PERSONAL SPACE: Ok, here I am with Chapter 2. I'm studying for my final exams, so I'm planning to upload this story once a week, on tuesday, so it will be easy for you to follow it, and I will have time to write this thing properly.
I'd like to really thank everyone who read the first chapter (you come from all over the world...I wasn't really aware of that before, and that's amazing!), specially who put it in fav/follows list, and, of course, who rewieved it! I really appreciated! You made my day!
Last, but not least, thanks again to my beta InsertImaginativeNameHere, you are doing an amazing job, I'll never stop saying that to you!
Ok. I'll stop and let you reading the next chapter!
Let me know what do you think about it, if you want, please!
Chapter 2: I am not going anywhere.
Until that moment, Foggy had thought he knew every side of Matt Murdock, but he wasn't prepared to see him frozen like that.
He didn't have Matt's superpower of feeling alterations in human figures, but he could clearly perceive a sudden tightness in his friend's body, and he saw his face loose one or two shades of pink.
Almost like a soldier in front of his superior officer, Matt suddenly stood up, straightening his shoulders and back in tension.
He grabbed his stick and held it tight, as if he might have to use it as a weapon at any second, or, Foggy thought, as if he needed it to keep something under control.
He hadn't seen Matt like this before; he always managed to stay calm, to control his emotions, his fears, but now he couldn't do that at all. His fingers kept moving on the surface of the handle of his stick and he could swear his best friend was slightly shaking for a moment, before he managed to dominate his instinct.
Whomever this voice was, he had the capability to scare Matt to death. That definitely couldn't be good news.
-Matt? Are you okay?- he asked in a soft voice, just when an old man stepped into the office, leaning on a stick. A white and red stick.
A blind old man. Matt acting like that.
-Stick- was the only thing Foggy was able to say, barely moving his lips.
-Your friend is smart-
The sound of Stick's voice, no more mitigated by walls and Foggy's increasing heartbeat made Matt react to what was happening.
He forced himself to completely control his body; he made an extraordinary effort to make himself stop trembling with fear. He wasn't scared for himself, he could manage his mentor, but he didn't want to do that in front of his partner. He held his stick, ready to face the old man.
-Foggy. Go home- he ordered, and he noticed that his voice came out tense and hoarse. The sudden appearance of Stick in his life for the second time in a couple of months had shocked him, especially because this time he had shown up here, in his office, where his friends were. Matt knew what the message was behind Stick's gesture; if he could figure out the Devil's real identity and find where he worked, the enemy could too.
-No way-
-Foggy...-
-I am not going anywhere, Matt-
-You really think you can do something against me, mister Nelson?- Stick asked, interrupting the dialogue between the two of them, a little irony in his voice.
Hearing his best friend's surname made Matt shiver with fear. Stick knew.
Matt understood suddenly that if Stick wanted him to be a soldier, a lonely vigilante who didn't really care about other people's lives, he could have Foggy and Karen killed, or, worse kill them himself.
He felt the panic grow inside his chest.
Calm down, Matt. Calm down.
He tried desperately to wipe away the images of Karen and Foggy's dead bodies that his brain created from nothing, covered in blood, their eyes open and empty of their souls, but it wasn't simple. He never saw their faces, what he knew about their features was what they had told him about themselves, but despite this, they appeared as clear as if he was actually able to see a photo taken by Forensics.
Matt could actually see Karen's long, blonde hair spread on the floor of the office, a hole in her forehead, and, on her side, Foggy's slightly overweight body (as he described himself) fatally wounded by knives, his right hand still holding their secretary left. His partner died slowly and in a lot of pain by Stick's hand. Matt barely accepted Ben's death, he couldn't stand something like that again. Not his fault, again.
He barely resisted the temptation to shake his head, to throw that mental picture away.
Stick knew that if anything could make him cross the line between punching people and killing them, that could really be Foggy's murder, and Matt knew his mentor knew that as well. And the lawyer was also aware that if he really wanted, the old man would do it without a second's thought.
He had tried to train Matt the same way, but his father's teachings were so deep-rooted inside of him, and his faith in religion so strong, that Stick fortunately couldn't subjugate him.
-Maybe not- answered Foggy, stubborn despite his voice shaking a little, making Matt come back to reality -but I am not leaving Matt alone with you-
-Foggy, please... - the young blind man began to speak, but he couldn't finish the sentence.
-So, Matty has told you about his little secret- Stick interrupted him, and, like he was a kid again, he shoot his mouth up, his hand pinching his stick until his knuckle turned white for fear and anger. After almost twenty years, this man manage to overcome him without making a single nod.
This sense of powerless in front of him, drove him crazy. He was a grown up man, so why couldn't face him? He pick up all his courage to speak and bring Stick's attention on him, making a step to place himself between Foggy and Stick.
-What do you want, Stick? I've already told you; stay out of my city- And away from my family, he thought, but wasn't brave enough to say out-loud. Besides, from his movements and the position he had taken, he knew his former coach would have noticed that his priority was to protect his partner.
Stick still had a lot of power over him, as always, but this time was different; Foggy's life was on the line, his worse nightmare becoming true and he wouldn't allow to his awe to paralyse him.
-And I've told you family is a weakness, kid-
-Yeah, and I've ignored you- After I've listened to you and failed, he told himself, but that wasn't the time to point that out.
