Work Text:
1. The Case
“Dude, that was so awesome!” Foggy exclaims, holding the courtroom door open for Matt and Karen to step through to the hallway.
“Yeah, you two were pretty great up there,” Karen says, smiling back at him. She taps Matt’s arm to get his attention. “Your closing statement… just… wow. There’s no way anyone could find our guy guilty after that.”
“I know, right?!” Foggy all but yells down the hall. “I still can’t believe we actually won!” He grips Matt’s shoulders and tugs him close, until their mouths collide. Karen sucks in a surprised breath and chokes, turning away from her friends to cough loudly. Both men smirk as Foggy lets go of Matt and steps back.
“Who’s up for drinks?” he asks, pointedly ignoring Karen’s hacking. He offers an elbow to Matt.
“Let’s do this,” Matt answers, taking Foggy’s arm.
“Gimme a minute. I’ll meet you later,” Karen gasps between coughs. The men laugh as they walk down the hall and out the front doors of the courthouse.
“You think she’ll be ok?” Foggy says, once out of Karen’s earshot.
Matt nods. “I give it about five minutes before she catches up with us.”
***
Karen finds the guys at the bar, already mostly drunk, casually leaning on each other to stay upright.
“Hey, Karen!” Foggy shouts over the background noise, “You’re finally here!”
Karen nods, cheeks slightly reddening. “Sorry about the delay. I had to stop by the water fountain at the courthouse.” She takes a clean glass from behind the counter and fills it with the small amount of alcohol left in the boys’ bottle and downs the liquid in one go.
“Don’t worry about it,” Foggy hiccups. “Oh, hey, now that you’re here, can you watch Matt for a minute? I have to pee but I can’t do it when this guy is falling all over me.”
“Sure,” Karen giggles. She slides into Foggy’s chair as he stands up. “Bring me another drink when you get back!” Foggy flashes her a thumbs up and disappears into the back room of the bar. Matt immediately lifts his head off Karen’s shoulder and turns his head to face her.
“D’you.. d’you wanna talk about it?” he slurs.
Karen’s heart rate speeds up. “About what?”
“Y’know… what you saw at the… at the place,” Matt prompts.
“Oh, that,” Karen says. “I figured it’s none of my business, so I wasn’t going to ask.”
“You’re curious, though?”
“Of course! Who wouldn’t be curious when their bosses just made out in front of them?” Karen claps a hand over her mouth, quickly glancing around the room to make sure no one heard her.
“We didn’t make out. It was just the one kiss,” Matt chuckles. “It happens all the time, don’t worry about it too much.”
“All the…” Karen starts.
“It’s Foggy’s M.O.,” Matt explains. “He does it to all his friends. He just doesn’t know you well enough yet. Give it time”
Karen nods slowly. “Yeah, ok… I’ll believe it when I see it.” She abruptly changes the subject when she notices Foggy making his way back to their table.
“So what’re we talking about?” Foggy asks, pulling up a chair.
“Just… work stuff.” Karen says cryptically. “Hey, how many times have you ever drunk the eel?”
***
2. The Refund
“Hey, Matt! Get over to Karen’s desk ASAP!” Foggy calls across the office. Karen shoves a piece of paper in Matt’s hands as soon as he enters the room. “You need to see this!”
Matt raises his eyebrows at her. “Um?”
Karen jerks the paper back, grimacing. “Oh shit, sorry.”
Matt smiles softly. “It’s fine. Now what’s got you all flustered?”
“We got that tax refund!” Foggy says. “Three hundred bucks!” He grabs the sides of Matt’s neck with both hands and tows him into a quick but forceful kiss. Matt grins at his friend as he pulls back.
“That’s fantastic!” He gestures to Karen. “Looks like we can finally afford to pay you.”
The woman stares back at him, a smile slowly spreading across her face. “It’s about time!”
A silence lingers for a beat. Then Matt clears his throat. “Well that’s enough excitement for one day. Celebrate with drinks at Josie’s later?”
“Definitely.”
“Absolutely.”
“Good,” Matt says. “Now back to work. We’ve got another big, new client coming in later, and we need to be prepared.”
***
3. The Win
Foggy’s TV blinks to life and fills the room with a cheering crowd and an announcer doing her best to be heard over the clamor. Foggy takes a few moments to set out beer, chips, salsa, and other snacks as the pre-game report finishes.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Women’s Flat Track Semi-Finals! The team to beat this year: The Gotham Girls!” Foggy turns the TV volume down for a moment as the crowd roars.
“Really, Foggy?” Matt groans, “You’re still into Roller Derby?”
Foggy gasps in faux indignation. “Of course! It’s awesome!”
“Seriously, Matt,” Karen adds. “It’s only the best feminist sports competition ever!”
“I guess I just don’t see the appeal,” Matt sighs.
Karen shakes her head. “How can you not love girls of all shapes and sizes being competitive-”
“And violent!” Foggy interrupts.
Matt laughs. “I didn’t realize you liked this stuff too, Karen.”
“I did roller derby in college,” Karen explains. “It was a great way to blow off steam, especially around finals week.”
“I so get that…” Foggy murmurs. “My only out was partying with this sports-hating loser over here.”
“Hey!” Matt says. “I’ll have you know I like plenty of sports. Like boxing. And football.”
“Football?” Karen questions.
Matt nods. “The commentators are good at explaining what’s going on. Plus those uniforms are pretty great.”
“You like… the uniforms?” Foggy asks slowly.
“I could see until I was nine, remember?”
“I… oh yeah.” Foggy cuts off as the first bout begins. “Go Gotham!”
***
Two hour later, Karen, Foggy, and Matt are perched on the edge of the couch, engrossed in the action on the TV screen in front of them.
“OH YEAHHH!!” Foggy yells. “Gotham wins again!” He throws his arms around Matt and pulls him into an animated kiss. “I told you they’d win everything again this year!”
“You did,” Matt concedes.
“You know they’ve been my favorite team for a while too,” Karen tells Foggy.
“Really?”
Karen smiles broadly. “Big time. They’re awesome! Besides, did you not see their jammer? Can you say ‘so hot’?”
Foggy nods. “True that. The finals are next week, right?”
“I think so yeah.”
“You want to come over again to watch it? The more the merrier!”
“Totally!” Karen says, clinking Foggy’s beer bottle with her own.
***
4. The Barista
Karen runs into Foggy on the street on her way back from lunch, staring at her coffee cup and blushing.
“Something happen?” Foggy asks.
“You could say that,” Karen sighs happily. “I finally got her number!”
“You asked for the cute barista’s number?”
Karen’s face reddens. “I didn’t have to ask. I may have complimented how fantastic her rainbow hair looked today, and she may have written her number on my coffee.” She turns the paper cup around shows it to Foggy.
Foggy beams at Karen, surging forward to wrap her in a bear hug. He leans back slightly and leans forward again for a moment, giving her a quick peck on the lips. She frowns as Foggy pulls away.
“I’m sor-” he starts, freezing in place.
“No no,” Karen laughs. She grabs the back of Foggy’s neck and pulls him closer. “If you’re going to kiss me like you kiss Matt it’s got to be more intense than that. I promise I flossed!” Foggy grins as Karen draws him all the way back in.
***