Chapter Text

From Table and Bed

“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” - Oscar Wilde - The Happy Prince & Other Tales

Ch 1: Give Me A Sign

     Foggy had always been told he had a great sense of humor. As he went through law school he tried to maintain this reputation, and became a well known staple at many parties for his fantastic wit.

     Public defending didn’t quite stick for him though, and he became a divorce lawyer instead. Sure, he would pick up and advise on many other aspects of the law, it’s what you did when you were trying to build your own practice alone, but divorce always brought in the big bucks.

     He’d finally saved up enough money for an ad, and needed to pitch something eye-catching without being too cheesy. After two weeks of writing down every idea he had and crossing them out he turned in his design to the ad company. They gave him one billboard slot in the nicer part of Hell’s Kitchen. It read “The only thing I’d change about you is your last name. Foggy Nelson, divorce lawyer.” followed by his business address and number.

     He got a fair amount of spam calls afterwards, as well as a few more actual customers. Usually these were men who said their wives were the problem and cited Foggy’s billboard as the kind of humor their wives couldn’t handle. It made him a little sick to work these jobs, and he made sure not to screw over the spouses being served papers in the process. 

     He wasn’t afraid to be blunt about what he meant either, which was necessary in his line of work, as well as the softball bat he kept under his desk. 

     Nearly a month passed without any new clients before someone finally knocked on Foggy’s door. He rose abruptly and tried to make himself presentable in his darkened computer monitor before answering.

     “Hello! Can I help you?” 

     The man outside the door had one hand on the doorframe and the other wrapped around a white cane. He was wearing one of the nicest grey suits Foggy had ever seen, as well as round glasses that cast red shadows across his face. The man cocked his head towards Foggy and gave a small smile.

     “I certainly hope so. Is this the law office of Foggy Nelson?” 

      Foggy was about to tap the sign on the door with his name before he put the pieces together that this man was blind. He swallowed back a snarky comment and tried to stand up straighter.

     “Uh, yeah. I mean yes! It is! I’m Foggy Nelson, this is my office. And you are?” 

     He instinctively held out his hand for a shake and saw Matt chuckle a little.

     “You went for a handshake didn’t you?”

     “Yes, my apologies, I didn’t-“ 

     “It’s fine, Mr. Nelson. I’m Matthew Natchios.” 

     Matt held out his left hand from the doorframe and Foggy switched to shake it.

     “Foggy is just fine, Mr. Natchios. Would you like to come in?” 

     The man nodded as Foggy stepped clear of the doorway to let him in. He crossed to Foggy’s desk in four strides and his cane tapped against the chair on the client’s side. Foggy rushed to pull it out for him.

     “Thank you, and Matt is fine with me too. I don’t think I’ll be keeping the last name for much longer.” 

     Foggy’s heart flipped in his chest. This guy was getting divorced? What hope was there for anyone these days if someone this gorgeous couldn’t make it work? Hopefully he’s not just some prick looking to take some old lady’s money and run. Foggy settled behind his desk and got situated.

     “Well, Matt, you already know what I do, tell me about what brings you here today?” 

     Foggy began scribbling on a notepad as Matt spoke.

     “Divorce. I’ve been married for a little over five years now. I don’t like who we’ve become.” 

     Foggy finished scribbling and looked up at Matt, who seemed about as comfortable as someone getting divorced could look. He cleared his throat and looked at his notes again.

     “Well, that’s understandable. Is your spouse aware of you seeking divorce?” 

     Matt gave a wry smile and shook his head. 

     “I believe she doesn’t think I’ll go through with it, but she’s keenly aware of my feelings on the matter.” 

     Foggy shuddered a little.

     “Yikes, okay. So, are you seeking any reparations for anything that happened since you were married?” 

     “No, I’m not. I don’t want a cent more than my father’s money.” 

     “I’ll assume she’s withholding that money because you combined your accounts some time ago?” 

     “Yes. I’m sure she’s going to have her own lawyers as well.” 

     Foggy wrote ‘double yikes’ on the paper before continuing.

     “Is there somewhere you can stay while the divorce plays out? I assume she’s not going to be happy with it and it could take a few months if her lawyers start pulling red tape and such. Ideally we could settle out of court but from the way you’re talking it doesn’t seem like she’ll be keen on that idea.”

     “I’ve got a place, an old mentor of mine. I’m sure she won’t make this drag on for more than two weeks. She’s keeping all the property and assets other than my personal inheritance. Elektra doesn’t play with her food for too long.” 

     The way Matt said the last part had Foggy shivering before he wrote ‘triple yikes’ next to her name and put down the notepad. 

     “Ok, so let’s get started on the paperwork. Do you want me to read everything that’s on them for you or just summarize? I apologize for not having Braille versions available but I will have some made within the week.” 

     “It’s alright, a summary will be fine. I’m a defense attorney so I’ll be able to breeze through all the jargon when I get my copies.” 

     Foggy’s eyebrows raised in surprise and he began pulling the paperwork from his filing cabinets.

     “Defense attorney, where’d you go to school?” 

     “Columbia.”

     “No way, me too! I used to be on the defense track too before I changed over last minute. Always wondered what would have happened if I had stuck with it.” 

     “You’d probably still be a lawyer.” 

     “True.” 

     Foggy closed the last cabinet with his hip and resettled at the desk.

     “Anyway let’s get this started.” 

     Foggy read out the paperwork to Matt, slipping in jokes and filling out information as he went. At the end of four hours they had completed every form Elektra’s lawyers could possibly want and Foggy had scanned all of them into his computer to send to Matt digitally for his screen reader. 

     They kept up the banter and soon Foggy forgot that he was even helping the guy get divorced. It felt more like they were just working together. Matt felt his watch and winced a little at the time.

     “Well she’s not going to like how late I’ve been out. How much do I owe you for the first session?” 

     Foggy waved away the question before remembering.

     “I just waved at you, you don’t need to pay me for this.”

     “Really? You’ve done so much more than you needed to to with all the extra copies-“

     “Hey, that’s just how Nelson operates. Thorough is good, especially in a business where people will rip up your work in a fit of pique. Here’s the non-Braille copies to serve to her whenever you’re ready and I’ve got the originals. We can check back in say, a week? Whatever time is good for you is good for me.” 

     Matt looked as though Foggy was handing him a handmade pie rather than a quarter-ream of paper. He gave such a genuinely happy smile that Foggy’s heart melted. 

     “Same time next week, it’s a date. See you then, counselor.” 

     Matt held out a hand and Foggy shook it warmly, smiling back just as wide.

      “Looking forward to it, councilor. I’ve got your contacts and you’ve got mine. Don’t hesitate to call me for anything.” 

     Matt tucked the papers under his arm while Foggy held the door for him.

     “I will call you. Mind walking me down to my driver? I’m sure he’s pissed to have waited this long.” 

     “Yeah of course! Let him be pissed, he’s not the one getting divorced.” 

     Foggy was unsure how to lead but they settled on Matt’s arm looped through his and neither commented on how close they were standing. He helped Matt into an expensive looking car with a driver who seemed to be the sort of composed that a gigantic paycheck entailed. Foggy instinctively waved Matt off before thanking his stars Matt didn’t see how stupid he looked. 

     Standing on that curb he felt his heart beating quickly and the flush on his cheeks that meant he was going to spend the next ten minutes berating himself for having a schoolboy crush before texting Marci for advice.