-So did I-
-Get out of Hell's Kitchen-
-Or what? You'll kill me, kid?- Stick paused -Oh, I forgot. You can't kill. You still are a kid, after all-
-Killing is not the solution- suddenly Foggy spoke again, and his voice was like a flash in a dark, clear night.
-Foggy, please. Stay out of this- Matt stopped him, and something broke in him, as if Foggy's voice had interrupted his concentration. Suddenly he wasn't able to have full control of his body, he began to tremble again, when the image of his best friend dead came back to his mind
-Matt...- when he noticed Matt was shaking, he stopped talking, struck dumb by the sudden changing of behaviour in his partner.
He had seen him angry, hitting a punchbag with all his strength when he went to see him at the gym after missing Ben's funeral; he had discovered his weak side when he was ill, many years ago, when they were roommates in college (he still could remember as it happened yesterday, his friend lying in bed, hands over his ears, almost crying in pain. Now he knew it was because the headache and fever prevented him from focusing and cutting out the rest of the world, but still, it was something you couldn't really forget), but he had never thought Matt could be terrified by anything or anyone.
He had always seen him like a man without fear, who faced the world (and God, maybe, but he would never say that in front of him) who took his sight away to stop him from doing... well, everything.
Right now, Matt was completely in a panic, Foggy could feel it, and for him that was enough.
Until a moment ago he had seemed calm, but now he was really upset, like if this man had done some mental Jedi mind trick to him. After he discovered the whole "world in fire" thing, and the incident of New York he began to think that everything was possible.
Foggy had never, never, seen his friend in this way, and all he wanted was to put his hand on his shoulder and make him feel he was with him and that he had full trust, but he also understood that something like that could sentence him to death, so he forced himself to stay still, staring at Matt's back, praying for him to be safe.
-I'm not going to cross that line, Stick, you know- Matt was saying, his voice now was strong, like he was using his fear to find the strength to face his old mentor.
All that Foggy could do was take a step closer to his best friend, trying to support him without touching him or talking. He knew Matt would hear his movements, but he also hoped he'd understand.
Probably he did, because the blond attorney saw the blind man's fingers relaxing imperceptibly around the stick, while he made a step to the right to be a complete wall between him and that old man.
-You can't save shit this way, kid! There are people who simply deserve to die-
-No one deserves to die-
-Stop being an altar boy, kid! This is real life. You are a warrior and warriors kill-
-What do you want from me?- Matt asked again, stopping a discussion that wouldn't lead anywhere.
-You. I need a soldier-
-Find someone else-
-Matt...- the blind man tried to make one last attempt to convince him.
-Get out, Stick- Matt's tone was categorical.
-You'll regret this, kid-
And without another word, the blind old man took his stick and went out, disappearing in the night, leaving a shaking, silent Matt in the center of his office.
A second later it was like someone had hit Matt with a taser. He suddenly began to move fast.
The taser was Stick's last words. Basically, he told him he would accept to help him, one way or another, and he really didn't want him to use the bad ones.
-Foggy- he said while he started to collect his things -Take Karen with you and go away for a while-
-Matt...-
-There's no time- the blind man kept talking like Foggy wasn't really there -You have to move. No plane, possibly no train. Use the bus. Or take a cab-
-Matt.-
-Don't worry about the money, I'll take care of that as soon as I can. I'll pay you everything...-
-MATT!-
Now Foggy was basically screaming, trying to make his way into his friend's fear. The scream finally reached its goal, and the young lawyer stopped, watching his friend where he knew his face was, still trembling.
-Fog- he began, trying to stay calm when all he wanted was to take Foggy and Karen and put them on a cab, without even allowing them the time to take some clothes -There isn't much time-
-I am not going anywhere, Matt- he murmured quietly, staring the Devil of Hell's Kitchen right in his blind eyes, hidden behind a pair of red glasses.
That simple phrase was enough to stop him doing a million different things at the same time.
-You heard him-
-Yes. I did. And you listen to me, right now, Daredevil; I. Am. Not. Going. Anywhere. Understood?-
-You can't stay, Foggy. He will kill you just to make me became what he wants-
-And?-
-Don't you get the point?-
-Not really-
-He knows who you are, probably also where you live. You are in danger- Matt explained, trying not to raise his voice against him.
-I repeat: and?-
Matt sighed, at the end of his tether. He always thought Foggy was smart, but now he was acting like a stupid child or, he realized with a bit of fun, like he couldn't see the reality surrounding him.
-Are you even listening to me?-
-I am, Matt. I am. It's the same, old story; you go out in the night, punching people, and if they discover who you are, we are all dead. Understood. But it doesn't change anything. I'm standing here, at your side, saving your ass-
-Risking your own life- Matt finished the sentence instead of his partner.
-Not with you next to me, right?-
He felt Foggy's grin, and couldn't do anything but smile, with tears in his eyes, hidden behind his glasses.
He had always known his friend was loyal to him, he had proved himself a thousand times during college, refraining from going to some parties to stay with him, or reading whole books for him, recording his voice for him, whenever he couldn't find a Braille written version, but he couldn't have even imagined trusting him literally with his life.
-I'll keep you safe- promised Matt, his voice broken.
-I know you will, Daredevil- Foggy answered finally able to put his hands over Matt's shoulders and squeezing them slightly to let him know he could rely on him.
What Foggy didn't know, was that there was only a way to keep his promise: do what Stick wanted, even if it would lead him directly to lose his soul.
Foggy was worth it.