Chapter 6
Friday had gone by in such a rush that Matt hadn’t had a chance to talk to Foggy about what had happened the other night. Foggy had come early that morning to drop off a still somewhat sleepy Jackie and to make sure his best friend hadn’t ended up in a dumpster again. They were busy the whole day at the firm, working on their next case, so there wasn’t much time to talk about it.
But Matt knew that at some point he had to face the music and talk to Foggy about what he had learned.
They had a system: Matt would go out when needed, Foggy would look after Jackie, Matt would talk to Foggy if something bothered him or if there was a potential danger, and Matt would let Foggy help patch him up when he was injured. They’d communicate. They wouldn’t keep secrets.
He wasn’t planning on keeping this new development a secret; he just had to find the right time to talk to Foggy. That’s what Matt thought as he closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep.
———
Matt's eyes fluttered open as the sunlight streamed through the curtains, warming up the atmosphere and bathing his small apartment in a warm, inviting glow. It was Saturday; Saturdays were some of Matt’s favourites. They had a relaxed feel to them that Matt could just settle into and forget about the more troubling aspects of life.
As Matt shifted, he felt Jackie's small body lying next to him. She had climbed into bed at some point during the night after having a bad dream. He lay there all cozied up in bed, with Jackie nestled by his side. Matt could feel the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest, as well as the steady beat of her heart. It was a comforting sound, one that helped to ground him. He could hear the distant sounds of the city—the occasional car horn or siren—but they seemed to fade into the background.
As the sun rose higher into the sky, Matt slipped out of bed, careful not to wake up Jackie, and then shuffled into the kitchen to get some coffee.
As he shifted around the kitchen, he heard Jackie starting to wake up. A few moments later, he heard her small feet padding into the kitchen. She came up next to him and leaned up against his leg.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," he said, raking his hand through her hair affectionately. “Mornin,” she murmured back, giving a still-half-asleep yawn.
Matt stood in the kitchen, sipping his coffee, as Jackie slowly started to wake up. She wasn’t a morning person, but then again, neither was he. Foggy liked to joke that Jackie was practically the copied and pasted form of Matt, from her dark coppery hair down and the way she would tilt her head to the side if she was listening for something or just thinking, to her sharing Matt’s stubbornness and determination.
As she got a little more awake, she yawned, stretched, and then climbed up onto one of the bar stools at the kitchen counter. Matt couldn't help but smile as she sat there, her small feet dangling above the ground.
“Want some breakfast?” Matt asked, leaning against the counter.
Jackie nodded, still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
“Can we have eggs?” Jackie asked; she loved eggs and would eat them with everything if she could. Matt figured it was because of the texture and that it doesn’t set off her senses that much, which unfortunately happens a lot with foods.
“I don’t see why not?” Matt smiled as he grabbed three eggs from the fridge.
———
After breakfast, they got ready for the day in no rush at all and were soon out the door, making their way down the streets. The air was cool, but not uncomfortably cold, with the morning sun shining over Hell’s Kitchen, slowly warming it up. Matt had his gym bag hanging off his other shoulder, his cane tapping in front of him, and Jackie on his hip as he walked. Though there weren’t a lot of people up and about early in the morning, Matt still felt more comfortable carrying Jackie, keeping her close to him just in case.
They reached an old building with the sign reading "Fogwell’s Gym." This, Matt thought as they walked through the door and sat Jackie down on the floor, was another reason why Matt loved Saturdays so much. Saturdays also meant going to Fogwell’s.
Every Saturday, he and Jackie would go down to the old gym and spend an hour or so there. There were a lot of memories inside those dilapidated walls—a lot of memories of him and his dad. There were a lot of memories where Matt would sit and watch his dad practice or spar while doing his homework.
Fog was all too happy when Matt started to come around to the gym on the weekends again. And then Matt started to bring Jackie along as well.
He smiled to himself as he thought back to that day. Jackie was around two when she went with him for the first time. She was all wide-eyed, looking for what Matt suspected was wonder and curiosity. Then he introduced her to Fog.
The man probably stared at Matt, gaping, for a solid minute after Matt told him that Jackie was his kid. Fog then all but burst into tears and exclaimed, “I have a great-grandbaby!” He then proceeded to hug Matt tightly and then show Jackie off to some of Matt’s dad’s old gym buddies, those who were still alive.
