Akumas & Yōkai

Six Years Later

It wouldn’t be that bad, Matt reminded himself for the hundredth time as he made his way down the fairly empty hallway, walking stick in hand. Home was just a short train ride away, and even then, home felt like it was right around the corner.

Still.

The last time he slept in a bed that wasn’t his for a prolonged period was back at the orphanage. This would be new. College would be new.

“Are you sure you have everything?” Splinter asked, his voice uncharacteristically unsteady. They were both experiencing mixed feelings about the whole thing, ever since Matt began the college application process a year ago. Getting the acceptance letter was something else. It made it real. 

“Yeah, the boys double and triple-checked it,” Matt smiled at his surrogate father. He didn’t have to say that they had also added unnecessary items during each check, both men knew that.

Men.

The word still caught him off guard. They had had a huge party for his progression into adulthood. Mikey made a cake that was taller than him, while Donnie had made a prototype of robot arms to do household chores (which had short-circuited the second they began washing dishes). Leo however showcased his Spanish by belting his own rendition of Feliz Cumpleaños and Raph (along with Splinter) had rented a few Lou Jitsu and Jupiter Jim movies that they all knew by heart now.

But he was eighteen now, and he was entering college. 

It was scary and thrilling at the same time. Like leaping off of a building for the first time, only to catch himself last minute with a billy club. He had given Splinter a heart attack, for sure, but it was just all so electrifying that he couldn’t stop after just one free fall.

“I found it!” the eight-year-old roared from down the hall. 

“Great job, Orange,” Splinter called back as the other three dragged Matt’s suitcases to the door.

The school had given Matt an extra week, along with the out-of-state students, to begin moving in. Not that he actually needed it, with all the extra hands agreeing to help. Matt reached into his pocket and haphazardly tossed his key out toward Raph. Leo, however, intercepted it.

“You gotta be faster than that, big bro!” The ten-year-old mocked before racing towards the dorm door and unlocking it. “No one can out catch-- Oh! Hello.”

Matt’s pace quickened, and he reached past the other three boys, grabbing onto Leo’s hoodie. No one was supposed to be in his room, at least, the office hadn’t told him that anyone would be in there. He knew he was rooming with someone, but he assumed they were moving in with everyone else.

“Excuse me,” Matt said, pulling Leo closer, “is this room 312?” 

Mikey knew how to read. Hell, the kid would read to Matt all the time to overcome a stutter. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the young kid, but he just needed a minute to take everything in and let his senses register the room.

The man in front of him had long hair and smelled of weed, though Matt could tell that it was more of a second-hand smoke smell than his own digestion. His clothes were baggy, no weapons that Matt could register, though that didn’t say much. Any of the Hamato clan could fight their way out of any situation with their hands and wits alone, weapons were a formality.

His heart rate was easy. Light. Fluttering.

“Uh, yeah,” the guy said back, startled, “who are you looking for?”

They stood there, staring, or in Matt’s equivalent, looking at one another.

“Oh shit,” the guy replied when Matt didn’t, “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Matt blinked from behind his shades. Leo tried to pull away, but Matt held him firm, as well as blocked the others from getting in.

“I cursed in front of your…” he trailed off, tugging on his own hair. “And you’re blind. And I was asking if you were looking for someone.”

Matt bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing. The rambling was funny, and he was used to it, people digging their own graves when they spoke to him.

“You-you are blind, right?” The guy asked, his back stiffening when neither Matt nor Leo stopped him.

“That’s what they tell me,” he smiled, unable to keep it in any longer. 

He sobered up, however, when Leo spoke up. “That won’t be a problem, will it, amigo?”

The guy glanced Leo’s way as if forgetting he was there. “W-why would it?” Another beat of silence before realization dawned on his face. The guy’s heartbeat skipped before his smile grew wide. “You’re my roomie!”

The tension in Matt’s shoulders fell, and he chuckled, “I’m sorry, we weren’t expecting anyone till…”

“Next week? Yeah, my mom’s from Ohio, and I was with her over the summer, so they just had me move in a week earlier.”

Matt finally let go of Leo as the little turtle zoomed over to the empty bed and plopped down. The three others in tow. 

The guy — his roommate — watched them in confusion and awe.

“I don’t mind,” He finally said with a small shrug. “Matt Murdock,” he introduced himself, sticking his hand out. “And those four tyrants are my brothers.”

“Foggy Nelson,” he shook his hand.

 “Murdock?” Foggy asked at the same time Mikey yelled, “What kind of name is Foggy?”

“Orange,” Splinter reprimanded.

“Oh,” the guy -- his roommate -- Foggy -- jumped when the older man appeared from behind Matt. “Uh, it’s Franklin, actually. Foggy is just a nickname.”

“I’d go by Foggy too if my name was Franklin,” Donnie said simply.

“Purple,” another warning.

Foggy laughed instead of being offended. “Couldn’t agree more, little dude."

Matt’s shoulders dropped lower as more tension eased out. It wasn’t that Matt didn’t have friends, he just never really let them meet his family. Human friends were school friends; unless they were April, and they met her by accident.

Back when the turtles were still young and in diapers (or at least half of them were), Matt had taken them to a park to run around. It was there that April introduced herself and latched onto them like a surrogate sister. The O’Neils were kind and invited the Hamatos over for dinner constantly. It was only recently, since she began middle school, that she hung out at the lair as well.

She had begged to see Matt off, but Mrs. O’Neil thought that it would be too much for Splinter. He was seeing his oldest son leave the nest after all, he didn’t need to worry over a fifth kid.

She had, instead, invited them over for one last big dinner before Matt officially moved out.

“Murdock,” Foggy said again, “any relation to--”

“Jack?”

“The kid who saved the old man.”

“Oh,” Matt said softly, “um…”

“Yeah!” Raph cheered, “that’s him!”

“Holy sh-h-h-oes! No way,” Foggy swiveled towards Matt. “You’re a hero!”

Heat rose to Matt’s face, and he gripped his cane tighter in both hands. “Nah, man, I just did what anyone would do.”

“Bullsh-- crap,” he recovered.

“You curse a lot, don’t you?” Leo asked as Mikey dissolved into laughter.

It was Foggy’s turn to blush. “You got your peepers knocked out saving that old guy.”

Matt laughed, “I didn’t get them ‘knocked out’.”

“Oh, good, because that would’ve been freaky.” Foggy, though he was talking to Matt, had turned to the boys and winked at them, sending all four of them back into a fit of giggles.

Matt was usually so overly protective of the ‘Mad Dogs’, as they had taken to calling themselves in the past two years, but with Foggy? Foggy was just like April, only his age. He was great with them and treated both Matt and his family with respect, even if he was still a little awkward.

He was trying to make Matt feel normal, especially when the school was making such a big deal out of him being blind.

“Hell’s Kitchen?” Matt asked.

“Born and raised. You?”

“I got adopted and was raised in New York, but kept in close contact with my dad’s old friends.”

“Oh!” Foggy said again, looking between Splinter and the turtles before his gaze returned to Matt. He didn’t say anything else to follow it up, but Matt could guess his line of thinking.

“So the whole blind thing doesn’t bother you, but me being adopted does?” Matt quirked a brow playfully.

“I don’t know a ton of adopted people,” he said sheepishly.

“And you know a ton of blind people?”

“Damn, got me there, Murdock. You should be a lawyer or something’.”

“That’s the plan,” Matt rubbed his neck.

“No, shi--damn---wait,” he hit his forehead with his hand, “I gotta get better at this.”

“You should have a swear jar,” Splinter said, “you’d make bank, Yellow.”

