Matt Murdock Shorts

Thanksgiving

"No, Foggy, you don't have to do this. I'm fine."

"Do what? Bring you to this giant meal that my family will feed off for the month before throwing away the rest of the leftovers?"

Matt sighs. "No, bring the poor blind orphan you've known for 3 months to your family holiday."

"Shit, I wasn't even thinking of that. I was feeling it out, trying to see if you were, I don't know, being polite, but now you have to come. I don't care if you have the flu on Thanksgiving. God knows I have enough little cousins who spread the sickness around every year."

Matt lets out a laugh. "Are you still trying to convince me?"

"No, because that's the end of it. You're coming."

—0—

When Matt walks into the pre-thanksgiving party that is the Nelson house, it's an onslaught of information that no amount of hearing and smelling through walls could prepare him for. He almost apologizes to Foggy, turns around, and leaves right then and there. But Foggy must be reading his face, or feeling how he tensed up because he checks in with a quiet "you alright, buddy?" That's all Matt needs to remind him how much better it's been having people in his life again.

"Uh— yeah, I'm good. It's a lot of uniform sound. If that makes any sense." He decides to let Foggy in on this one thing.

"Oh, do you need me to describe things for you; ramble; introduce you to people?" That earns him a nervous laugh from Matt.

"I, um, yes?" He adjusts his grip on Foggy's elbow.

"Okay, great. The living room's to your right here, there's a den to your left— it's my mom's craft room— further down there's a hallway leading to my childhood bedroom and my parent's bedroom across from it. The dining room is—"

Matt stops listening to Foggy when he hears your voice. This much noise in this small of a space is chaos to his senses. He might as well be a regular blind man here. But this woman, her voice— God, her voice— it stands out above everything else. Not because she's being particularly loud, but because it's distinct and calm. It's gorgeous. This is what it must be like to see someone across the room and become spellbound immediately.

"—and brace yourself, Matty, here she comes."

At first, he thinks Foggy's talking about you, but your voice carries on from the same spot across the room. Then Anna Nelson is in front of him, pulling him into the most uncomfortable group hug he's ever experienced. Between the fact that he didn't hear her coming, and how her crushing hug traps his arm between them, it's not his ideal meeting. By the time she lets go, his panic subsides and he's able to recover.

"Matt, we've heard so much about you. I'm glad you were able to come."

"Me too. Everything smells delicious, thank you for inviting me."

"Of course, it's no bother. Anyway, we're all excited to have anyone who makes Foggy as happy as you do."

Matt lets out a good-natured sigh. "Thank you."

"Alright, I'll let Foggy show you off." She says as she walks away.

Matt tilts his head to the side. "Does she think we're dating, Foggy?"

Foggy flounders for an answer. "I may have laid it on a little thick. I've told them that you're not into guys, but about half my family is convinced we're dating anyway."

"Ah. Well, let's spread the word." Most of the time, Matt wouldn't care what people thought about him and his sexuality. But even if nothing comes of it, there's someone he's interested in tonight. He wouldn't want false information to be the thing that destroys his chance with you.