It thus became a tradition for Jackie and Matt to go to the gym on Saturdays. They would go early, when the gym just opened for the day, and Jackie would sit and watch Matt while he would practice at the punching bag’s. Sometimes Matt would show Jackie how to throw a punch, but usually she would sit there with a picture or colouring book.
Coming back to the present, Matt found himself wrapping up his hands as he sat next to Jackie in the same spot that he used to sit, his dad doing the very same thing he was now.
They say history repeats itself. Matt likes to think, to hope, that some aspects of his history will stay history. Something is better left in the past.
Matt’s standing in front of the punching bag. He breathes in deeply. The rhythmic beat of, not his own, but Jackie’s heartbeat fills his ears. The rest of the world drowns away.
———
It was around noon when Foggy came by the apartment. Jackie was playing with her toys by the coffee table, and Matt was sitting on the couch, typing on his computer, while going over their latest client case.
Matt heard Foggy’s heartbeat when he was about a block away. So, it didn’t come as a surprise when Matt heard a nock at the door. Closing his laptop and setting it down, Matt stood up and called out, “The door’s open.”
“You know, it isn’t safe to leave doors unlocked,” Foggy commented as he walked in, closing the door behind him.
“Who’s going to walk into a random apartment in the middle of the day, Foggy?”
“There are weird people out there. You never know these days.”
“Weird people, as in people who go parkouring off of rooftops in the middle of the night dressed in a red devil suit?” Matt asked teasingly as he walked into the kitchen.
“Exactly,” Foggy answered as he walked further into the apartment.
“Coffee?”
“Of course,” Foggy called back as he walked over to where Jackie was sitting and crouched down next to her, where she was playing.
“And how is my sweet goddaughter doing?”
Jackie looked up, smiled, and enthusiastically told Foggy, “Making my dolls eat brains.”
Foggy, a bit caught off guard by this, chuckled and ruffled Jackie's hair.
——
Matt and Foggy were sitting at the kitchen counter, drinking their respective cups of coffee. Jackie had moved on from playing zombies and was now flipping through a picture book.
A friendly static settled over Matt as he took in the world around him. The usual noise came from outside, from cars and people going by. Matt ignored that and focused on his apartment. The sounds of Jackie turning her book page and Foggy sipping his coffee were more clear.
Other than Jackie, Foggy was also a permanent presence in his life. He made Matt feel all warm inside, brightening up his day. He’s his rock, solid ground to stand on, and with Foggy, things were easy. Matt always knew where he stood with him because Foggy would always tell him or it would just radiate off of him.
Was it possible Matt had feelings for him? Maybe, but Matt didn’t know if those feelings were mutual. Matt also doesn’t know if he’s ready to find out, to take the next step, and possibly lose Foggy over something like that. For now, he would be content with just being friends, or that was what Matt kept telling himself, and he didn’t want to burden Foggy even more with everything he had going on.
Pinning aside, there was another topic at hand that needed to be discussed.
Breaking the silence, Matt spoke, “Remember that gang I told you about a few days ago?”
Foggy looked up. “Yeah, why?” He asked wearily, setting his coffee down.
“They have these weapons. High-tech: shoot lasers. I’ve been trying to figure out where they keep getting them from.” Matt felt his mouth go dry. “I found out Thursday night. There was a weapon shipment coming in. I went out to stop it.”
Foggy nodded and shifted in his seat. Matt hesitated for a moment before continuing. “The Russians were there; I got a name out of one of them.” Foggy winched slightly at the thought of how exactly Matt had gotten that information but reached out a hand, placing it over Matt’s, a comforting gesture.
“Apparently,” Matt finally said, “Fisk has a hand in this; he’s the one supplying them.”
The words hung thickly over them.
“Christ, shit,” Foggy cursed, raking a hand through his hair. Matt sent a glare in Foggy’s general direction, making him mutter a soft, “Sorry.”
Tension settled over them in a thick cloud. Foggy finally gathered his thoughts and said, “This is going to complicate the heck out of things.” He squeezed Matt’s hand. “But I’ll be with you every step of the way. We will get through this.”
Matt found comfort in those words. That was another thing about Foggy; he always knew how to comfort him when his own thoughts were a whirlwind of voices. Matt could only hope that they did indeed make it through it