“Me too,” Foggy ran his hand down his face, “pre-law. Me too.”

They stood there smiling at each other for a minute before Splinter gathered Mikey in his arms, though he was frankly too big for it. “We’re going to check out the campus, Yellow. Call me when you finish unpacking.”

“Oh, you don’t need to leave,” Foggy said.

“Nonsense, Yellow has had eight wonderful years with these little ones and only eight minutes getting to know you.” Matt flushed. “See you in an hour, Yellow.”

“An hour? Yeah. I’ll call you. Pizza?”

A cheer of approval practically shook the room as Splinter nodded. And then they were gone and Matt was left with Foggy. A human person who Matt would spend the next nine months living with. Someone who…

“Sorry about them. I know they’re a handful.”

“Nah, man, don’t sweat it. I come from a big family, too.”

“Oh yeah?” Matt smiled, reaching out for the chair. Foggy rushed forward and helped him. Matt thanked him, forgetting that he’d have to ‘behave’ a certain way so that people wouldn’t accuse him of faking. Not his fault his sense were radioactivity enhanced. 

“Yeah,” Foggy smiled, pulling up his own chair. “I’m the youngest, all older sisters who are all happily married with kids.”

“You’re probably the favorite uncle, huh?”

“Oh yeah, we have loads of fun.”

Another lull.

“Hey, um, thanks,” Matt said softly, running a hand through his hair. “Most people dance around me like I'm made of glass. I hate that.”

“Well, I’m not too good a dancer,” Foggy smiled again. He smiled a lot. Matt kinda liked it.

“And,” he continued, “you’re just a guy. A really, really good-looking guy.”

Matt stuttered and Foggy covered his mouth in shock of himself.

“I mean, girls must love that,” he said quickly,  “the whole...wounded, handsome duck thing. Am I right?”

Matt swallowed, finding his mouth suddenly dry. “Right,” he croaked out, before clearing his throat. “Yeah, yeah,” he began, sounding more sure of himself, “it’s been known to happen. On occasion.”

“Sorry,” Foggy said again, “when you grow up with sisters, you begin looking for hot guys to point out to them.”

“I thought you said they were all married.”

“Yeah, but, the concept doesn’t go away. Damn good hot guy radar senses.”

Matt laughed again.

“Well, you can be my wingman then. You can tell me if they’re good-looking or not.”

“Oh yeah, totally,” Foggy shot up. “Wait for guys and girls or just girls or guys or…and there’s no judgment! I have a sister who’s gay, and I’m…well…I don’t know what I am. Is that a problem?”

Another lump. “No, no, that’s not a…no. I’m cool. Chill. And I’m…” he paused, he had never really thought of that before, barely dating as a teen. He had had his first kiss, sure, and a few other things, but he had never thought of people like that before. The ‘object of his attraction’ per se. “I don’t know either.” He said simply.

“Well,” Foggy cleared his own throat, “I’ll just call ‘em as I see ‘em, kay?”

Matt nodded.

“Need help unpacking?”

He smiled, “sure.”

They unpacked for an hour, during which Matt found more than one item that had deteriorated from his list. Simple things, like comic books, that he couldn’t read himself, but Foggy said that he would read them to Matt if Matt ever asked. Cooking supplies for a kitchen that he didn’t have. Keys to…something.

By the end of the hour, the two had successfully made Matt’s bed and unpacked all of his clothing, putting it away in a way, so Matt could find stuff easily. 

They also talked about their lives. Matt’s answers were more closed off and dodgy than Foggy’s, but he hadn’t seemed to notice or care. Foggy, however, was an open book. He had five older sisters — Melinda, Susan, Esme, Juliet, and Theo (which was short for Theodosius). He also had eighteen nieces and nephews. Foggy, however, did not name them all off, stating that he even had a hard time remembering them all.

‘They’re rabbits,’ he chuckled, ‘the lot of them.’

His parents got divorced shortly after he was born, and his mom moved to Ohio and his dad remarried and stayed in Hell’s Kitchen. He spent most summers in Ohio, but the majority of the year with his dad and sisters. His mom owned a farm, though, despite having been a lawyer in Hell’s Kitchen prior.

Hence, the moving in a week early.

“I probably should start heading out before they eat each other.”

“Would they do that?” Foggy asked, alarmed.

Matt just chuckled. “Wouldn’t put it past ‘em. See ya, Foggy.”

“Wait, Matt!” 

He had just opened the door when Foggy had grabbed the hem of his coat from his position on the floor. “Er,” he started, letting go once Matt faced his direction. “Us Nelsons, we, uh, we take care of our own, so if you or any of your family members ever need any help, we got you. Okay?”

Matt nodded numbly before a small smile took over, “Same for the Hamatos, er, and Murdocks.”

Foggy returned the nod and then said, “yeah, yeah. Awesome,” when he remembered Matt couldn’t see him.

As Matt walked through the campus looking for his siblings, his mind kept wandering back to that cramped dorm room. The way his roommate smelled. The way his heart was calm yet anxious. The way he treated Matt like he was…normal.

A hero, Foggy had called him. His stomach turned. A hero always fights, and yet all Matt seemed to do was run. He hadn’t found Elektra, not that he hadn’t been looking. But it was almost as if they were there one day and gone the next.

His fingers curled around the piece of cloth that he always had on him. The one that Stick had taunted him with. The one that clearly said I win.

The embroidered logo still remained a mystery to him, even after six years. He hadn’t dared to show it to anyone, let alone Splinter. Not that he didn’t trust the man who had raised him, he was just scared that he might stop Matt’s crusade.

“Matty!” Mikey yelled, running across the vacant quad towards him.

Matt caught the eight-year-old, lanky limbs and all, and maneuvered him to his back.

“We found a duck pond,” the young turtle rattled off, “but we didn’t have anything to feed them with, but Pops wasn’t looking, and so I jumped in and started swimming with them, but then Raph grabbed me and--”

“Woah, woah,” Matt chuckled. “Slow down, take a breath.”

Donnie and Raph rounded Matt and grabbed his free hands, asking questions about Foggy. 

“Does he eat pizza?”

“Hm, probably.”

“Does he know who Jupiter Jim is?”

“No, but he’ll probably watch the movies if you ask.”

They walked down the street, once they left campus, to a nearby pizza place. It wasn’t too busy, since the semester hadn’t started yet, so they were seated quickly. Splinter, after a few slices, fell asleep in his seat. Matt knew that he wasn’t used to leaving the lair for long periods of time, or watching the four turtles by himself in the city.

The turtles continued to interrogate Matt, until the older boy realized that Leo had been uncharacteristically silent during the whole ordeal.

“Hey, you three, can you clean up the table?”

The boys nodded and immediately took off to deal with the trash. Leo tried to leave, but Matt reached out and placed a gentle hand on his arm, “hey, can we talk?”

Leo ducked his head, “okay.”

“What’s up? You’ve been quiet.” It wasn’t an accusation, but Leo curled up on himself nonetheless.

“It’s nothin’.”

Matt smiled softly, trying to ease the tension, “I don’t think it’s nothing.”

“You just get along with Foggy.” The way Leo said the older man’s name made Matt recoil.

“Why shouldn’t I?” Matt asked, trying, and failing, to keep his voice light. “I’m going to be living with him, and we have classes together.”

“But you’re chummy with him.”

“He’s my friend,” Matt pressed, “of course--”

“How is he your friend? You just met him!”

Matt frowned as Leo raised his voice. Some other customers looked over with raised brows.

“And you and April are friends,” Matt reasoned.

“That’s different.”

“How is it…?”

