Down in the Docks
The dinner was going well. Steve was still uneasy about what he had heard, but there was not denying that Matt and Foggy seemed like good people. They were really easy to talk to. And it turned out their former secretary had written an article Steve had recently read on how Hell’s Kitchen was in need of help from vigilantes, but also of its own people standing up and doing the right thing.
“We were really sorry to see her go. But everytime I read the New York Bulletin, I know she did the right thing.” It was clear Matt appreciated her. They both did.
“So, tell me. How’s Thor?” Foggy wasn’t nervous anymore. The jug of beer he was drinking may have something to do with that.
“Big. Alien. Nowhere to be seen for the past…year and a half?”
“Let’s be honest, he probably avoids us on purpose.” Steve could have added that he had many reasons to do that, but Tony spoke first.
“Certainly. He sure visits Jane, so he could come by sometime.”
“Who?”
“Jane. His girlfriend from another realm. She’s an astrophysicist. Top of her field.” Tony ate some more fries.
“Did you hear that?” Foggy looked at Matt. “Superhero gossip. This is great. We should represent them more often.”
“We’ll see how this goes.” Matt smiled, and Steve would have sworn he even heard him laugh.
They left the place soon after, and Foggy asked them to have a drink with them at a nearby bar.
“I’m sorry.” Tony apologized while looking at his phone. “It seems I have adopted a son somehow. I should go check on him.”
Foggy gave Steve a confused look.
“Don’t ask me. Anyway, thank you guys. I think I should leave as well.”
“We’ll be in touch.” Matt held out his hand for a handshake again. They complied, and soon they were all on their ways.
Steve headed to the docks. He didn’t feel like leaving his city so soon, and hadn’t been around for a while. It still smelled of seaweed and salt, but the smell of petrol was stronger than it was back in the day.
It was nice to be back in New York at night. There were more lights than he remembered, but the feeling was the same. Plus, this area had changed less than other.
He couldn’t help but wonder what Peggy would have though. He knew she had lived in Manhattan for a while. God, he missed her. It hurt that he had missed being with her those years after the war, but that was something he had accepted a while ago. Now, he just missed having her. Someone with whom he could share these thoughts. Who’d understand everything and nothing had changed in 70 years. Nat and Sam would always listen. And laugh. Wanda would listen as well, and probably be more compassionate. But Peggy would have laughed because she know he was right. She would understand, and she understood everything. Now, there was just another other person who could understand what missing 70 years was like and he -
He heard someone screaming. He had wandered the streets for a while. He couldn’t even smell the river now.
Steve kept hearing screams, and tried to follow them. He turned around a corner and bumped into a group of teenagers. They were running in the opposite direction.
“What’s happening? Are you okay?”
Some of them stopped. A girl who was about fifteen started talking. She seemed more calm than the rest of them.
“They were trying to mug us…or worse. But he came. He’s beating them up.”
“Who?”
“The Devil.” The girl answered.
“It’s Daredevil now!” A boy added.
“Okay. Come with me. I think there’s a busier street not far from here. You should be safe there.”
He walked with them until they reached it. And he left them at a deli, telling the owner to call the police, and the kids to use their phones to call their parents. Then he went back.
He got there just in time to see the so called ‘Devil of Hell’s Kitchen’ whisper something at the only man who was still conscious. It sounded like ‘You better not do this ever again’. Steve watched from the dark as the red suited man jumped onto a trash can, then to the emergency ladder of one of the nearest buildings, and became less visible he ascended. Then he followed him.
*****
When Steve reached the roof he wasn’t there anymore. But he saw something moving on a nearer roof in his peripheral vision, and jumped there. He followed that Daredevil.
He had to jump to the rooftop of another two different buildings, but he was getting closer. The guy wasn’t nearly as fast as him, but he barely made a sound, so he was hard to follow.
Third building.
He was there. He knew it. There was no light, so he couldn’t see. But he knew it. He heard him catch his breath, and ran.
He had caught him.
“It’s okay. I’m not- I just want to talk.” Steve then heard a husky voice answer.
