First Born

They graduated. He should be happy, he was happy. Matt was finally an attorney, it was the summer…Foggy had insisted on Matt meeting his family and staying with them as they both tried to find apartment’s of their own. They were accepted for the Landman and Zack internship that would start in a few months, they could learn to support themselves and finally move out into their own way.

They were attorneys.

And yet? Matt couldn’t bring himself to really care. The noises at night were getting worse, the sounds of the public screaming, crying for help and the sheer…Matt took a deep settling breath as he packed away his shirts. The helplessness he felt every time he didn’t go out there to save them.

His thoughts also wandered to him and Foggy, they were searching for their own apartments now. Individual apartments. Matt hadn’t lived alone since, well he hadn’t much lived alone ever. Throughout High School he lived in St. Agnes, in undergrad he was in a shared living space with three other people (who he barely interacted with, but still), and now he’s been living the past few years with Foggy.

The thought suddenly occurs to him he might be alone again soon, if Foggy gets promoted at L and Z, or decides to go off into other paths. It’s most likely they’d have separate offices at some point, and Nelson and Murdock…Well Nelson and Murdock was something they talked about only once while drunk so it didn’t have much of a foreseeable future.

“Matt, buddy, if you don’t stop gripping your clothes like that you’re gonna look like a discarded candy wrapper every time you go out in public with those wrinkled shirts,” Foggy set down something heavy and large. A suitcase, full of clothes. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, Foggy,” Matt continued to fold and arrange carefully. He was aware based on his labels what color shirts they were, style, etc. He had to arrange them in a certain order or he’d end up dressing in some ‘color clashing monstrosity’ according to Foggy. This result had happened when they packed up for a hotel one night (student law conference) and apparently he’d paired military green shorts with a pink dress shirt (which he didn’t even know he owned, he suspected that something red got stuck in his whites and was now eternally suspicious.)

“There’s something wrong…” Foggy stepped towards him. “Look, I get it, you basically ran off directly after our graduation in an effort to avoid my family. You don’t have to be nervous, Matt. They’ll love you, and they’re really excited to meet you.”

Matt hadn’t really been thinking about that, but now that he let himself rest on the subject, yes he was terrified of meeting Foggy’s family. His magic wasn’t exactly subtle in his current state. He was down, angry, and that had a direct impact on his surroundings. Milk had been spoiling, paint peeling, wood cracking- and while it might not be noticeable it the moment people meet him, he knew the longer he spent at the Nelson home the more suspicious things would become.

“Foggy, you know as well as I do that it’s going to be difficult for me to hide the fact I’m a Witch from your family.”

There was a pause, Matt imagined Foggy was frowning, “I was, kind of under the impression we wouldn’t have to hide that?” His voice went up a pitch.

“What?”

“You kind of missed it, but, well, when you left after graduation my parents were pretty insistent on getting me to admit why you were avoiding them. I may have mentioned you’re part of a coven.”

“You,” Matt pinched the bridge of his nose. “I cannot believe you told them.”

“They were totally okay with it, Matt!” Foggy explain quickly. “Really, they were super fine, it took a little explaining for me to brush off the fact I didn’t mention it before, but well they didn’t hold that against you- just me.”

“Did you tell them…” Matt ventured.

“No I didn’t mentioned the Claimed first-born thing yet,” Foggy explained. “That’s something I completely understand wanting to hide, and I’ll rely on your decision, but I would prefer telling them about that sooner than later.”

Well, I would prefer you stick to your fucking boundaries. Matt’s thought hissed. The intrusive statement surprised even him. He’d been having a lot more of them lately, but has always managed to keep it inside. He took a long, deep, steadying breath, “Just keep in mind, that everything about me…my childhood, my status, everything. I consider it my own prerogative.”

“Sorry,” Foggy’s breathing was sad now. Can’t I do anything right anymore? Matt thought. “Sorry, I’ll try to, I’ll ask about things next time.”

“Why does letting them know matter, anyway?” To his own ears even Matt could hear the harshness his tone, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

“Because they’re my parents! And we’re best friends! I’ve already told them so much about you, they practically think you’re the second-coming of the messiah. They’re probably gonna find out about it at some point, anyway.”

Matt had plenty of secrets, and those secrets kept him sane. His status as a witch, as a Claimed first-born, his super-senses and martial arts skills. All that kept him balanced was the knowledge he had these things for himself, that nobody fully knew him.

The moments he let people in completely, like Elektra, were moments that only served to hurt him.

