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Foggy and Matt had been roommates for 2.5 years now, and Foggy is still appalled he did not know this sooner.
“What do you mean you stay here?”
Matt shifted uncomfortably and squeezed his cane. “Foggy…I…don’t really have anywhere else to go? Dead parents…remember?” The stupid wounded duck tried to joke but the smile he came up with was just sad and awkward.
Foggy was truly weak when Matt was sad and awkward.
Foggy crossed his arms. “Yeah but you coulda been spending the holidays with me. You know Mama Nelson loves you best.”
Matt chuckled.
“She does not…” he took a seat on the bed and took his glasses off. “And…I don’t want to intrude. Christmas should be spent with family…and I don’t want to intrude on yours.”
Stupid, wounded duck, doe eyed bastard…
The first time he brought Matt home, Foggy didn’t think Mom would let him leave.
She stuffed him full of so many cured meats, potatoes, and homemade pies, that Foggy was certain Matt would explode.
Dad had spent the dinner asking several blunt questions about the accident, the blindness, the orphanage, and Matt had just laughed and noted that he now knew where Foggy got his directness from.
Theo had eyed them suspiciously, and Candace had asked when to expect the wedding invites.
The last part made Foggy nearly choke to death on the knishes he’d been hoovering at the time.
Thankfully Matt hadn’t heard that last part because…you know… Catholic .
But ever since that first visit, Matt had become a fast favorite for the Nelson clan. Any time Foggy would come home, he’d play the inevitable Matt edition of 20 questions.
Is Matt eating enough?
-That’s debatable.
Is he studying?
-He doesn’t do anything else.
How are his grades?
-Better than mine.
Are people treating him like they should?
-People can be dickheads sometimes, but Matt can handle his own.
Is Columbia providing the necessary accommodations?
-Not as easily as they should.
And on and on they went.
And the more time Mama Nelson spent around Matt, the more adamant Mama Nelson became on acquiring Matt as a Son in Law.
“ I have three children to choose from. Surely one of you would be compatible with my Matty.”
Without any legal barings, he was already “my Matty” to Anna.
Yet another conversation Foggy was grateful Matt wasn’t around to hear.
But…if the Nelson’s knew that Foggy had been knowingly allowing Matthew Murdock to spend Christmas alone, they’d skin him alive.
Foggy chuckled as he sat on Matt’s bed. “Well…you won’t be. Like it or not, Murdock, you aren’t spending Christmas in this dorm room again. You are coming home with me.” Foggy clapped an affectionate hand on Matt’s arm.
“Like it or not, we are going to have the best Christmas ever.”
——————
The problem with that promise, however, was that Foggy was more of a Halloween guy.
Sure his family celebrated Christmas, but like, not that much.
It’s what happened when a secular Jew like Foggy’s mom married a former Irish Catholic like Foggy’s dad.
They… ‘celebrated’, but only in the vaguest, most bare minimum of ways.
They decorated a tree, gave gifts, had a big dinner on Christmas, and watched the Charlie Brown Christmas special.
The later on that list only happening to stave off the lingering Catholic guilt Foggy’s dad felt for skipping out Christmas Mass every year.
But all in all…Christmas was never that big of a deal for his family.
Most of Foggy’s Christmas breaks consisted of helping out at the shop, playing video games, or catching up on sleep.
Which… suddenly made Foggy very nervous.
Foggy leaned back in his desk chair and clicked his pen.
Matt was a traditional guy.
A traditional guy who hadn’t had a Christmas in the past few years.
A traditional Catholic guy who hadn’t had a Christmas in the past few years, and who Foggy promised the best Christmas ever.
A traditional Catholic guy who hadn’t had a Christmas in the past few years, and who Foggy promised the best Christmas ever, a holiday that Foggy wasn’t traditionally keen on.
Foggy’s leg bounced up and down anxiously as he spun his pen in his fingers.
What did people even do on Christmas?
Foggy pulled up his laptop and began to type.
But soon he became absolutely bombarded with articles from ‘Good Housekeeping’, ‘Martha Stewart’, and ‘Country Living’.
He shut his laptop in a panic to stave off the avalanche of information.
Fuck…
This…would require some planning.
He tentatively reopened his laptop and began to sift through the lists and blogs.
Foggy clicked his pen and opened his journal.
Caroling…
Christmas Angels…
Snow men…
Yule Log?
…What the fuck was a Yule log?
Foggy sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.
Operation Nelson and Murdock Christmas was a go.