sixthiterationtexts | UN: haventthe

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UN: haventthe

Hello everyone, this is Foggy with some questions of an adult nature for th adults of this community. Would those who are under the age of majority in their home please not continue on here, or do so aware that this is adult in nature.

Right, now that it's just us...

I have some questions about sexual health and this place. We come from a variety of worlds and times, and that means a variety of possible diseases and the ever possible pregnancy from the right sorts of activities.

Has anyone gathered information about STDs and this place? There's not a lot in the way of medicine, so it's something we need to keep on top of, especially with people coming and going with no warning.

And pregnancy. Is there some sort of protection people are using? Are we being safe, people?

We're adults. I know we're having sex. But we need to make sure everyone's safe and frankly, that we're not having babies in this place.

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She watches Foggy for a couple more moments, still debating with herself if this was something she wanted to put into words. She was so grateful she had a friend like Foggy that she could confide in about these things, though. Maybe just knowing she could talk about it if she wanted was enough.

"When I carried Venom ... there was no way to tell ahead of time if I were going to be a good host, if I'd be ... compatible. Hosts that... those that weren't, didn't survive."

Even after everything that Eddie had put get through, she'd been willing to make that sacrifice for him.

He... maybe not understands, but he thinks he gets it. He gets the overwhelming desire to help, even if he doesn't know if he would have been that brave. "That's a really heavy decision to make," he finally murmurs. "To put yourself at risk like that to help Venom and to help someone who had hurt you so badly."

It was her choice to make. Terrifying a choice as it was. To realise that it could have killed her. "You're a braver, better person than I think you sometimes realise."

She frowns at him slightly with that assessment. Anne likes to think she's got a pretty solid sense of self, but she certainly hadn't felt brave the first time she saw Venom ...

... but she'd stuck around, because of Eddie. She'd carried Venom because of Eddie.

Does that make her a better person? Or just the product of shared information. She focuses down on Lynn for a moment.

"It just seemed like the right thing to do in the moment."

"I don't know that I would have been that brave. To risk myself like that." Foggy tries to be a fairly good person, but he doesn't necessarily consider himself brave.

He looks at the tea in his lap, hands wrapped around it. For once, he doesn't have a huge amount to say.

She looks up at him. Brave, of course, could have very different meanings; he's the one made a cold open for the case of a century. If she'd been thrust into a situation like that - no notes, all eyes on her - would she have been able to pull it out of the fire?

To put yourself at risk like that to help Venom and to help someone who had hurt you so badly, he'd said.

"Was it brave? Or was it incredibly stupid and I just got lucky?" Risking so much for someone who hadn't been able to grant her the barest respect.

"... eh... the line between brave and stupid can be pretty fine at times..." Foggy would like to say otherwise, but he knows Matt Murdock. But he softens it with a cheeky smile. "I get the feeling Eddie inspires people to do stupid things for him. Bit like Matt, really."

Anne chuckles lightly and sighs, nodding her head reluctantly. "He - yes, he does. He's quiet good at that."

It certainly made life exciting, and not always in a fun way. "Here, at least, he has less of a chance to do anything monumentally asinine." She says it, but ... she still reaches over to rap her knuckles against the wooden table. "You know, I don't want him dead. I don't wish him any ill will. Back home, I had hoped he'd move on and find someone nice and do better by them. That hasn't changed here, it's just been ... more complicated."

"He's very emotionally young. Vulnerable. I think that's what people respond to. Like Marilyn Monroe. Vulnerability is something that a lot of people can't help but react to." Again, like Matt. He gives an impression of being vulnerable, and not just because he's blind.

Foggy chuckles. "Yeah. being here limits the terrible decisions and choices they can make. I know what you mean. I only want the best- Eddie's not a bad person. I think he's a selfish one, short sighted. A lot of emotionally young people are. And with what little I picked up from him about his upbringing... an abusive home doesn't teach consequences for actions. Consequences have nothing to do with actions and it makes them reckless."

"That ... makes a lot of sense." That Foggy knows about Eddie's upbringing says something, and she idly wonders what else they've talked about (besides herself, since she's already aware that conversation happened), but she gives her head a shake and moves on.

"I've met his father. It ... was memorable in all the ways you wish you could forget." She focuses on Lynn for a moment, who then leaps down and pounces on Foggy's shoelace. "Eddie came by after we broke up, before he found Venom, I think, and wanted to know if we were going to 'find our way back'. He hadn't quite understood the severity of what he'd done. If I never have to have another conversation like that again, it'll be too soon.

So Matt; he likes to inspire stupidity as well?"

Foggy knows very little, but he can imagine from what little he's heard. "I can't imagine that was fun. Excuse you, brat." He scoops Lynn up with one hand and drops him on his lap. "Leave my shoelaces alone."

He huffs his breath. "Matt more does the stupid. Constantly. I'm the stupid for letting him." And for letting Matt use him, for covering for him. "See exhibit a, the Punisher trial."

Lynn finds focus in worrying a wrinkle on Foggy's shirt and paws at it with little flicks of his tail.

Anne reaches over and rests a hand on his arm. "I can't imagine it'd be easy stepping away, if you share that much history with someone. Something like leaving a family member?"

She realizes this is out of her realm of experience, that she had a fairly normal upbringing and always had a low-tolerance for bullshit. But that's her. 'You deserve better than stupid, Foggy, I hope you know that."

Whether or not he chooses stupid, that's his decision.