“You sure know how to make that clear.” It was pitch black in that corner of the rooftop. Steve couldn’t even see his silhouette, but his voice sounded familiar.
Steve gulped. “Thank you for saving those kids.”
“Is that all? Could you at least let go of me?”
Steve did. He wasn’t even aware he was still holding him.
“You. I’ve read what you’ve done for this neighborhood. It’s a lot of work for just one guy.”
“I’ve got some friends.”
Steve didn’t say anything. What could he…? How do you start a conversation with a fellow costumed hero? One whose neighborhood you helped destroy.
“I’m sorry the battle caused so much pain.”
Steve could hear the other man breath. He took a while to answer.
“You fought aliens. You avoided the destruction of the entire city. I’m not saying I’m glad about what happened. But it wasn’t worse thanks to you.” His voice got gloomier. “Actually. I’m the one who should apologize. I should have helped.”
“You’re doing more than enough. Just. Be careful out there. You’re doing good. The papers say it. You don’t kill. You only mime or seriously injure.” Did Steve heard a laugh? “You stay away from trouble. And court.”
The guy was actually laughing at this point. And something clicked. It was dark. Yet he knew where to hide.
“ ‘Are you going to tell him?’ ”
“I beg you pardon?”
“ ‘Please, stop asking me that.’ ” Steve paused. “I heard that. My hearing’s good. Probably not as good as yours, though.”
Daredevil didn’t say a word. It was more than saying anything.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come. I-“ He really shouldn’t. This was none of his business.
“Foggy….”
“Sorry.”
“No, it’s. Just don’t tell anyone.” He sighted. “Shit.”
“So, he knows.”
“Yes. He is one of the few people. He’s one of the few people who know.”
None of them said anything for a few minutes. At some point, Matt took off his mask.
Steve then though about before. In the docks. How he felt like he needed Peggy. Yes, he needed her. But he had other people who understood his way of life.
“Do you want to talk about it? About…what you do?” He was starting to wonder. About many things. Was he really blind? It’s not like he hadn’t seen anything weirder than that anyway. Matt wasn’t answering. He was probably too busy cursing Foggy. “Those friends… Did you mean Foggy or have you worked with some other…” Steve knew it wasn’t always the appropriate term, but he didn’t know any other. “…enhanced human?”
“You could say so.”
“Good. It’s good having people who understand.”
“I s’pose it is, yeah.”
“And friends who support you.” He laughed. “Hell, I didn’t know how Bucky was gonna react when he first saw me like this.”
“He’s your friend, right? The Winter Soldier.”
“Yes.”
Silence.
“What did he say?” Matt seemed curious for the first time. He hadn’t even been invested on Tony’s tales, or his, during dinner. To be honest, Foggy had for both of them.
“I though you were smaller.” They both laughed. “What did Foggy say?”
“Oh, he was mad. Truly mad. I don’t blame him. I had almost bled to death.” He took a breath. “He said ‘Are you even really blind?’” He chuckled. And so did Steve.
“Are you?” It seemed like it was a good time to ask.
“I can see. But I can’t see like people can usually see. I - It’s like the world is on fire. I can’t see the details, I can’t read. But, somehow, I see.” Steve was silent, and that seemed to encourage Matt to continue talking. “It’s like all the other senses filled out the gaps.”
“That’s amazing. Not that you don’t see. Everything else.” Matt laughed. He seemed to have an easy laugh. He was probably worried about not revealing his secret before, Steve thought.
“I should probably go.” Steve stood up. “I just wanted to see New York at night. And now I’m miles away from a safehouse.”
“This is probably…” He paused. “You know who I am anyway. Would you like to crash on my couch? It’s big. Well, maybe not for you but.”
“I think I’ve bothered you enough. I can stay awake more hours than the average -“
“We could still have some wine and chat. I was surprised to see you and Stark together at the office. The news had led me to think you couldn’t stand each other.”
“That is a long story.”
“I’m used to listen to people’s statements.” He put his mask on again. “And I’ve got time.”