His secrets kept him sane…But Foggy kept him human.

“I’ll consider it,” Matt conceded.

Matt was just a bit confused when they made it to the Nelson family home. First of all, it was in upstate New York. The Catskills. He’d never been upstate before…In fact, he’d never even been out of Manhattan.

“So your family moved?” Matt asked as they left the bus station. They were adjusting their luggage, only two suitcases between them. He barely paid attention to the long ride there, and just came to the (frankly late) realization that the home where he healed Foggy’s mom was in Hell’s Kitchen. He didn’t like the way things sounded up here, nothing bounced properly, there weren’t enough buildings to get him a clear picture. Everything smelt very…green. It was eerily quiet, save for some wildlife in the area and a neighboring town.

“Uh, well yeah,” Foggy said. “Sorry, I forgot to mention it, they just moved into a new home the last couple of months. We still have an apartment down in Hell’s Kitchen but my dad got some settlement money after he threw out his back on a job…They’re both settling in the town. Candace just got accepted to college and will be heading off next school year, so they figured it was time for them to move on and embrace calmer living.”

Matt frowned, “Hm.”

“What?” Foggy led them on an unfamiliar path, Matt’s elbow in one hand and suitcase in the other. Matt could hear a bird building a nest somewhere across from them. “Don’t like the country?”

“I’ve never been,” Matt admitted.

“Really?” Foggy smiled. “You’ve lived in New York your entire life and haven’t been upstate? There’s fresh air, trees, lakes and wildlife. Small towns and businesses full of republicans and hippies living in harmony.”

“I’ve never left Manhattan,” Matt explained. “Not once, it’s not as if I ever needed to or had the opportunity.”

“Never left Manhattan? What about that one time we went to the Bronx Zoo?”

“We didn’t go to the Bronx Zoo.”

“I’m pretty sure we did,” Foggy said somewhat emphatically.

“Foggy, I would remember if we went to the Bronx Zoo. You must be thinking of the Central Park Zoo…Remember? They didn’t have elephants and you complained the entire time,” Matt didn’t know what Foggy was thinking bringing Matt to the Zoo, it was a primarily visual experience and Matt couldn’t properly enjoy it, everything just smelled. Though Foggy’s various descriptions of the sea lions were entertaining.

“Oh,” Foggy hummed thoughtfully. “I guess you’re right. Well! Congrats man, on taking the plunge to different realms of society.”

“Yeah,” Matt was glad Foggy had his arm, because he had absolutely no idea where they were. Though as they walked a bit longer he could finally pick up noise from what seemed to be a home  in a clearing. “How much longer?” Matt asked.

“Not long, the path up to my parents house from the bus stop is probably…We’ve been walking for five minutes now? So we’ll be there in just a few, I can actually see it through the trees.”

“Why did your parents buy a house in the middle of the woods,” Matt complained.

“Nature!” Foggy yelled. “There’s even a lake within walking distance, and the town is a good 30-minute walk away, but we can do it if we wanted to meet the locals. My parents already walked like crazy around Hell’s Kitchen, anyway. We can go swimming!”

Matt wanted to protest, but didn’t feel like raining on Foggy’s parade. He had been to one public pool with his dad before he went blind, but save for that he never swam again. In fact, he didn’t even remember how to swim- and the water would probably mess with his senses anyway.

Just as Foggy said, it only took a bit longer before Matt became aware that they were at the home, it was a decent size, but most of the space was outside. Matt could sense three bedrooms total (a larger one, separated from two smaller), a large kitchen, and small living space. There was no dining room, but he sensed a table and set of chairs on an outside back patio.

The smell of cinnamon and old books seemed to follow into the new home just as he had noticed in their previous apartment. There were only two heartbeats in the home, both older people, Foggy’s sister Candace probably hadn’t showed up yet.

As they walked to the house steps he felt like his heart was about to beat out of his chest.

“You ready?” Foggy asked, his fist hovered just over door.

“Yeah,” Matt answered.

Foggy knocked, and only got one bang in before the door was opened abruptly.

The first thing Matt noticed was that he did a remarkable job on Foggy’s mother. She seemed healthy, her lungs were clear, and her heartbeat was steady and strong. She was fit, her hair brushed just above her ears, cut short. She had a glow, a comforting bit of energy to her. Foggy’s father was a bit less healthy, Matt noticed tension in his back, he was heavyset like his son, but he still had a commanding presence.

“You must be Matt!” Foggy’s mom embraced him in a hug, which he was definitely not expecting, and tensed up immediately. That energy was definitely welcoming.