“Because April isn’t replacing anyone.”

Oh.

Oh.

“Leo…” Matt softened, “no one is replacing you.”

But the idea was already out there, and the young turtle was angrily wiping away tears. Matt’s heart broke as he reached over to brush a stay one away. Leo stiffened, however, and pulled away from his brother’s touch. Matt stilled.

“I’m leaving home,” Matt said simply, “but I’m not leaving you.” When Leo didn’t look up, Matt sat back. He knew his brother and knew that his emotions ran high, especially when it was something out of his control.

“What if you like Foggy more than us?” He mumbled so quietly that only Matt’s enhanced hearing picked it up, “or school?”

“When have I ever liked school more than you?” Matt smiled and Leo softened slightly. “As for Foggy, I don’t think anyone can replace my brothers. But I understand where you’re coming from.”

Leo was still quiet when the others returned, and Matt woke up Splinter to begin their journey home. Matt, although he could start living at the dorm room as of now due to accommodations, had decided against it. Foggy would also be staying with his dad and stepmom till everyone moved in.

‘We should get together though,’ Foggy had said, ‘you know, before classes start. Go clubbing or whatever the cool kids are doing these days.’

Neither of them had ever been clubbing, so they decided to return to the drawing board.

When they returned to the lair, Matt realized with a start that most of his livelihood was back at the dorm, leaving him only with a few articles of clothing and his hammock. 

“You can sleep in my room,” Raph told him. “I know you like having things in the room.”

He was right, the objects helped muffle the noises of New York. That’s why he was so glad that Foggy was just as much a collector as he was. 

“Thanks, Bud,” Matt smiled, hearing Leo’s heartbeat skip. He knew that the boy was still disappointed and angry, but there was nothing Matt could do, short of dropping out of college all together.

“Turtle slumber party?” Matt asked, yawning.

“Oh yes!” Mikey exclaimed.

Donnie gave a shrug, which was his way of agreeing.

“You in, Leo?” Raph asked when the younger turtle hadn’t said anything.

“Nah, I’m just going to go to bed,” he yawned, which Matt could tell was put on. “You guys have fun.”

Matt frowned, his own stomach churning as Mikey pulled him into Raph’s room.

“His loss,” Raph shrugged. 

Matt lay in the hammock wide awake. Raph had gotten bigger over the years, shifting the role from Matt in the middle of the dog pile to the larger of the two. He had gotten used to the hard plastron, no longer finding it uncomfortable to sleep on or against. 

And yet, he was wide awake.

Slowly he shifted out of the makeshift bed, careful not to wake the others, and snuck out to the main room.

Leo was sitting on the couch, watching a movie on mute, most likely reading the subtitles to not alert their father or wake up Matt. Sadly for the younger boy, Matt had known he had been awake for a while, but had let him sulk in his own anger.

“Hey,” he said softly, leaning up against the couch. Leo, on his part, must have been so engulfed in the plot of the film that he leapt up in the air out of surprise.

“Holy-” Leo breathed out, “I-I thought you were asleep.”

Matt offered him a half shrug, “lot on my mind. You?”

“Same.”

“Penny for your thoughts?” Prompted the older brother.

Leo shrunk into his shell, glowering, “you already know my thoughts.”

Matt rubbed his chin thoughtfully, “yeah, I think I do.” He paused, listening around before offering, “wanna head topside?”

Leo looked up eagerly, “really? But it's three am, there’s nothing to do.”

“Toe-may-toe, toe-ma-toe. New York is always awake.” 

Leo nodded excitedly, “let me grab my coat. Oh, boy, the others are going to be so jealous!”

The college student laughed, grabbing a blanket for himself. He hadn’t expected to be going out in the cold, and thus hadn’t really left himself anything to wear for the cooler weather at home.

Sneaking out had always been the easiest part about growing up in the sewers, in Matt’s opinion. His brothers were attentive listeners and did whatever Matt told them to do when it came to evading curfew. 

He wasn’t sure what they would do when Matt was gone.

“Where are we headed?” Leo practically vibrated next to him out of pure excitement once they were street level.

“I dunno,” Matt said nonchalantly, “where do you want to go?”

The ten-year-old thought for a moment, “what about the construction site?”

Matt bit the inside of his cheek. There seemed to always be construction around, which made for a great nighttime gymnasium. Something he had shared with the turtles, with the strict rules that they could only go with him around, or at least till they were older.

“Sure,” he finally said, still feeling slightly guilty about Leo’s feelings toward Foggy.

Leo pumped a fist in the air and gave Matt a quick bump before racing down the street.

“Wait-!” Matt tried to no avail before chuckling to himself and following.

The construction site was a marvel in itself. High beams seemed to stretch to scratch the stars, and there were random deep holes that made for great climbing exercises. Security was also non-existent due to the cheapness of whoever had orchestrated the building.

Leo had already begun his ascent up the exoskeleton of the building, which Matt was sure he had overheard someone say it was going to be a new apartment high rise. It didn’t take long for the eighteen-year-old to catch up.

“You’ve gotten old,” the younger boy taunted before performing an impressive flip that made Matt’s heart sink. 

“Yeah, well,” Matt said, waving a hand around, as if he could waft a clever response his brother’s way. “How high have we gotten so far?”

Leo’s smile grew more ferociously, “Donnie said it was one fourth, last time, but we had to climb back down because Mikey got too scared.”

“Heights are scary,” Matt agreed.

Leo frowned, “you’re not scared of heights.” 

Matt shot him a devilish grin, “can’t be scared of what you can’t see.” He waved a hand in front of his eyes as if to further the point before reaching up to grab a low bar. “Come on, let’s see if we can break our record.”

“Really? Oh, yes! I can’t wait to rub it in Otello’s face.”

Matt shot him a disapproving look that held no merit before continuing his climb. It was a mix of jumps and grappling, on Matt’s part. Despite what people assumed about him, he loved when he wasn’t touching anything. Soaring through the air after a running start was the closest thing to flying, and he loved it. 

There was always a thought, in the back of his mind, that he could fall, or miscalculate. But that was part of the thrill. April, rightfully so, called him a daredevil when she first saw him leap. 

It had only been recently that April had begun spending the night over at the lair, which meant she began to join them on their late night escapades. The young girl was beyond brilliant and got along with all the brothers in her own way. In Matt’s case, it was egging him on when he used his superhuman abilities. Which happened to include daring feats.

Daredevil, from that point on, had stuck.

He could hear her now, cheering him on in his mind’s eye Come on, Daredevil, let’s see those flips! She kind of reminded Matt of himself when he was a few years younger than her. When he would cheer on his dad from the stands. Let’s go, Dad, give him the old one-two!

To this day, Matt still didn’t know what the old one-two entailed, but the chant always seemed to do the trick.

Matt leaped off one of the beams backward, arching his back as he fell, before twisting his body and reaching for a ledge. He recollected himself and did a deep bow when Leo began wooing him.

“I wanna try that,” Leo awed, but, luckily, made no effort to do so. Matt’s aloof smile widened before his head turned slightly.

He had gotten better at tuning out the world with age. It was a good trick to have in a large city that was always on the move. He had also gotten better at filtering out white noise from the important things.

Like a mugging.

“Leo.” The small turtle stiffened at the seriousness of his brother’s voice, looking across the beams at the adult. Matt moved his body slowly towards the crime, trying to gauge where it was taking place.

“Don’t move,” a gruff voice commanded from afar. “You move, and I’ll shoot, ya hear? You move and I’ll-”

Matt leaped off of the building without a second thought, angling his shoulders just right to be able to land and roll when his soles came to contact with a roof. A sharp pain shot through his arm, but he shook it off. He ran and flipped over obstacles with ease, ignoring the way his heart echoed in his ear drums.

