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He's not a prince, he's a lawyer. And if he ever gets here you better not tell him that, he's going to be so insufferable.

[Dramatic Sigh. His best friend is such a little shit, what can you do about that. Anyway, Foggy's relieved Odin's apparently bought the lie hook, line and sinker, because Foggy's not sure how to explain why he thinks Matt would put Hell's Kitchen above him, every time. Not without telling the truth about Daredevil.

And he's told enough people that already.]

It's fine. Just let it out, man, you'll feel loads better. And hey, maybe I needed to hear that part about home. [He did not, all it did was make him miss it all the more, but he's just not going to mention that bit. This is, after all, about Odin right now, and Foggy's not going to drag his own worries into it. No, instead, he is going to sit here and drink beer and listen to this story about Cynthia and feel very quietly sad about whatever shitty, no doubt bagel-less world Odin's from that so many people lose their parents so damn young.

(Though, wow, he grew up in a palace?)

He listens. Thinks of Matt, and Karen, and Elena, may she rest in peace.]

He's family. [Foggy might be the only thing Matt has to family. Might be, anyway. Sometimes he's not so sure.] She sounds like she's yours. Or close to it, anyway. [He wonders if Odin worries about her. If she worries about him. If she can still even worry about this kid she knew and played games with, when they were younger.] Plus she reminds me of someone—not just Matt. I haven't told you about Karen yet—wanna hear about her?

[Since they're trading stories about their loved ones and all.]

Yeah, technically it's a secret faction that usually wants to do really bad things. But I don't know, maybe—I think Revengers is free, if you want a cool name for your team. [Little does he know, it's already taken.] And if that happens, I swear, I promise I'll tell her that. And I'll tell her that you were a good friend, too, and not a shabby hero either.

[A beat.]

That's me, standing up for the little guy for little to no pay. [It's a light joke, but oh, look, now Foggy's getting a little emotional too.] I wouldn't say punish, even ne'er-do-wells deserve a fair trial.

[ Odin prides himself so much on his empathy and on his ability to pick up the subtle clues in what people are feeling, what they need - but with everything going on between Poe and all the other embarrassing shambles of his life, it's hard for him not to just focus on himself and lose the hints in his dissonance. If there's any underlying hesitance in Foggy's voice when he says he needed to hear about home, or if there are any clues about the sad, bagel-centric feelings he might be experiencing over Odin's homeworld, Odin doesn't notice.

He just smiles, warm if a little shaky, feeling genuinely comforted - especially by Foggy calling Cynthia family - and he's actually kind of proud of himself. As far as he's concerned, he made Foggy feel better about his own life, and being able to do that for a person is something Odin needed right now. ]

Yeah, I do. Tell me about Karen.

[ He laughs, though, at the name "Revengers", which he's totally fucking stealing. He gets that faraway look in his eyes again when Foggy promises to talk him up to Cynthia, if she ever shows up, but it's brighter, just a fraction. He's pulled out of his head just enough to detect a bit of emotion in Foggy's joke, and he wants to do something to make him smile.

He falls back on acting stupid and weird and welcoming. His usual tactic. ]

... Okay. Okay, yeah. That's settled, then. Honorary member to the Revenginating Justice Pals of Ultimate Friendship. [ He sets his elbow on the table, holding his hand out. ] Shake on it.

Wait -

[ He spits in his hand. Gross? ]

Be my spit brother. Join with me in this unbreakable bond.

[Oh my god dude ew. Foggy looks at the hand for a brief moment, then up at Odin, then back down at Odin's hand. Gross, dude, gross. But ugh, okay, fine, he'll just spit in his own hand too and shake and try not to feel like he's getting infected with something. The moment they let go he's just going to very discreetly wipe it off on his pants. Eugh.]

Maybe hold off on the spit swear if Matt ever comes in. He's kind of not a big fan. [For a guy who pounds people's faces in with his fists every night, Matt's sure picky about spit swears.] But I'm glad for the honor and I'm sure he will be too.

[Move over Defenders. He takes another sip of his beer.]

Okay, so, Karen. She's the secretary for our firm, and she's a good person even though she makes terrible coffee but great, virtuous soup. [A little huff of laughter.] We drank the eel one time, at a place like this. The hangover was painful as hell, but it was worth it.