"He is family." Not like family. "Matty's an orphan. No brothers, no sisters, no grandparents, he was basically alone except for his Catholic orphanage. The first time we had holidays and I realised he didn't have anyone to go share them with, I invited him back to my place. Well, dragged him along protesting the whole time that he didn't want to be a bother, but frankly, my mother has three sons now, and Matt's the favourite."

And this is why Foggy struggled so much to step away. And why he can't do it now. He bats at Lynn's tail, working it up into thrashing back and forth.

"I had Marci. Marci's far from stupid. A bit shark like at times, but not stupid."

That's ... definitely more complicated. But she can see where having an influence like Marci would be a good counterpoint with someone like Matt in his life, seemingly as permanent as it was. It's tricky, and it's not her place to lecture him or try to wrest him away, especially not in this place.

But, he's at least comfortable enough in their own friendship to tell her, and she won't take that for granted. Maybe, here, she can be his Marci - the close friend part, the confidant, so he's got a safe space to vent about whatever's bothering him.

She knew having that from him has helped her.

"I get it. He's not going anywhere." She smiles softly at him, pats his arm and then sits back. "But neither am I."

People who tried to wedge Foggy away from Matt very quickly discovered that Foggy was possibly the most stubborn human being in the world when it came to defending Matt.

(Only he and Karen can rag on Matt. They earned it.)

"He needs me. For the first time, he needs me more than I need him. That's... addictive? That sounds terrible, it's more than that, but it's something so new between us. He might not ever choose me, but right now, he needs me."

And then Foggy goes silent, realising what he's basically admitted and not sure he's okay with it.

"... can I ask you to pretend I never said that?"

That's ... problematic. It's unhealthy, and it hurts her to realize just how dug in he is. She keeps her expression carefully neutral, though, and at his request she nods.

"Consider it forgotten."

Something like that, though? From someone she's grown to care a whole lot about? That's not going to be an easy thing to shove out of her mind. Bite it down, ignore how it upsets her stomach, yes; she could be civil and she can certainly never mention it, but forgetting it? That's not going to be possible.

"I should probably be getting back." She glances towards the blanket on his window, though, thinking about how cold her house is going to be and how she can stoke the biggest fire her fireplace can take and it still won't be as cozy as this little hotel room.

Maybe getting a house just before winter hit wasn't the best idea. "Can Lynn stay with you one or two more nights? Until it warms up? He's still so small and my house it still pretty drafty."

He knows how unhealthy it is. He is. How unhealthy he is about it. He just leans forward, pushing his hands into his short hair (though it's growing out, maybe he should ask Zevran about cutting it).

Aaand, that's not a good sign. Consider it forgotten and she's excusing herself. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, I'm sorry," he offers quietly. "And sure, Lynn can stay as long as you need. Getting a house warm again is going to be difficult, and he is pretty tiny right now."

Oh - god, no, she realizes how bad that all sounds now. She sets her tea aside and steps over to kneel in front of Foggy.

"Foggy, no ... you didn't make me uncomfortable. I -" She pulls in a breath, taking a moment to formulate her words, frowning slightly as she does so because this is important and she needs to get it right. "You've been such a good friend to me here, and I want to be that for you, but I realize I can be intense and I'm not sure what you need, or what you want; if it's better if I'm here or not. I don't want to push, but ... I care about you, and I want to help."

He looks up at her as she crouches down, expression lightening a little. "Oh. I thought- mm."

He shakes his head slightly. "I don't want you to go. I just- shit. I've only ever talked about any of this with Marci, and only really because she couldn't help but notice I have nightmares most nights." Still has them, frankly. They change form now, but he still has them. "I didn't want to make you uncomfortable. I know you said I didn't, but I still don't want to do that to you."

"I can stay." Nightmares, too? What else has he gone through than just a toxic friendship and stressful cases? "If you want, I can stay the night, even. uncomfortable is for things we don't want to deal with, things we're in too much denial about to face. That doesn't apply here. I realize it's not always going to be pleasant, but your friendship and your well-being is important to me."

He looks down, but he nods slightly. "I would really like that," he says softly. "No implications just... not being alone. It's been really hard to adjust to." Even Lynn's little warm presence hasn't really been helping.

"It was only in the last year that things went bad between us. It wasn't like that for most of our relationship. It was when Elektra came back onto the scene it went bad. Which isn't to say it's her fault. It's not."

"No, just friends keeping friends company." She trusted him. Hell, she wouldn't have said no if other things happened, under better circumstances, but that wasn't the mood tonight; this was just about human connection on an emotional level.

She stands and motions for Foggy to do the same. It's time someone gave him a hug. "Things will always change, and it won't always be for the better. Fault doesn't need to exist for things to be shitty. But, that doesn't mean you can't mourn what once was before moving forward."

He stands up, feeling heavy and weighed down by all this. Maybe, after a sleep, he'll feel a bit better. Maybe he'll really only feel better when he actually tells someone what happened (without the specifics of 'my blind best friend is a vigilante').

He doesn't know what else to say now. There are things he could say, but he's not ready to dig into those things and the other stuff that comes up with it.

Lynn hops off his lap as he starts to move, and ducks behind Anne's feet with a mrr?

Once Foggy is standing, Anne wraps her arms over his shoulders and pulls him in close, holding him tight and resting her head on his shoulder. No need for words now, just a companionable, empathetic silence. She'll hold him as long as he needs.

They've done enough digging for tonight.

His arm curl around her ribs and waist and he buries his face in at the side of her neck. He doesn't cry, doesn't shudder or sob, just holds onto her.

It's nice.

He's needed this.

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UN: haventthe

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