It was a second thought, but he shoved his hands into his pockets, searching for something. Matt’s fingertips brushed the familiar, worn cloth as he tied it around his head, covering his eyes. 

His body dropped straight down into the alley way, landing on one of the goons to soften his blow. 

“What the-?” 

He didn’t give them any more warning than that before lunging at the remaining men. They weren’t too big, their firearms were more their courage than anything. Anyone can be scary with a mean looking weapon.

The battle, if one could even call it that, was over before anyone could do anything. Matt stood over their unconscious bodies, catching his breath. His chest heaved as he flexed his hands, blood from broken noses and split lips staining them.

“Oh my…shit…” the woman breathed out.

“Are you okay?” Matt asked, his voice huskier than he had intended.

She gave him a numbed nod and then let out a shaky breath. “Oh my god.”

“Are you hurt?”

“Wha-? Hh, no, no, they…I wasn’t scared.”

Matt stalled, “I-I didn’t say you were.”

She nodded again, more confidentiality this time. “Do you do this often?” She asked, putting a hand over her chest and leaning down to grab something off one of the perpetrators. Her bag.

“Believe it or not, this is my first time,” Matt offered honestly.

She gave him a weak smile, looking up at him, “I thought so. I don’t know many vigilantes who fight crime in their pjs.” 

Matt’s fingers pulled loosely at his night shirt. He was pretty sure it was a worn out Jupiter Jim one, too.

“Well, do you know many vigilantes?” Matt questioned, a smirk dancing on his lips.

She tilted her head, her heart beat returning to normal. There was a playfulness to it. “Can’t say I have. No, you’re the first,” she corrected.

Matt’s smile matched her own. “Can I walk you home?”

 She stilled before relaxing again. “Only if you let me get a good look at your hands.”

“My…” he flexed them again, already feeling slight bruises forming beneath the skin. “That’s not…I’m sure you have better things to do than to…”

Matt’s voice faded off as he remembered that he had left Leo alone. “Oh no,” he groaned, putting his face in his hand.

“Are you okay?” Her playfulness switched out for one of concern.

“I-I think I left my oven on,” he lied, looking back up at her. “I gotta run.”

“Your oven?” She choked, unsuccessfully biting back a laugh. “What were you making in the middle of the night? A roast?”

“What were you doing out in the middle of the night?” He countered. “Looking to get mugged?”

She rolled her eyes as she dug through her bag. “If you must know,” she started, “I’m a nurse. Er, I mean, I’m in nursing school. We have classes that run late.”

Matt nodded, rolling his shoulders. He stopped himself from reveang that he was in pre-law and his class schedule would run long, too.

“It’s still summer,” he said instead.

She looked up again, as if trying to gauge his age. “I’m doing an internship of sorts. Gives me class credit.”

He nodded again, feeling dumb all of a sudden. “Well…my oven…”

Another soft laugh, “right. Well, PJs, thanks for the assist. I’m going to call this in, get these guys off of the street.”

Matt knew he had been forgetting something. “I can stay with you. In case they wake up.”

She peered at him, “don’t you have to prevent a fire or something?”

He winced and listened for his brother. He knew that the ten-year-old had a fear of abandonment, and this definitely wasn’t going to help. “Right. You’re right,” he breathed out as he caught Leo’s heartbeat. It was rapid, full of fear. He was wandering around the rooftops, his whole body shaking. He could hear the way his feet moved, unsure, trying to determine where Matt had gone. His breath was shallow and quick. Matt’s stomach flipped.

“I better get going.”

She pressed something in his direction when he made to move, “stop by my place, once that oven's taken care of.”

“Oh, no,” he blushed, “I’m not, I mean, you’re pretty and all-”

“Dios mio!” She exclaimed, “not like that. Your hands, you dummy. They’ll need medical treatment, and I’m sure you’re not gunning for a clinic any time soon.”

Matt balked. “Really, I’m fine.”

She didn’t buy it and continued to hold out the card.

Reluctantly, he took it and shoved it in his pocket. “Good,” she folded her arms. “Before you go,” she said again as Matt pulled himself up the fire escape, “can I offer some advice?”

Not seeing a way out of it, Matt gave her a curt nod.

“Lose the logo,” she gestured to her own face, giving him a visual of what she meant. “Nobody likes feet that much unless they're weirdos. And you’re not a weirdo, are you, PJs?”

His stomach flipped, realizing with a start the origins of the cloth he had haphazardly wrapped around his face. He finally put a visual to Stick’s ‘present’.

“Noted,” he said through a thick throat, and then turned and raced back to Leo, stopping once only to rip the cloth off of his face. Feet. Now, what did that mean?

Leo forgave him as soon as Matt told him what had happened, and after he apologized profusely. Leo had taken the scrap of paper from his older brother as soon as he became aware of it. “There's a name and address here,” he announced, ducking out of Matt’s reach when he tried to take it back.

“Claire,” Leo announced, rattling off the address. “That’s close, right?”

Matt frowned, “we should be getting back.”

“Nuh, uh, you don’t get to just ditch me and play superhero-”

“I wasn’t playing superhero,” Matt’s frown deepened. “I heard someone in danger and acted.”

“Yeah. Like a superhero!”

He shook his head. Leo didn’t get it, none of them did. He could hear everything happening. He could hear their fear, their worry. Matt had listened to his father die. Growing up in New York meant that he had heard several people get hurt over the years. The woman’s - Claire’s - was preventable. That’s why he had done it. Not to be a martyr, but just to make the fear stop.

Matt didn’t have fear because he was too busy terminating everyone else’s.

“We should come up with a name for you. Like Jupiter Jim or Lou Jitsu!”

The older boy shook his head, but Leo continued, getting more and more enthusiastic as he did so. “Mighty Matt! No, no, Marvelous Matt. Or, or, Mysterious Matt. Or! Bart Hill.”

Matt paused, scrunching up his nose. “Where did you get ‘Bart Hill’?”

The ten-year-old shrugged. “It could be your secret identity. Like, you’re Bart Hill at night, Matty during the day.”

When Matt didn’t reply, Leo waved a hand at him cooly. “We’ll workshop it.”

“We won’t workshop anything,” Matt said when he got his voice back. “Helping Claire was a one-off thing. Okay? I don’t have time to,” he waved a hand in the air, trying to think of what to say next, “I don’t have time to play hero, Nardo, I’m busy.”

“The Lawyer.”

“No.”

Leo smirked, “I’ll come up with one, don’t worry.”

Matt sighed, “yeah, yeah, sure you will.”

College was exactly like high school. Students were always in a hurry to get to class, the student center was bustling with discussions of upcoming quizzes and a lack of change. Hell, even the romantic aspect seemed similar, just more…sexual. 

Foggy was in a majority of Matt’s classes, coincidentally. They were both pre-law majors and so it made sense, there were even a few GEs that they shared. Sharing a small room with Foggy was easy, too. He snored and listened to rock music quietly as a lullaby, but Matt was used to four younger brothers with similar tendencies.

What was the hardest part was just how far he was away from the big city. The college campus seemed to be in its own little world. Sure, there was the noise of the drunk sorority and frat boys. And sometimes he heard things that a good catholic boy shouldn’t be forced to listen to, but, still, he was making do.

He did, however, miss his nightly routine.

Matt, for whatever reason, missed ‘superheroing’. He hadn’t done anything since he saved Claire, hadn’t even shown up to her place for medical care. Leo had made good on his word and told everyone what Matt had done, which led to four small boys trying to come up with names.