[He misses her. He misses her so much it's like missing a kidney or something, and he isn't sure if it's just Karen specifically or Karen and Matt and New York in general, but the point of it is—he misses her. Some part of him selfishly wants her and Matt here. The rest wouldn't exactly wish the trauma of getting dragged from one world to another on either of them.]

I haven't known her for as long as I've known Matt, so I don't have as many stories about her, but I could tell you about the epic bender we had. [A beat.] What I can remember of it, anyway. It gets fuzzy.

[ Oh, man. What a hero. When Odin's a little calmer and he's had the time to examine and re-examine every inch of this conversation - a ritual he always does each night in bed, mulling over the embarrassing things he's done during the day - he'll probably realize what a champion Foggy was to do this spit brother thing for him. For now, though, he's just grinning like an idiot, warm and happy over Foggy totally understanding the brotherly symbolism that comes in hocking saliva into your palm and spreading it all over another person. They're on the same page! Good. Good. Great. ]

Everyone I know drinks coffee so awful I imagine the gods themselves have turned their backs on it. My friend Archie just drinks this, like, pitch black sludge - it's the worst. I'm sure Karen's can't be that bad, comparatively.

[ The more Odin listens to Foggy talk, the fonder he looks. He's still sad, of course he is, but the tears are all but dry and his voice is finding its legs again. He wishes he knew the right things to say. He wants to reassure Foggy, tell him he'll see his friends again, but he knows how hurtful blind promises can be. All he can do is hope they show up, despite everything this America deals with. ]

Yeah. I wanna hear about your epic bender. Tell me. [ He orders a second beer from a passing waitress, though, both for him and for Foggy, and when they're delivered he checks for eels. These fucking things. He cracks open the cap and takes a sip, and he eyes Foggy thoughtfully for a second.

May as well just ask. ]

Um, first though? Um. Uh. I mean - Karen and Matt. Are you - in love with either of them?

[Foggy very nearly chokes on his drink. He's very lucky he hasn't actually gotten the eel in his mouth yet, otherwise this night would be ending in the hospital. As it is, he just coughs a lot. It takes him a while to get it under control.]

I—No, no, it's not. It's not like that. [Barring his infatuation with Matt in college that he likes to think he got over and his slight maybe-romantic fondness for Karen, anyway, neither of which are ever going to see the light of day if he's got anything to say about it.] Matt's my best friend and business partner, Karen's my best friend and secretary. Romantic entanglements would make things a little bit messy. A lot messy, actually.

[Which doesn't change the fact that he would drop a lot of things for either of them.

Noticeably: he hasn't said he's not in love with either of them.]

God, okay—so me and Karen are just in the office, right? It's a slow night, Matt's not around because he went home like every person looking forward to sleep does [sleep or punching people in the face] and we're the only ones there, and Karen doesn't feel like going home 'cause of reasons, and neither do I. So I get this brilliant idea of going out to hit as many bars in Hell's Kitchen as we can.

[A little shrug.] I mean, you're only young once, and all.

[ Wow, convincing. Convincing. Convincing. Odin stares, pointedly, at Foggy. The dramatic coughing. The cagey language. The "there would be a problem if I were in love with them, so I'm totally not!!!" logic. He sips his drink and says nothing, but boy.

Boy.

While Foggy should be thankful that Odin doesn't know lawyers are supposed to be good liars, he should also know that Odin totally isn't bothering to hide the sheer incredulity on his face. Just. 100% scepticism. Every inch of him, scepticism. Scepticism, as far as the eye can see. The freshest broadway hit, in town for one night only! Scepticism: The Odin Dark story!

On the other hand, given everything he's been through recently, he - he knows that love is hard to talk about. As much as he would like to offer an ear to Foggy, he lets that part of the conversation die. For now. ]

I travelled through time and saw an alternate version of myself as a baby, but yeah, you're only young once. I get it. How many fires did you guys end up starting?

[ He sips his drink again. And then his rare moment of tactfulness dies as quickly as it was born into this world. ]

Which one of them are you in love with? Both? It's okay if it's both. I've met people here who are dating two people. Or - maybe you don't want to say "love". Maybe it's just a feelings thing? Like you've got a crush or something. That's okay, too.