“Mom!” Foggy yelled. “I told you.”

She immediately let go, while her husband let out a hearty laugh, “Oh I’m sorry, honey,” She said to Matt. “I was just so excited to meet you, Foggy talks about you all the time! On and on, Matt this and that-“

“Mom.”

“Oh hush, Franklin! Am I not allowed to be excited?”

That’s when Foggy’s father spoke up, his voice considerably deeper than Matt expected, it reverberated in his chest like bass drum. A sharp contrast to his son’s more high-pitched speech, “We’re happy to meet you.”

Matt put out a hand to shake, happy that Foggy’s father was less likely to envelop him in a hug, “Nice to meet you too, Mr. and Mrs. Nelson.”

“Oh please, call me Edward,” He shook Matt’s hand in a firm grip. “I feel old enough already, if you start throwing Mister around, I suddenly envision myself in a nursing home.”

“And call me Anna, anything else and I might just refuse to offer you my homemade cookies.”

Foggy laughed, “That’s a serious threat, Matt. My mom’s cookies are the best on planet Earth.”

“And the only thing she knows how to cook,” Edward pitched in.

“That’s not true! I make a decent casserole,” Anna protested.

Edward made a dramatic retching sound and Anna playfully slapped him on the arm. Matt smiled just slightly, he liked Foggy’s parents. They were exuberant just like Foggy, and he could tell just how the personalities he grew up with influenced the man he is today.

They both welcomed them in and Matt was given the house tour. The conversations they had were very typical, about school, their future plans and the weather. Matt was grateful for something just a bit more usual…The Witch issue wasn’t brought up at all. That is, until Foggy’s sister Candace showed up.

It didn’t take her until the front door that she mentioned it, “I am back from the store! Bearing gifts of chips and dip,” She barreled in as they all sat about the living room. Interrupting a conversation about the law. Candace set the bags she was holding down and greeted her brother, “Big bro! I see you’ve brought your Witch roommate with you, I am really fucking psyched to learn about all his magic. I so called it that he’d make friend with Witches, wasn’t his ex a fuckin’ Witch? Damn, you get around the coven.”

Matt was tight-lipped and suddenly felt very put out.

“Language, Candace,” Edward warned.

“Oh, shit, sorry,” she said.

“Candy,” Foggy laughed and stood up to her a tight hug, “Always the little brat.”

“And you’ll always be a dork,” Candace admitted. “There’s nothing that can be done about it.”

Matt didn’t want to be rude. He stood up and held out a hand, “I’m Matt, though I hear that Foggy talks a lot about me.” He did he best to try and glare just briefly in Foggy’s general direction.

Candace took his hand, and shook…And just in the moment he felt something off, a brief spark of something that came into his awareness. He put his hand back, and tried to place the feeling. Candace didn’t seem to notice anything, though. And just spoke herself, “I’m sure Foggy doesn’t talk much about me. He’s ashamed of me.”

“Oh, no,” Matt said distracted. “He only says good things.” What the hell was that feeling? It felt familiar, but he couldn’t quite find the right memory to stick.

“What are you talking about?” Foggy protested. “I obviously only say horrible, horrible, things about my little teenage sister.”

“I am an adult now, Fog! You should treat me as such,” She took a seat just as Matt sat down. “I have a lot of questions for Matt, though. So what’s it like to be a Witch?”

“It’s nothing special,” He said casually.

“You know I’m going to be majoring in Witchcraft Studies at NYU,” She explained. “Ever since I heard about the first-born thing with Foggy I’ve been obsessed with magic. Don’t worry, I extinguished any lingering biases my family might have about Witches.”

Matt noticed everybody tense just slightly when she said the word ‘first-born.’ He smiled anyway, “Well, thanks I guess.”

“Do you have a family line? I haven’t heard of the Murdock line, just not too sure, but it’s not like every Witch’s line is well-known. Though I know that Marci Stahl had a line. Did you know her great grandfather ran his own coven? It’s pretty crazy,” She rambled and threw her feet up on the coffee table.

“Oh, no, I don’t have a family line because my father was a Matchless,” Matt explained. “I went to the coven later in life.”

“Why did you choose to?” She asked. Matt could feel her come closer, her heartbeat fluttering in excitement. She was obviously very passionate about the subject.

Matt shrugged, “Benefits.” It wasn’t really a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth. Something flashed in his awareness, that same feeling he got when she shook his hand.