The only person Leo hadn’t told was Splinter, which Matt had been surprisingly thankful for. There was something about beating up an armed goon that Matt thought Splinter would oppose. 

People also treated Matt more normally in college. 

The diversity of folks from across the globe on his campus made people less inclined to view Matt with gawking eyes. It also helped when he was with Foggy.

“Yes, yes, we know, we’re gorgeous,” he’d tell people who’d he catch staring. “Matty and I do autographs at five a pop, if you’re interested.”

He had never had a person like this before. Before Foggy there was April, but Matt had always been more protective of the younger girl, and Elektra was assertive enough that no one dared cross her in the short time the two knew each other. It was…nice having someone stand up for him for a change.

“You don’t have to do that,” he’d say anyway when Foggy would defend him.

“We’re a team,” Foggy would remind him with a shrug. “Plus, the whole blind thing makes us look great with the ladies.” He’d jest.

Matt would bump his shoulder and the two would head to class or back to their dorm.

Life went like a routine for the first few weeks. He’d attend class, eat, call home, study, sleep, and repeat. On Fridays, Foggy and him would hit the town and try to pick up women. Or, be picked up, in Matt’s case.

“You sly dog,” Foggy would chide when Matt left the underage club with a fistful of scribbled numbers and empty promises to call.

The first surprise, however, came when they were invited to a sorority party. Matt had never been to a sorority party before. Sure, he’d been to a few house parties in high school, but those were rare and few in between. He had had alcohol even less, due to his senses picking up on every little fermented taste and texture. 

“Oh, shit,” Foggy had said, slamming a dollar into their makeshift swear jar. Which was just an old pickles jar that Mikey had smuggled into Matt’s luggage with no context. “Shit, Matty, a sorority party. Look, their invitations are all sparkly and shit.”

Matt chuckled, his fingers glazing over the braille text book he had been studying when the invitation arrived in their mailbox. “I’ll take your word for it. Jar,” he reminded when Foggy got distracted again. It hadn’t even been his idea. Foggy had wanted to swear less, which he had been better about when he was around Matt’s baby brothers.

“Right, right,” Foggy nodded, distractedly, putting two more in. There was probably about a hundred dollars now, over the course of two months. “A Halloween bash. Costumes highly encouraged. We gotta go.”

Matt laughed, “what’s this ‘we’?”

The other man rolled his eyes and flopped down next to him, his body pressed close to Matt’s on the bed. “Come’on, man. You’re my wingman. Without you, I’m lost.”

“You keep complaining about me ‘stealing all the women’,” Matt reminded.

“Sure, yeah, but at the party they won’t know it's you.”

“I think the whole blind thing is a dead giveaway.”

Foggy frowned. “Fair. Okay, well, I can’t go if you won’t.”

“Sure you can.”

Foggy rolled over onto his back, which also happened to be Matt’s legs. “They’ll eat me alive,” he moaned in agony. “Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible To feeling as to sight? or art thou but A dagger of the mind, a false creation, Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?”

Matt waited till Foggy was done, his weight digging into his knees. “Macbeth?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Foggy sat up, grinning from ear to ear, “had to memorize it for my Shakespeare class.”

“The ladies must love you there,” Matt smirked, closing his book. 

“Of course,” Foggy replied, still grinning, “what’s not to love? So, are you coming?”

Matt rolled his shoulders and shook his head, smiling softly, “sure, Fogs, I’ll come. But only if,” he said before Foggy could celebrate, “you stop quoting William at me.”

“Deal!”

The party was in full swing by the time the duo showed up. It had taken forever to walk across campus, especially as Foggy attempted to keep Matt from getting hit by distracted, probably inebriated, drivers. The Delta Sigma Theta house was a few blocks from campus and was a large old money home. It was already littered (in Matt’s humble opinion) with drunk idiots.

“This was a bad idea,” Matt said at the steps, listening to all the bodies colliding. He had a firm grip on Foggy’s arm, which he minded less and less as the semester continued.

“Oh, come’on, Matty,” Foggy gave him a lopsided smile, “we already made it this far.”

“I bet no one will even care if we showed up,” Matt frowned. “This feels very ‘Elle Woods’ of us. Is anyone else even dressed up?”

Foggy had gotten the brilliant idea to wear a ‘couple’s’ costume, with Foggy, with his long hair and painted nails, in an angel costume and Matt, the good catholic boy, in a devil’s attire.

“Yes, yes,” Foggy reassured him. “We’re not in a slutty bunny-need Warren to save us moment. Not that I would mind one of the Wilson brothers at this party.”

Matt rolled his eyes. He was about to retort when his heart dropped to his knees.

“Matt-” Foggy tried, but Matt had already begun his ascent into the house. He turned and twisted, his knuckles brushing busy bodies. It was all so much all at once, and he had to narrow it down.

He continued to walk, his hearing confiding to one body. One heart. One-

“Watch it!” Someone growled as beer slashed all over him. He had walked straight first into a jock, by the feel of him. He felt like a bull, and breathed like one, too.

“My-my apologies,” Matt stammered, his senses crashing back into him with a jolt. “I didn’t see-”

But he was already being lifted off of the ground and slammed into a wall. 

“This is why we shouldn’t invite fresh-meat.”

“T-that’s funny,” Matt tried, his head throbbing too much to take anything into account. The music hadn’t stopped, not like it would in a movie, but continued to pound on. A few people stopped to watch, others chanting the words fight, fight, fight over and over again.

“He’s with me,” a voice broke through the noise.

That’s what caused a hush to fall through the crowd.

“He ran into me-”

“He’s blind, love,” the voice continued, “he’ll run into anyone in his way.”

“Oh, shit, sorry, bro,” the jock placed him down and took a step back. “I didn’t know. You should have a sign or something.”

“Gee, I’ll think about it,” Matt glowered.

“Don’t mind them,” the voice said, closer now. “Let’s go outside, Matthew.”

His breath hitched as every nerve in his body shot out as if he had just been electrocuted. Her heart beat came rushing back. Her smell. Her figure. Her everything.

“Elektra.”

She led him outside as he attempted to pick his jaw up off of the floor.

“What are you doing here?” He stammered once they were on the back patio.

She was leaning against the railing, a glass having manifested in her hand. She was swirling the liquid before taking small, measured sips. 

Elektra had grown up a lot in the last eight years. His memory of her -- or his radar memory of her -- had been so clear for so long. She used to be a twenty-five-year-old in a twelve-year-old’s body, and now she was a thirty-year-old in an eighteen-year-old. Her poise and elegance were still there, but her body had matured.

He tried not to linger on any of that, but it was hard when he was desperately trying to take her all in. Every curve, every angle, the way her hair flowed and framed her face. His mouth died at the appearance of her.

Matt had forgotten he had even asked a question till Elektra responded, “I see you got my invitation.”

He tried to speak but found that the ability had been stolen away from him.

“I go here, Matthew,” she explained, knowing his next line of questioning. “A transfer student from Greece.”

“Is that where you’ve been?” Matt’s tongue finally became unstuck. “Greece?”

She laughed and his stomach flipped. “I’ve been everywhere and nowhere,” Elektra told her with a purr.

He frowned at that as she took another delicate sip.

“Tequila,” he said without thinking.

She raised a finely plucked brow.

Matt offered a shrug and she gave him a small laugh. It wasn’t like a ‘girly’ laugh, or a laugh that insinuated flirting. More so, a laugh that told him that she was better, and, he believed it.

“Mezcal. I always make sure we’re well supplied with the good stuff.”

