Chapter Text
Matt had been walking down the street when the familiar sound of a heartbeat trickled through his hearing. A hand rested on his arm and he smiled at Anatoly.
"Been a while since I last saw you."
Anatoly chuckled and the smell of coffee spun around Matt's head. He hesitantly reached a hand out, only to feel a hot cup being pressed into it.
"I did the liberty of buying coffee. The shop was busy."
Matt smiled and nodded his thanks, taking a sip of the liquid, sighing in content as he did so.
"I thought perhaps we could just... Walk today."
"What, walk and get to know each other?"
The sound of the air shifting suggested Anatoly nodded and Matt chuckled when his flustered voice cut through the air. "Yes yes, I nod, but..."
"It's fine, Anatoly."
Matt smile and they began walking, the soft clicking of Matt's blind cane like a soothing blanket. The two men were silent, but it was a comfortable silence, both of them were enjoying the company of one another.
"So... Tell me about you?"
"Me?" Matt took another sip of his coffee. "There isn't really much to tell."
"How did you turn blind?"
Matt's hand tightened on his cane a little before he shrugged. "There was a crash when I was younger. I was nine. A man was going to get run down by a car and I just... Snapped and ran. Pushed him out of the way. I fell down in protection of myself but... The chemicals the trailer truck was carrying got into my eyes. Last thing I ever saw was my Father."
Anatoly was silent and Matt could hear him swallowing.
"You are a selfless person."
"No, I'm really not."
"You save man at nine years old."
Matt snorted.
"Sometimes I wish I'd let him die."
Matt felt Anatoly staring at him and he shrugged. "Miss being able to see. Although, I'm thanful I didn't have to see my Dad.."
Anatoly's hand was there on his shoulder and Matt shrugged again.
"What about you? I can feel the scar on your hand, what happened there?"
Anatoly grunted a little and the hand disappeared. Matt listened to the Russian take a sip of his drink and he let out a sigh.
"I have a brother, Vlad- just a brother. My Mother cheated on our Father. He was... He was the child of that affair and my Father hated him. He would beat him quite a bit... One time I watched and... I couldn't listen to him crying out anymore. I jumped in the way of the belt and it gashed me pretty hard. That's what the scar is from. My brother was furious - lost his temper and beat our Father down before he packed us up and took me to the hospital before we moved in with my Aunt for a few months."
Matt was silent, licking his lips.
"I-I'm sorry."
The air shifted as Anatoly shrugged.
"It is fine. We got used to it and once we could, my brother left Russia. I forced him to take me with him. I refuse to let him go by himself. He got an extra ticket and we came straight here."
Matt raised an eyebrow at the obvious lie but said nothing. He shouldn't pry, and he'd let Anatoly think he'd believed him. After all, he didn't want to ruin the trust he had gained with the Russian.
They walked in a comfortable silence again before Anatoly's hand gently lead him to sit down. Matt leant against the bench before humming a little.
"What was your Mother like?"
"She's the kindest woman on Earth... When she had our sister, there were complications and my brother and I thought we would lose her. But she just had to stay in hospital with her for a few months... There was something wrong with birth and um-um how you say...?"
Matt tilted his head. "The umbilical cord?"
"Yes! The umbilical cord detached too early and she had early labour. My sister had not fully developed and she was born blind and almost deaf. But she got surgery for hearing."
"You have a blind sister?"
"Had... There was an incident when she came to visit us here in States."
Matt dropped his head. "I'm sorry, Anatoly."
"She is in better place now."
Matt went silent, sipping his drink.
"What about your Father?"
The lawyer coughed a little, crossing his ankle over his knee before humming. "He was a boxer. Jack Battlin' Murdock. He lost more than he won but... He was a good boxer. Other's were just better. I would stitch him up every night and he would laugh away with me. Helped me with the homework he could... A proper Dad, you know?"
Anatoly chuckled. "Yes. Father was like that with me."
"I thought you said-"
"He was like that with Vl- brother."
Matt nodded, listening to the sounds of the park, both men falling into a comfortable silence.