It was then that the realization really hit him. She had a shielding spell on her, a weak one (the same that Elektra used when they’d first met) but enough that it threw him off her trail. Just the brief flashes indicated the spell was hard to maintain, it reminded him of some of his earlier work when he was young.

“Benefits?” She asked. “That’s an odd explanation, you know, I was reading and apparently one of the main reasons Matchless are ever brought to the coven are,” She paused. Probably coming to her own realization.

In the pause Foggy took his opportunity, “Well, while I’d love to keep hearing this riveting conversation, I’ve had enough witchcraft talk for semester.” Foggy laughed. “And I’m starving!”

“I’ll get to making dinner,” Edward said.

“I’ll go help you, honey,” Anna said and followed him away. The fact that Edward didn’t argue, or say anything about her cooking skills, gave way to the fact they weren’t fully over witchcraft. Matt knew they were uncomfortable, and couldn’t bring himself to be bitter about it. Witchcraft was an odd thing that defied a lot of laws, and for Regulars it made sense to be off-put by it.

“Why didn’t you fucking tell me, Foggy?” Candace said in a harsh whisper to her brother. “Seriously? You dick.”

“Tell you what?” Foggy said innocently.

“While I appreciate the attempt at a save,” Matt said. “I think your sister is smart enough to know that Matchless almost never transition to covens unless they’re forced to. Though usually it’s not something Regulars know.” He said it in a way that he hoped made the point.

If Foggy’s heartbeat meant anything, he probably caught on. The Nelson family was smart.

“Yeah, I may have not mentioned that,” Candace’s cheeks just had that small uptick of heat. She was blushing.

“Mentioned what? My dear sister?” Foggy said, his teeth were clenched for each word.

“I only found out after the first-born debacle,” She dropped her shielding spell. Matt’s ears felt clearer, his shoulders un-tensed. It was easy to forget how much the presence of magic in a room could change his disposition.

“You’re an Inkling,” Matt raised an eyebrow. “No wonder your spell was so bad.”

Most Inklings never even knew they had magic, just went through their lives thinking that the strange bouts of intuition they had, unnatural luck, and odd events that happened when they were upset were simply coincidence.

For the few that ever realized they have magic, it was almost unheard of for them to ever be accepted into a coven…Since they weren’t naturals at spells, they were considered unworthy, and Inklings were just another facet of Regular society. The only exception was if they were given up as a first-born, then usually a Witch would train them for a charge.

Most run of the mill psychics were Inklings (whether they knew it or not) and some leading career choices included religious leaders, medical professions, and military work. Having just that bit of magic in a battlefield or emergency room made them gifted at their jobs.

“Yeah, yeah. I already submitted paperwork to the coven but they’ve been giving me a lot of pushback. I’ve been practicing. And you! You’re a Claimed first-born,” There was change in the air current, she was jabbing a finger at him. “What’s your charge? I mean it could be anywhere in Manhattan, even New York, but I’m betting it’s Hell’s Kitchen right?”

“He never really wanted to do it,” Foggy explained. “If you know so much about witchcraft then you should know that the coven doesn’t give Claimed first-borns any sort of choice in the matter.”

“You’re still sleeping with the enemy,” Candace growled.

“And you have magic!” Foggy yelled, but then grew quiet when he knew that his parents could probably hear him. “Who else knows?”

“Just me, and whatever poor sap has to sort through my paperwork.”

“Wait,” Matt frowned. Inkling magic was most commonly passed down through families, and that energy he felt around Foggy’s mom…He let himself reach out. No wonder, his magic worked so well on her. “Oh.”

“What?” Candy asked.

“Did you know your mom was an Inkling, as well?” He leaned in. “A very, very weak one. So much so it’s barely there…And if your mom is an Inkling and it is passed down through family line…” But he had never felt that sort of magic with Foggy. He would have known if Foggy was an Inkling.

“My mom is an Inkling?” Foggy’s heartbeat was faster than ever. “Does that mean I don’t owe you my first-born? You said magic works both ways, those who have it don’t face the consequences-”

“That’s not how it works Foggy, you’re the one who summoned me. It doesn’t matter whether your mother had magic, it’s you who faces the consequences,” Matt elaborated. “But you must be an Inkling as well Foggy. Maybe a very weak one, if I can’t even feel it.” A smile bloomed on his face. This meant Foggy wouldn’t face the consequences, he’d be happy and healthy and his child would be his own-

But Foggy didn’t seem happy. Neither did Candace.

“She’s not my biological mother, Matt.”