“Isn’t alcohol illegal to have in the houses?” Matt asked dumbly, his head still swimming.

“When you know who I know, you can do anything.”

Matt’s frown deepened. “Like Stick.”

She gave him a wry look before returning to her knowing one. “Like Stick. And others. I know the Dean. He works with us.”

“And who’s us?”

She laughed again, insinuating that Matt was silly for even asking.

“What have you been up to? Spying on me for Stick?” He asked, changing the topic slightly.

“My education is just as valuable, Matthew,” she said sternly, and yet her voice remained airy and light.

“So, what’s your major?”

“Business. I hope to conquer the world one day.”

“Charming,” he said just as dry, but a small smile began to creep.

“How are the young ones? Raphael, Donatello, Leonardo, and Michelangelo.”

“You-you remember their names?”

“Of course,” she said simply, “as I membered yours and you, mine.”

Matt cleared his throat. “Last time I saw you, you were mad.”

Elektra sighed, “I’ll admit, I was disappointed in your tactics.”

“My tactics?” he accused, “It was a goddamn friendship bracelet, Elektra. We were twelve.”

She looked up at him, her heart beat slowing down slightly. “I know.”

His anger flared up. “So what? You leave because I offered my friendship?”

“Yes.”

Matt recoiled, not expecting such a simple answer. He sputtered, trying to figure out what to say next.

“You’re bored,” she said simply. “You desperately want to belong somewhere...with someone, which is the real reason why you accepted my invitation. Not because you're sick of your ramen and video games routine. And now, your mind is racing. You're wondering what you can possibly say or do to keep me on the line, because the last thing you want is to spend the rest of the evening with a red solo cup and that shaggy-haired friend of yours.

“You know what your problem is?” She continued when Matt didn’t reply, closing the distance between them so that Matt could only hear her. Smell her. Feel her. “You're pretty. You even work the blind thing.” Her breath was warm on his skin and her lips inched closer to his. 

“But you're dumb,” she whispered so softly, Matt was sure they’d break. “You lost before you even stepped to the plate.” 

They stood there. Elektra’s hand on his arm, her face mere inches from his. His own hands hovered above her hips, as if unsure what to do with them. “You want to know what I think?” He asked, in a low, husky whisper.

“Pray tell.”

“I think the game's just beginning. Because despite your artisan tequilas and charm-school manners… Despite being richer than God and having the whole world at your fingertips...you're just as bored as me.”

She laughed at that. “Really?”

“Bored enough to spend your time inviting freshmen to parties they don’t belong at. Studying me. See, I think you were dying on the vine of this tight-ass life, because Daddy's money can't buy you the one thing you really need.”

“And what's that?” They were pressed together, their voices barely above whispers. Simple vibrations through the air.

“The unexpected.”

“Maybe you're not so dumb.”

And then she kissed him. She tasted sour and sweet and, oh, so good. Matt hadn’t really had much of an opportunity to kiss people before. Sure there were a few times here and there but nothing like this. This was drawn out and slow and when she pulled away, he followed like a puppy and she obliged.

He wasn’t sure how long they were out there for, just kissing, but it felt like forever.

“Shit,” he pulled away abruptly.

“Matthew?” she asked, intrigue and worry laced in the single word.

“I left my friend alone,” he said, his senses all muffled by the amount of it all. “I told him we’d come together. The angel and devil tag team, you know. This isn’t fair to him.” He took a tentative step back, caught between his feelings and desires for Elektra and his loyalty to his best friend.

“Well,” she began, following him. Her teeth pulled his bottom lip, “you know where to find me.”

“I’m sorry,” he apologized, his hands cupping her face.

“Me too.”

She turned away and stalked back inside. Matt ran a hand through his hair, pulling off the devil horn hairband before following her.

Despite her promise, she was gone, though Matt couldn’t blame her. She was an enigma after all. He quickly found Foggy, holding a red solo cup filled with…something, sitting at a large armchair over watching an integrated game of beer pong. His anxieties were through the roof, and a pang of guilt ran through him at the sight.

“Dude,” Foggy hissed when Matt took a seat next to him on the arm of the chair.

“Who’s winning?” he deflected.

“I don’t know,” Foggy grumbled, “but I know that we’re the only people not in a frat or sorority here. You abandoned me.”

Matt sighed heavily, ducking his head in shame. “Sorry,” he apologized for the second time that night, “I thought I…” he trailed off. He couldn’t exactly explain that he heard the girl he had been looking for years because of a radioactive change of biology.

“Dude,” Foggy interrupted, “did someone punch you in the lip?”

“Huh,” he reached up and touched his lips. He could still taste her, and a part of him wanted to follow that taste forever. “No,” he winced, “made out with someone. Sorry.”

Foggy swallowed and gave him a pained expression. That was the thing about being blind with radar vision, Matt could sense every emotion Foggy had.

Even when he lied and said that it was fine.

Especially when he lied to Matt just then.

“Dude, that’s amazing!”

Matt feigned a smile, that was convincing to no one. “I’m sorry,” he said again. “Really, Fogs, this was supposed to be your night and I made it about me. Again.”

Foggy shrugged, “I’m used to it.”

“You shouldn’t be,” Matt pressed, reaching out and gripping his friend’s arm. As if he was going to fade away if he didn’t hold him. “I need to be better at this. I’m just not used to people who aren’t family actually wanting me. And I’m fucking up what we have chasing what others only offer for an hour or two.”

Foggy’s heart skipped a beat, but Matt didn’t loosen up his grip.

“Ah, dude,” Foggy wiped his eyes from unshed tears, “that’s a swear jar dollar.”

Matt laughed. A genuine laugh for the first time that night.

The two left the party shortly after that. After Matt found out the loose intention for their actual invite, it really didn’t feel like a place they should be attending. At least, not so early in their academic career.

“Goodbye, Matthew,” he heard a woman whisper as the two began their trek back home, and it took everything in the eighteen-year-old not to run toward it.

She showed up a week after the party, on his doorstep no less. Foggy was practically drooling over the sight of her when he opened the door. She was in tight pants and a tight top with a leather jacket that hugged every curve in the right place. 

“Is Matthew here?” she asked.

“M-Matty?” Foggy stuttered, trying to pick his jaw off of the ground. Matt’s roommate peered around the door and gave Matt a look from where he sat on his bed, reading a Jane Austin book in braille. Though, technically, Matt couldn’t see the expression, he could’ve guessed what Foggy was trying to relay.

How did he always find the hotties?

Easy. The hotties found him.

Matt put a bookmark in and stood up from his bed, making his way over.

“Oh, look at that, he’s right here.”

“Elektra,” Matt offered in lieu of a greeting, “you’re here.”

“Matthew,” she replied with the same tone.

“How do you know each other? Are you the girl from the party? Is she the girl from the party?”

“A girl from the party?” Elektra raised a brow. “Are you a player in your older years, Matthew?”

“Oh, shit,” Foggy gasped, “I didn’t,” he began, “there is no girl from any party. We didn’t even attend a party? Who said anything about a party? Because I sure didn’t. You’re crazy. I mean, not crazy but-”

“Foggy,” Matt rested a hand on his shoulder, “she’s pulling your leg. Which is nice of her since you’re content with it being in your mouth.” Matt chuckled, “yes, she’s the girl from the party, but, no, I don’t exclusively know her from that. We grew up together.”

Elektra gave him a knowing look that Matt ignored. It didn’t matter to him how long the two had actually interacted as children, just her mere presence had altered his life. 

He just couldn’t decide if it was for the better or not yet.

“Here,” she tossed him something. He caught it, which awarded him a look of awe from his roommate.

