Chapter Text
Marci’s snowball hits Foggy in the back of the head. She winces slightly at the loud thud but then remembers she is furious. They had been in the middle of a conversation! Snow is covering the ground. The yellow beam of the street lamps is pure movie magic. But one phone call from Matt Murdock and it’s like she doesn’t even exist.
Marci is nothing if not honest with herself and her therapist. She’s not jealous of Matt. She’s crazy jealous of Matt. It would be one thing if Foggy and Matt were actually dating. Then she could work on moving on. But she knows about Foggy’s crush on the girl in Punjabi. She knows about Matt and perhaps the only woman on campus Marci might admit is out of her league. (Whatever money the Natchios family has is, well, “old as balls.”) Given that Matt is therefore unlikely to be inviting Foggy back to bang, Foggy should do her the curtesy of finishing their fucking conversation. Looking at it that way, the sight of slush sliding down the back of Foggy’s collar is deeply satisfying.
Foggy hangs up with a snap of his flip phone and storms back across the snowy quad. He’s furious and Marci can’t believe how sexy that is.
Other girls are idiots. The ones in her sorority who see him as a scholarship try hard. The ones who only flirt with him for help with their papers. The ones who only invite him to events because he always brings a keg. They’ll always be the kind of girls who buy brand name goods made of cheap plastic fabric. They don’t see the way he sweet talks campus security before every party in order to ensure another successful night. They don’t see the way he and Matt—because Matt is more perceptive than his wounded puppy shtick presents—will deescalate fights and separate her intoxicated sisters from aggressive men. They quietly keep trouble out. And Foggy does all of this while shotgunning Natty Light. Truly an impressive sight. But when Foggy is angry, when he finally stops being amiable and starts being righteous, that makes her go hot all over.
Focused, sharp, and pissed, Foggy crosses his arms and glares. Marci feels like the floor has dropped out from under her. Or maybe the thrill is more like being in a shark cage (not that Marci would do anything so gauche) because she knows she is the reason his nice boy act has finally cracked.
“What the hell Marci!”
“We are not done!”
“As much as I would like to hear you continue to defend technological determinism and the power of the internet to democratically reconstitute power dynamics, all to support the lack of regulation in a market, which, by the way, is completely mad and let’s face it, naive in the extreme, Matt just bought a bottle of Old Grandad and rented a really shitty action movie. So I am going to go pick up a pizza and hang out with my friend who has just been dumped. This is the first time he’s spoken in a week.”
“No,” Marci retorts. “We are going back to my apartment to finish prepping for the amicus brief we are submitting in TWO DAYS because I can’t even start my section until we agree on the position we are going to be arguing. And if you think I’m insane, your position will stifle innovation and lose the economy literally trillions of dollars.” She takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry for Matt. Well, not really. Murdock and Natchios were horrible together and you know it. He’s lucky he didn’t get kicked out of school. Fucking around is fine when you have parents to bail you out but god damned stupid if you don’t. And you say I’m naive! Matt can drink the first half of that bottle while we sort this assignment because he’s not bringing you down with him.”
Foggy’s mouth curls into a sneer. He is really and truly pissed off. Not the way he was when they were talking about the assignment, but scary furious. Marci feels a little bad. But just a little. And she’s still right. And Foggy still looks hot.
“You don’t know anything about Matt. He needs me right now, so I am going to be there. And you can go to hell. Matt, and I, don’t need you looking down at us from your daddy’s $4k a month apartment. We can take care of ourselves.”
“Asshole.”
“If you are worried about your grade, just do what you want. Send me your pages and I’ll follow your lead. It’s just a fucking assignment.”
“I am not worried about the assignment, I am worried about you. Asshole!”
Foggy pauses mid storm off. He turns, hands in his pockets. His ridiculous hair is blowing in the wind. It’s so so cold. She hadn’t realized it until now because she had been having such a good time. Now it doesn’t feel fun anymore.
“About me?” He’s so confused. He’s such an idiot.
“Yes asshole. You have been miserable for weeks. Matt has been a jerk for the entire semester. He shouldn’t just get to have you as a friend on his own terms. You have stuff going on too! Right now. We are in the middle of something. I am trying to be in the middle of something with you.”
“Marci.” Foggy scrunches his nose, his eyes wide. “Do you like me?”
The way Marci sees it, she has two options. She either shoves his head in a snowbank and tries to smother him. Or… Marci grabs him by the shoulders and presses her mouth hard against his. It’s not even really a kiss at first. She’s so angry her mouth is a hard line and she can feel her teeth clenched together. Foggy’s lips are chapped and the air around them is bitter. She’s about to pull away and go back to Plan A, death by snowbank, when she feels him soften and her heart thuds in her chest. She feels her own lips press back and then his tongue slips into her mouth and she forgets all about the cold.
When they finally break apart, both of them are breathing hard. Foggy looks shocked. Marci wants to grab him and drag him back to her place. Seducing him would have been so much easier if Matt had not called. They should have already been back at her freshly cleaned apartment. Scented candles and laundered sheets had been prepped.
“What do you want to do?” Marci demands.
Foggy calls Matt, his voice a bit sheepish, and asks if it’s okay if he comes back in a few hours. Marci frowns at that but Foggy just shrugs. She feels pathetic for taking what she can get. But she will take it.
“What now?” Foggy asks, after he hangs up his phone. He looks a little flustered. Marci grabs his wrist in her gloved hand and begins marching them across the quad toward her apartment. They don’t have all night.
Later, but not nearly later enough, Marci hands him a glass of water. She lifts her sweaty hair off her neck and twists it into a bun on the top of her head. Her mind is beginning to drift to the assignment which she needs to draft tonight to stay on schedule.
“That was…” Foggy drinks deeply from his glass. “Amazing. I, wow.”
“You’re welcome.” says Marci. She hands him his boxers which are on her study chair.
“But, uh...was it. For you. Be honest. I want to make sure.”
“It was great, Asshole.”
“See, when you call me that I have concerns that you are not being entirely honest.”
“It’s an endearment,” says Marci. Obviously.
“Asshole?”
“Well what do you want me to call you?”
“I don’t know. Just, something nice. Maybe. If we are gonna do this. We are gonna do this right?” He seems so unsure.
Marci’s heart clenches in a way she doesn’t experience often. Doubt. Maybe Foggy is going to change his mind. He had fun, but maybe that’s all this is. Just a good time. Marci could appreciate that. Maybe she could even pretend that was what she wanted as well. But Marci Stahl knows she doesn’t put in this much effort, doesn’t care this much, for just anyone. Her phone is filled with the numbers of beautiful idiots who would happily come by on a cold night. And yet she had spent the entire week figuring out how to finally get Foggy Nelson, a man she isn’t even sure likes her, into her bed.
Foggy’s pulling on his shirt and he slides down to pull his pants back up over his hips. His head is nestled in her pillows and his hair is wild. He looks so cuddly like this. She just wants to throw her arms around him and watch the snow fall outside her window.
“Okay Foggy Bear.”
Foggy groans and flips over so his face is buried in the pillows.
“I take it back. I take it back!”
“Nope. You’re stuck with it. And trust me, you are going to love it.”