear from his eye before feeling his phone in his coat. "Oh!" The sudden rise in volume makes Leslie flinch and Foggy winces in apology. "Hello?" he says into the receiver, just loud enough to be heard.
"Foggy," Matt hears Karen say on the other end, a mild distress taking place of her usual chipperness. "You said you'd be a little late! Where are you?"
"Matt's house," Foggy replies simply. "What's going on?"
"We have a client!" Karen whispers loudly. "An actual, paying client but no one is here with her!"
Foggy jumps to his feet and makes Leslie cringe away at the sudden movement. The second man gives another apology wince as he grabs and puts on the suit jacket he took off half an hour ago. "Shit," he hisses, earning another involuntary flinch from Leslie. "I totally forgot! I'll be right there."
"What about Matt?"
Foggy pauses with the phone wedged between his shoulder and ear. "Matt's..." he starts, turning slightly to look at Matt over his shoulder. The blind man frowns slightly and Foggy does the same, finishing pulling his jacket on and holding his phone normally in his hand. "Matt's sick," he lies, voice convincing as he starts for the front door. "That's why I came over. I need to check on him."
"That's sweet," Karen replies. "Tell him I hope he feels better, but please hurry. The client is really anxious."
"I'll be there as soon as possible," he replies, stopping at the door to turn and face Matt. "See you in a bit." He receives a quick farewell from Karen before hanging up and shoving his phone in his pocket with a sigh. "That should give you a few days," he says through a smile. "Take care of her, okay? She seems like a good kid."
Matt smiles and nods a few times in response. "Yeah," he agrees. "She does. I will."
Foggy smiles and places a hand on the door knob. "I'll try to stop by again," he informs as twists the knob and pulls the door open. "I think she likes me."
The blind man laughs and steps forward. "I think she does," he agrees again, causing his friend to laugh with him. "See you later."
A single, sarcastic chuckle pushes up from Foggy's core as he exits. "That'll be the day," he says through his laughs. "Bye, man."
Matt waves once more and sighs happily, feeling better than he has all week. With the spiking crime rate and now Leslie, the all around heaviness of his nighttime career was starting to take its toll on his mental health. The non-business meeting with Foggy is just what he needed to clear his mind and reset his senses. They're not completely back to his version of normal, but it's close enough and he doesn't taste every tiny particle that makes up the dust in the air. He counts it as a small victory and nudges the door closed once Foggy descends the second flight of stairs.
"Hey, Leslie," he says, turning and starting back for the living room. The teen jumps before he reaches the room and turns her head slightly in his direction. From the way her head is tilted, Matt assumes she's either looking at him from the corner of her eye, or just listening better. "Are you tired?"
The teen simply shakes her head. Matt smothers a yawn and crosses the floor to his bed. "I'm going to nap, okay? Wake me up if you need anything." Leslie nods again and Matt sits on his bed. "The bathroom's down the hall if you need that and the rest of the pizza's on the table if you want it." Another nod from Leslie and Matt lies down, pulling the blanket over his shoulders and turning to the side. "Night," he mumbles before drifting off more quickly than last night.