“What is it?” he asked dumbly, knowing exactly what it was from touch alone.

“Protection. We’re getting you a haircut.”

Matt let out a surprised laugh, “a haircut? What’s wrong with my hair?”

“I cannot be seen with you while you look like a wet mop. No offense.”

“Offense taken,” he smiled, with no real malice behind his words. “But when would I be seen with you?”

“When we go on dates.”

Oh.

Oh.

“You’re dating?” Foggy exclaimed.

“Not yet,” Elektra interjected, “not with that hair.”

“Is your dad in town?” Matt pressed, “will I be seeing him soon?”

She pursed her lips, “he’s on business. Come, Matthew, we’re going to be late for your appointment.”

“Appointment? Hey, Elektra, wait!” But she was already walking down the hall towards the stairwell. “Fogs, I’m going to…well..”

“Obviously,” he laughed, “go after her, dude! Tell me all about it once you’re done.”

“Thanks, man. How do I look?”

“Like a wet mop, now go!”

Matt chuckled, following the woman he had been chasing for years down the hall. Ignoring the way Foggy’s heart dropped.

They crossed the parking lot, Elektra’s stride was unwavering as Matt struggled to catch up. “What was that?” He asked when he got close.

“I wanted to see you,” she offered, “as I’m sure you did too.”

“Yes, but some warning would be nice.”

She gave him a half shrug. Elektra had always been good at hiding her true emotions, even going as far as controlling her heart rate. Even as a kid. But they weren’t kids anymore, and it showed.

“Next time I’ll call you,” she said simply, snatching his phone from him. “There. Now will you please get on, Matthew, I was not joking about the appointment time.”

Matt had never been on a motorcycle before, but, frankly, it was no different from being in a car with his senses. He liked how freeing it was, and how his body pressed upon hers.

“You can drive on the way back,” she offered.

“Thanks, but I’ll probably pass.”

She shrugged, “suit yourself.”

He didn’t mind the haircut, and she was right, it was getting a little shaggy for his liking.

What he didn’t expect was where they went next.

“Your father used to box here, right?” she asked when she parked.

Matt bit on his the inside of his cheek. He hadn’t been here since he began college, but Fogwell had made good on his promise. Splinter used to take him here all the time until he began high school, and then he’d attend alone. Fogwell was nice enough to look the other way when Matt did things that a blind kid shouldn’t be able to do, and never pressed when Matt snuck out through the back, his knuckles bloodied and bruised. 

The only time he talked to Matt about boxing was to correct his technique. How to leave a fight with less damage to himself than the other guy.

Having Elektra here felt like a violation of privacy, but he wasn’t sure whose.

“Where did you go?” He asked as they walked through. “I know Stick took you away, but you were a kid. In some way, you still are.”

“Oh, Matthew,” Elektra said softly. “I can’t answer you that. Not yet.”

“Then when?” his anger flared. “I’m serious, Elektra, he hurt a lot of people when he took you. Not just me, but my brothers too. So, if you want to be in my life again, I need to know you won’t pull that shit again.”

Elektra paused, examining him. “You grew up too, Matthew. And you must know that one would do anything for their sensei.”

“Splinter is not my sensei. He’s my father.”

“No,” her mouth turned sour. “Jack Murdock was your father. Hamato Yoshi took you in as his pupil. Like Stick did for me.”

Matt glared at her from behind his glasses. He knew that Stick knew more than he was letting on. Knew that he was watched as he grew up. Same with Splinter and the boys. Someone was keeping tabs, so why not have it be Stick and his gang of foot soldiers.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the cloth, holding it out to her, accusatory.

“Then what’s this?”

“Your birthright.”

“My birthright?” he scoffed. “I don’t even know what it is, let alone how it involves me. I need answers, Elektra, especially if you’re going to waltz back into my life like the last few years never happened.”

She opened her mouth to reply when Fogwell stepped out of his office. Matt had been so preoccupied with getting answers that hadn’t even heard the older man. Elektra smiled, as if she knew that would happen.

“Matty?” the man asked. “I thought you were at…oh, hello, ma’am.”

“Hello, sir,” she smiled, pressing up against Matt. “Matthew here was just giving me a tour of his childhood. Said that his father trained here, wasn’t that right, love?”

She played the role of a doting girlfriend well, which made Matt’s heart do all sorts of things.

“Mr. Fogwell,” Matt cleared his throat, “this is my girlfriend, Ellie. El, this is the man who taught me everything I know.”

Elektra recoiled slightly at the nickname, but only enough for Matt to notice. The name Stick called her was sensitive. It took a lot for Matt to squish down the devil building inside of him, to use that knowledge to his advantage. Then he remembered the friendship bracelet and Stick’s taunts, and it was easier.

“He talks about you all the time,” she lied with ease. “Tells me he was lucky to have a man like you in his life after everything. You and his adopted father, that is.”

“Oh, why, thank you,” Fogwell blushed. “Matty,” he turned towards the other college student, “I was just ‘bout ta lock up, but you and your girlfriend can stay, if you want.”

“Thank you, sir,” Matt smiled. Whatever he and Elektra needed to hash out, it would be better with no witnesses present. 

“Come ‘round more, kid,” Fogwell smiled, stepping out, “I miss having ya around.”

“Will do, Fogs. Take care.”

When the older man left, Matt turned back and glared at Elektra. Much to her credit, she had snuck away and entered into one of the boxing rings. “Did you ever train in here, Matthew? With your sensei or the others?”

“The boys don’t box.” It wasn’t the full truth, Raph had a punching bag Fogwell gave him years ago, but Matt was the only one that came here.

“Get out of there,” Matt commanded, “let’s just talk like adults.”

She thought for a moment, before leaning over the side. “Make me.”

Despite himself, Matt smiled. “Okay, but if I win, you have to tell me something.”

“Anything?”

“Anything I ask.”

Elektra shook her head. “If you win, you get one question. If I win, we begin dating. Deal?”

He had never entered the ring faster.

Matt wasn’t sure what he expected from her. He knew that she had trained, but her whole outfit was wrong for this type of work. And yet, she moved like she was made of paper.

Each landed their own blows, but Matt knew that he was outmatched. When he finally hit the floor, defeated, he reflected on how easily he had stopped Claire’s mugging, and yet couldn’t beat Elektra. How did his brothers look at him and see the next Jupiter Jim when he was so easily defeated?

“Date?” she asked.

“I’m a good catholic boy,” Matt groaned, “I make good on my promises.”

Elektra leaned down, pinning him to the mat before kissing him. She tasted better when there wasn’t so much liquor. “Come, your friend must be getting worried.”

“Foggy doesn’t mind,” Matt tried, pulling her back into him.

They kissed for a while, her hands in his hair and Matt’s own roaming her skin.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, a tiny robotic voice announcing that home was calling.

“Shit,” he sat up, “I promised Mikey I’d tell him about Emma tonight.”

“Who’s Emma?” Elektra asked, relaxing, “should I be worried?” Though she looked anything but.

“A book, now shush.”

She laughed, and Matt wanted to kiss her all over again.

“Matty!” Mikey laughed.

The two stayed as Matt told his youngest brother his most recent updates with the book. Elektra watched Matt, the entire time silent, smiling.

If Matt hadn’t been so invested in his phone call, he may have noticed the way Elektra softened at Matt’s attention to his brother. He may have noticed how she slowly let her walls down for him.

He may have noticed that she, in that very moment, was falling for an imperfect, perfect man.

School had always been easy for Matt, especially when he had four brothers who were eager to help his study. College was no different, except, maybe, the lack of them physically there. 

