Chapter Text
He hears their frantic heartbeats and the clanging of a cage as soon as they enter his building.
It overlays the louder, nervous rhythm of Foggy’s heart, who’s abhorrent idea this presumably was.
Matt pulls his door open before Foggy can get a chance to knock.
“Absolutely not” he says flatly, in lieu of a greeting. He listens to quite enough rodent activity in his daily life to be purposely bringing them into his home.
“Wait- just hear me out” Foggy immediately starts to plead, shifting to better balance the small travel cage in his arms. “Mrs Alban was in from the shelter and she-“
“It’s not happening Foggy, no” Matt interrupts, voice firm. He's determined on this one.
He’s not having pet rats.
Foggy, also determined, sighs and remains standing in Matt’s doorway. He'd anticipated this reaction. The first plan of attack clearly hadn’t worked, so he moves onto the second. He stands, sorrowful, and lets the little animals in his arms work their magic.
Right on cue, Matt tips his head down to focus on the cage. He'd been able to tell they were rats as Foggy was approaching, from their size and their long, cold tails. Considering them more closely now he can hear them shuffling, curling around each other, heartbeats unbearably fast. There’s two of them in there, each trying to hide underneath the other one.
They’re scared.
It must show on his face, that little crack in his armour, because Foggy pounces on it.
“Someone abandoned them outside the shelter, but they don’t take rodents. They’re really skinny. One of them has red eyes, like the lab rats in movies – they told me she’s probably completely blind.” Foggy speaks quickly, trying to get everything out before Matt interrupts again. He'd been practicing this spiel on the walk over here. “No one else wants to take them” he finishes forlornly.
It's not strictly true – he hadn’t asked anyone else yet. Mrs Alban had been coming by the office to sign off on a settlement they’d sorted out regarding a tenancy dispute over their premises, and she'd brought them with her to see if Nelson and Murdock knew anyone in the community who would take them. Foggy, being the stand up guy that he is, had jumped at the opportunity.
One of Foggy’s cousins used to keep rats; he still has the pictures of Matt one thanksgiving, looking mildly besotted as one of them had tried to organise a nest in his hoodie pocket.
So he takes the cage and graciously promises he knows someone who would love to take them in.
It’ll be good for Matt, to have some responsibility.
Back in the standoff in the doorway, Foggy already knows he’s won. He can see it in the defeated slouch of Matt’s shoulders, in the slightly dejected look on his face as he takes in whatever information he takes in from the rats in the cage. Foggy thinks he must be able to tell how scared they are right now, curled into a back corner with eyes wide and panicked, muscles tense with terror.
Matt sighs, long and deep and exasperated, hand coming up to rub at his forehead in frustration.
God damn it.
“Trial basis only” Matt eventually mutters. After a final moment of silent bewilderment at how on earth this is happening, he stands back to let them in.
Foggy cheers (quietly, so as not to freak out his cargo any more than current) beaming wide and sunny as he hurries inside before Matt can change is mind.
The smell of sawdust and street grime hits Matt as he sweeps by, making his nose wrinkle.
For fuck’s sake, Foggy.