No fires got started, promise. I did do a little singing here and there, and as it turns out Karen can't carry a tune while she's drunk either. We tried to get Matt to visit the fish market with us, but he was [out of the apartment running around rooftops beating people up in backalleys] asleep.

[There's barely even a pause in his voice before he lies straight to Odin's face about what Matt must've been doing, that night. The guilt's still there, but it doesn't stop him from doing it anyway.]

We drank the eel. We were loud as hell and embarrassed ourselves in front of fellow night owls who were more sober than we were. It was—nice. [He takes a sip of his drink, basking in the warmth of nostalgia. For a moment, it's perfect, he can't ask for anything more than this: talking about his friends to another friend, even despite the sting of homesickness and loneliness.

...and then Odin up and asks him that question and Foggy very nearly spits his drink out again.

Con-fucking-gratulations, he nearly choked twice in one night.]

I—That's not—We aren't—It's not—

[Oh, wait:] I'm already dating someone! Here, I mean. His name's Piper, he's a great guy, he can talk to rodents. [It's still not an answer, Nelson! But he absolutely does not know how he's going to talk about his own more than platonic feelings for either Matt or Karen, because—well. Reasons.]

Ah, man. Sleep is for nerds.

[ Odin smiles and thinks of home, of the nights he would sneak away from the rest of his army to hit the town and waste the night away on stupid bullshit with his friends. It didn't happen often, and he always regretted it, for one reason or another - but it was nice, to have this connection with Foggy, he thinks. He opens his mouth to make a joke about Karen's singing, but he just shuts it, his voice dying off in his throat. He's too focused on, uh - the other half of this conversation.

That second bout of choking alone should have be enough for Odin to realize he's crossing a line, and the way Foggy deflects again by talking about the man he's currently dating should only hammer that line of thinking in. It does, to an extent, so again, Odin falls quiet in an attempt to be kind. Buuuuuuut again, his attempt only lasts for about twelve seconds. ]

That doesn't... necessarily...

[ He scratches his neck, then sighs, frustrated. He's starting to sound pretty petulant, actually, like he's getting annoyed with Foggy's answers, but he doesn't have the self-awareness to realize why that might be. When Poe shot him down up in space, it was with the words I already know what I want - who I want, shutting a door so thoroughly on any future relationship he and Odin might have in the future. And that's - fine, but he still wants it, he still wants Poe, and Foggy's just-- making himself the perfect target for Odin to project his feelings about that onto. ]

That doesn't-- mean something. Necessarily. People can love more than one person. Right? Just because you love somebody right now doesn't mean you can't also love-- somebody else. At the same time. Eventually. Or - simultaneously. Right? Like. I couldn't? I don't think? I'd die. Probably. But other people can. Probably. Probably. Maybe. I think. I'd try it? If I had to. So.

[ So. So. Yeah. He looks off to the side, frowning, his thoughts a thousand miles away. Still with Poe. ]

... What's Piper like?

Matt's a nerd. Summa cum laude from Columbia, the little shit.

[Says the man who graduated cum laude from the same university, but Foggy very conveniently leaves that out. But he looks at Odin like he really does not want to have to deal with questions of—of what he wants, who he wants. President of the Sad Bastards Club he might be, but at the moment Foggy really does not want to talk about himself, would rather deflect questions about his slightly more than platonic feelings towards Matt and Karen, talk about stupid embarrassing stories instead of Emotions.

Sure, people can love more than one person. He's seen that himself. But he sighs, and shakes his head.]

It doesn't work that way for everyone. Sometimes it does, and everyone gets to be happy. But most of the time, it just—

[He sighs, and fills up his glass again.]

It's complicated and messy, Odin. Sometimes when you love someone, they're it for you, either at the time or for the rest of your life. Other times you've got room to love someone else, too. The problem is, you never really know for sure.

[A small, almost shy smile, before he says:] He's—nice. We met on a blind date [hah!] and we hit it right off.

Really? Oh, man. I take it back. He's way cooler than you.

[ He grins, even though he has no fucking idea what Columbia or summa cum laude actually mean, but. From context he can tell these are Smart Earth Person things and that's good enough for him. He falls quiet, though. He doesn't pick up on Foggy not wanting to talk about his emotional shit in any more depth than he already has, but he's successfully placated by his answer, enough to let the conversation drift. He briefly considers calling it a night, because the direct and explicit reminder that love is stupid and confusing and he'll never fully grasp it is kind of a little too much for him to bear right now, but that fucking adorable shy little smile brings Odin back in.