It had taken the four younger ones time to accumulate to life without Matt, and Matt without them. 

It wasn’t as if they didn’t chat at least once a day, but there was only so much Matt could pick up from them over the phone. He could still tell when they were lying or up to something, and today’s call was no different.

Matt, however, didn’t press. That was his first mistake.

His next mistae was going to another sorority party with Elektra, this time getting Foggy his own date. Although, they found each other pretty easily all on their own.

His final mistake was getting talked into doing a keg stand, which he did perform in record time, he might add.

Matt usually didn’t drink alcohol, but Elektra had made a decent point about being able to control and manage his senses, especially if he was drugged or inebriated in some way. She also took him ‘training’, as she called it, for some of their dates. It felt like what he used to do with the boys when he was still living at home, just this one included more crime fighting.

“Stick to the shadows,” she had warned him. “Force people to see the world you see it. The darkness is your biggest ally.”

If Matt had been paying a bit more attention, he may have noticed the four shadows that he had accumulated that day. Instead, someone noticed them first.

“Matt,” a girl that he had never caught the name of but was sorority sisters with Elektra, pressed up on him. “Your brothers are so cute!”

Matt offered her a confused look and reached for his phone. Finding that it was still there and not being passed around, he tilted his head. “Thank you? Is Foggy showing you pictures, or something?”

The girl laughed, causing Matt to wince from the intensity of it. “No, silly, they’re here.”

Matt’s heart plummeted as he became well more alert. “Where?” He demanded, unable to find their heart beats from the amount of alcohol working through his system.

“They’re playing Cody in a game of pool,” she informed him. “Though I think a better word for that is beating Cody.”

The man nodded and reached out for Elektra who was always close now. He enjoyed that about her reentry into his life.

“I need you to guide me to the main room,” he whispered in her ear, “and help me extract my brothers before I puke.”

She nodded, pressing a kiss to his cheek before taking his hand and leading him through the crowd. 

“Matt,” Foggy rushed up to him, “your brothers are-”

“We know,” he replied, a slight slur in his words. “Can you…?”

“Already on it,” Foggy told him before disappearing back into the crowd.

Elektra stayed by his side, an arm around his, as he tried to focus on his brothers. Despite it giving him a headache, he was right in his hypothesis, it was good practice.

Leo and Donnie were the ones actually playing. Though playing didn’t feel like the right word. They were anneliating Cody all the while Raph and Mikey cheered on from the sidelines.

“They’re good,” Elektra mused, “your Sensi is training them well.”

Something shifted in Matt at the comment, although he couldn't fully dismiss it as a mere effect of mass alcohol consumption.

“Woah, Fog-Man, we were winning!” A voice broke through the white noise. Leo’s complaining continued as Foggy announced the ending of the game, much to Cody’s delight.

“You can’t do this!” Leo yelled.

“You’re, like, what, seven? Ow! Matt, he kicked me!”

“Outside,” he begged and Elektra obliged.

Once he was able to breathe in semi clean air, his head began to clear.

“Matty!” Mikey was the first one to greet him once Foggy wrangled them to the yard. The youngest turtle was wrapped around him. “And Elektra! You’re back.

“I am,” she smiled, but Matt’s frown only deepened.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded, removing himself from his brother’s grip to get a better look at them all. “Does Splinter know you’re here?”

The silence spoke for itself.

“I tried to stop ‘em,” Raph began, “but we really wanted to see you-”

Matt put a hand up in the universal sign for stop. “Raph, with me gone you’re the eldest. I expected better from you. From all of you.”

“But, Matt-”

“Leo, there is absolutely nothing you can say right now that will justify tonight's actions. You left home, without permission, traveled New York alone and at night. What if something happened? What if you were attacked or hurt and no one knew where you were?”

He didn’t need to say what he was thinking. They knew what he meant, and the words seemed to choke him.

“You don’t visit home as often as we’d like,” Donnie whispered and the Devil flared up in Matt’s heart.

“I call every week. No, I call every other day. I’m trying to pass classes. Pay for food. Housing. I’m trying to survive.”

“You didn’t tell us about Elektra,” Leo countered, with just as much venom. “What else are you keeping from us?”

“Nothing!” he yelled back. Foggy placed a hand on Matt’s shoulder, grounding him. He took in a deep breath, through his nose and then out of his mouth and counted to ten. Matt sighed, “let’s get you home.”

“But we want to stay!” Mikey announced, “we were having fun.”

Matt simply shook his head, his headache returning tenfold at the action. “No. You’ll be lucky if Dad didn’t notice your absence and is tearing up New York looking for you now.” The boys shrank into their shells. Matt sighed again, leaning closer to them. “I am sorry for getting mad, but I am still disappointed. I don’t know what I would have done if anything happened to any one of you. I know I’m away from home, but that is no excuse to go wandering around at night and breaking into Frat parties.

“And you’re right, you are my responsibility so I should’ve done better placing boundaries and enforcing them. Breaking curfew and galavanting alone at night across town is violating those boundaries. Now, let’s get you home.”

“I’ll drive,” Elektra offered, “assuming you still live in the same place.”

Matt nodded, not wishing to take public transit so close to midnight. “You have something other than a bike?”

“Stick ensures I’m well prepared.”

“Foggy, I-” Matt started once the boys and Elektra began their trek to her car.

Another hand on his shoulder, “dude, don’t worry about it anyways. That’s scary what they did. You handled it well.”

“I feel like I’m failing them,” he confessed.

“What? Dude, no! You’re doing your best. Setting an example for them. You’re eighteen. Stop carrying the world on your shoulders. You’re not Atlas, you’re just Matt.”

Just Matt.

If only.

“Thanks, Fogs. I might spend the night, sleep off the massive hangover then and come back Sunday.”

“Do what you gotta do. It’s okay.”

Matt swallowed, “I better get going.”

Everyone was silent on the car ride home. The boys sat in guilt, each shifting through their own shame. The younger four contemplated just how angry they had made the adults in their lives, while Matt rifled through how he wasn’t doing enough.

Foggy was wrong. He had to carry this family because no one else could. No one should.

Elektra was silent for her own reasons.

“We’re here,” she announced after a short while. And here there were indeed. Matt hadn’t thought of the abandoned apartment building in years. 

“Thanks, El. Boys, let’s go.”

“Do you want a ride home, Matthew?”

“I’ll figure it out,” he leaned in and stole a kiss. “I’ll call you.”

She kissed him back. “Raphael, Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo. It was good to see you, I wish it was under better circumstances. Maybe when you’re no longer in trouble we can schedule a proper get together. Preferably during the day and not at a college party.”

They hung their heads in shame.

Matt led the sad battalion through the tunnel system once Elektra had pulled away.

“You’re dating-”

Matt held up his hand again, “you don’t get to comment on my love life when you’re grounded.”

Leo’s face scrunched up in a flash of anger before returning to his guilty downcast. “Alright, everyone file in.”

“What about you?” Mikey inquired once he realized Matt was returning the way they came.

“I need to do something. I’ll be back in the morning. Then we’ll discuss your punishment.”

The boys nodded gloomily and left for their respective rooms. Splinter, bless his heart, was still fast asleep. Matt was glad, he didn’t have the energy to advocate for his brothers right now.

His feet carried him down the semi empty streets of New York. He wasn’t even sure where he was headed until he was standing at her door, a random black cloth tied around his eyes.

“PJs?” she inquired, the bat in her hand returning to its residency on the floor.

“Claire,” he started, his throat closing with nerves, “I-I need your help.”

He then, in all of his glory, promptly threw up all over her welcome mat.