PSL 01: murdocksboy

[clouded_heart]

It had been six weeks since Midland Circle.

It was one of those defining moments that would forever have Before and After. Before Midland Circle hadn't been amazing. There were amazing things in it, like having a paying job, working with super powered people inside of the legal system, being able to afford rent and clothes and food...

And the not amazing. He tried not to think about it when he was awake, because asleep, his brain did nothing but chew it over and over, with night after night of dreams.

Marci, bless her, was coping but he knew the difficulties she had always had with Matt and the last thing she deserved was listening to him talk about Matt endlessly. Karen could listen and talk with him, but it didn't really feel like it helped, because for all that she knew his secret (one or two of them, anyway), she only met Matt after the Devil.

He found himself at the Clinton Church during a quiet time. It was unfamiliar, but he sat himself down in a pew and waited until he saw the priest making his way towards him. "Can I help you, son?"

"I hope so," Foggy said softly. "My friend swore by his coffee chats with you."

The father frowned slightly and then a sad smile warmed his face. "Foggy? Franklin Nelson, well, I never. It's been years since I saw you."

"I know, Matt likes to keep his life compartmentalised. Liked." He hadn't said the word, he wasn't ready to, but in so many other ways he was starting to acknowledge what 'gone' really was.

"How about we get a couple of coffees and we can talk? Come out the back, I have a good coffee machine in my office."

Foggy went with Father Lantom. In this place, where Matt spent so much time, with people who remembered the young man he had known, the weight of Midland Circle lessened for a little bit. The guilt and grief eased with half remembered antics and better times that led to Foggy laughing loudly for the first time in months. Maybe the first time since the end of Nelson & Murdock (the end of Matt and Foggy).

He could almost feel Matt's presence and it let the hours pass smoothly, until Father Lantom needed to go give Mass and Foggy decided to just sit in the office for a while, enjoying the warmth of good memories before he walked home in the twilight.

Comments

[murdocksboy]

Recovering from what happened at Midland Circle has been the kind of endeavor Matt almost wasn't prepared to undertake. Almost like learning how to live again, something that can be a struggle when you're not sure you necessarily want to succeed. But Sister Maggie and Father Lantom have been good to him, if not especially patient (probably the best kind of tactics to use). And slowly he's regaining the strength and balance his body needs.

Less so the peace of mind, but that's always taken second place with the Murdock boys anyway.

He doesn't realize who Father Lantom's visitor is until it's almost too late, his sneakers squeaking a little on the polished floor as he comes to a sudden halt just a few steps from the priest's office. Matt's senses were all over the map for a while, but he knows the smell of Foggy's favorite shampoo and Marci's perfume. Shit. This isn't how he planned to do reveal himself.

He isn't sure he ever planned to reveal himself.

Swallowing hard, aware of the relatively fresh cuts and bruises on his face and the older injuries to the rest of him, aches that still affect the way he moves, he takes a breath and pushes open the door. "Foggy."

[clouded_heart]

That voice.

Foggy goes tense, his breath catches and frankly, he thinks it's very likely that his heart has stopped beating all over again, or maybe just started beating again after Midland Circle. He turns slowly, looking to the doorway and... he could almost believe it. The cuts and bruises and the awkward way he's holding his body, like he's been through trauma.

A building fell on him. You don't get up from that. Even a Murdock doesn't get back up from that.

"Who are you? This is not funny."