He considers what he wants to say before he says it. ]

Me and Poe, um... we met while I was being kind of an asshole? I was trying to show off how cool I was by filming myself doing these stupid skateboard tricks. I kept talking about how badass I was and how talented I was and he just, like, laughed and went along with it all. [ Odin laughs. ] And afterwards, we started hanging out a lot, 'cause I found out he's my next door neighbour? And I kept trying really hard to act stupid whenever I was around him, 'cause I was really starting to like him and I thought all the Odin Pretends To Be Way Stupider Than He Actually Is bullshit was the only reason why he kept letting me be with him. Because, like - he's so great. You know? I still don't understand why someone as intelligent and funny and charismatic and creative and interesting and brave and strong as Poe would even, like. Look at me. Let alone want to spend time with me.

But then it turned out he just liked being with me? It was weird. He's weird. [ He hesitates. ] Man, before I confessed to him, I kept thinking, "fuck, I could marry this man one day". I have the ring I would have given him and everything? Ugh. I'm glad I never told him that.

[ Odin shrugs. He should probably stop talking about Poe so much, he thinks. It's not going to go anywhere and he's pretty sure as kind as Foggy is for inviting him out like this, he probably doesn't actually give a shit about all the sad and gory details. He looks away for a second, and then-- he grins, suddenly, toothy and sharp. ]

Hey. Hey. Hey. You gonna marry Piper, do you think?

Cool is subjective, he's still a total nerd. I keep trying to get him to come out to places like this with me, have been since college, but my success rate has sharply dropped since we started our practice.

[At the time he hadn't known why. He'd just thought that, hey, maybe Matt was picking up girls all by himself or something. He knows better now, however, and it sits heavy in his stomach, that knowledge. All that time he was on that bender with Karen, and Matt was out late, doing God only knows what, fighting in the backalleys of Hell's Kitchen, putting himself at risk. Something horrible could've happened that night, and all those other nights out Foggy had. And he would never have known.

He takes a sip of his drink. Listens to Odin's story, instead.]

Do you—Do you really think the "Odin Dark Pretends to Be A Total Dumbass" shit is the entire reason why anyone would hang out with you? Because if so, you're doing yourself a disservice. You're—

[Argh, okay, wait.]

—daring. Who wouldn't want to hang out with that? [Daring is the nicest way Foggy has of putting it, because it's that or "a goddamn fuck-up", and that's not something you say to a guy who's just had his heartbreak broadcast on live TV.]

And—no? We've only just been on a few dates, it's too early to say if we're getting married.

Edited 2017-12-19 13:59 (UTC)

[ Odin - very, very slowly rises an eyebrow, staring Foggy down. ]

That's what you're going with? "Daring"? There were so many other adjectives you could have gone with, if you wanted to compliment me. Charismatic. Funny. Irresistably physically attractive. [ he pulls up his hoodie, slapping his abs as hard as he can. ] Ch--

[ wheeze. Slapping his abs was a bad idea, one that left him winded. He grips the table with both hands, coughing a little. He takes a minute to calm down, and then he lifts up his hoodie again like that never happened and slaps his chest, instead. Slightly lighter, this time. ]

Check out these pecs!

[ so smooth. he casually leaves his hoodie hooked up over his shoulder while they talk, just letting his bare torso hang out in this place where people serve food like it's no big deal. ]

... But, yeah. I do. I'm not-- [ He hesitates, here, wondering if he's about to cross a bridge with Foggy he can't really come back from. He decides he doesn't have much of a choice, at this point. ] I'm not-- a good person. In a lot of ways. I come from a family of these-- amazing, brilliant, heroic royals, and I've completely dirtied the blood in my veins by being such a genuine disappointment in every aspect of my life. I've killed... more people than I can count. I don't even know the number, anymore. Indirectly. Directly. Stained my hands with blood. People don't... I don't have anything to offer. As a friend. As more than a friend. All I have is an ability to be funny, sometimes. So. I try to be funny. I guess.

[ ugh, he wants another drink. ]

You should marry your boyfriend.

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