daredevilkink | Prompt Post #6

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Prompt Post #6

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AYRT: Haha, no worries, I have replied to kinkmeme posts on my phone at work before as well, so I know how it goes XD

AWkward!Karen FTW. I could see her at one stage going 'I keep giving Matt orders when I don't want to, Foggy HELP' and he'd suggest doing what he did, like, giving Matt the one standing order that he *doesn't* have to do what she tells him if he doesn't want to. And maybe sometimes Matt is going to screw with her, after, going 'Make me', after she tells him to 'Oh god, shut up!' when they're joking around, and grinning, because they both know she *could*, but she *wouldn't*.

- also, I'm terrible and may have written that scene. I had the idea that maybe Matt tells her when he takes her home some variation of:

"But...you're not wearing a collar?"

"It's under my shirt," Matt says, and he sounds wary and...*embarrassed*? about it, which surprises Karena little. Because slaves...they don't get embarrassed, right? They can be ordered to walk around without clothes, and perform all sorts of tasks free people would cringe away from and refuse to do, so embarassment really can't feature in a slave's life too much. Can it?

Only she's never met a slave that acted quite like Matt did.

"Why?" she manages, mystified and then, adds before she can help herself, "Can I see it?"

Matt sighs, looking even more uncomfortable than previously, but obliges and pulls out a thin, red collar from under his shirt that seems more fit for a female slave than him. But it does have an official ID chip embedded, which clearly marks it as a genuine tag of ownership instead of a discardable fashion item. He lets it drop onto his chest where it hangs low, almost grazing the lower end of his pectoral muscles.
"I can't exactly wear it visibly while I'm working," Matt says. "Foggy expects me to pull my own weight at the office, and there are too many things clients wouldn't trust a slave with. You can't really talk to free people either. They don't *listen*," Matt huffs and he sounds seriously frustrated for a moment, but then he apparently forces himself to relax again and takes a breath. "So, yeah. I wouldn't be much help to Foggy if I didn't pretend."

Karen nods, still slightly overwhelmed - the idea of a *slave* pretending to be a normal person and no one noticing is still a bit too much to compute, because slaves can't DO that, they're simply not *like* free people, right?! - but manages to gather enough of her brain to ask,

"But isn't that illegal?"

At this, Matt actually cracks a smile at her. "You *really* don't have much trust in our prowess as legal council, huh?"

"What? No!" Karen backpedals, feeling embarrassed, but Matt simply shakes his head, grinning a little even as he stows his collar out of sight again, below his shirt.

"To answer your question, no, isn't illegal. In NYC, there's actually no stipulation that collars have to be visible at all times. Of course, most owners are usually insistent that they are, to avoid confusion, but..." he trails off. But not Foggy, is the implied statement, and Karen gets that.

"I still have to tell somebody if somebody asks," Matt continues, putting away his coat and then proceeding to get out what looks like fresh sheets and a pillow from a closet. "Mostly we just do our best to make sure nobody does. And I still have to obey any orders given by free people, which I do. We're actually very careful about staying just this side of the legal line."

"Really. Wow." Karen manages, and then, because she *really* can't stop herself, “So, if I said ‘Make me a coffee’, as long as your owner doesn’t order you to do something else, you’d actually have to…?”

Matt, pausing throwing the sheets from his bed onto his couch, visibly stiffens. “Yes. I’d have to make you a coffee. Though I really would prefer to be asked instead of ordered. Sounds strange and eccentric, I know.”

The last remark is said with a wry twist to the words and a cynic quirk to his mouth, and Karen bites her lip. "I didn't mean..." she starts, then stops herself. "Sorry. I guess I don't know much about life as a slave. My family never had any. You're actually the first one I ever talked to."

(Matt briefly considers telling her 'Really? I'd never have guessed!' at this point, but wisely doesn't.)

"Believe it or not, we're not actually that different from free people," he says instead with a mild smile, and then turns to his kitchen counter. "So. Coffee?"

xxx

...aaand yeah, so after that conversation, when Karen is out with him, she'd maybe have assumed that the hiding of the collar has more to do with Matt wanting to appear professional in front of clients, so when they're going out somewhere, maybe fetching lunch while Foggy's back at the office and a friend of Karen's shows up -

xxx

xxx

“Yeah, he wears it under his shirt, you can just about see the outline if you know it’s there-“ Karen says, and then stops, because all of a sudden it hits her that maybe there’s a *reason* Matt wears the collar in a hidden place, not just at the office, but everywhere.

And that reason suddenly seems to become glaringly obvious.

“Oh my god, he’s gorgeous! Do you keep him as the office pet?” Felicity gasps and at the same time steps forward to run a hand over Matt’s torso and then reach up to ruffle his hair. And Karen can see how he startles at the contact and then seems to have to consciously control himself not to pull away, obviously uncomfortable with being touched.

“Eh, Felicity…”

“My god, his abs are rock-hard! Does he enjoy belly rubs? Do you? Do you?” she asks with a laugh, running her hand up and down Matt’s abdomen, her fingers moving like she’s trying to tickle him.

“Felicity, I don’t think he likes that,” Karen says, because even if she’s only known Matt for a few days, she’s already able to differentiate between his smiles, and the one he’s wearing right now, the thin-lipped, brittle one while he is being groped, is definitely not a genuine one.

“Nonsense,” Felicity waves her off. “Slaves love physical affection, they’re like dogs that way. Right?” She coos at Matt, running a fingertip below his chin. “Take off your shades, boy, I wanna see your pretty eyes.”

His shades. Karen freezes, because Matt almost never takes off his shades if he can help it, the only person she’s ever seen him remove them around has been Foggy, when it was just the two of them in one of their offices and her in the front room. When she asked him about it, Foggy told her that he thinks it was maybe one of Matt’s former ‘asshole owners’ that made him self-conscious about his unfocused gaze – ‘Don’t mind it when he wears them around you. I think it’s his own personal armour, he just needs it to be comfortable. Besides, I helped him pick them, so I take it as a compliment that he likes them so much’ he’d said, sounding faintly proud.

And now Felicity is about to strip them from him.

“No, Felicity, seriously-“

“Oh wow, serious doe eyes going on here! I can see why your boss would want him to keep those hidden, they’re as pretty as the rest of him.” Felicity turns to her, flashing a smitten grin while Matt just stands there, glasses in his hand, looking as awkward and tense as possible while still trying to keep his polite mask from slipping and Karen wants to be swallowed up by the floor. Felicity leans a bit closer. “Can I tell him to kiss me? Or would that be misuse of office material?” she giggles. “Although that’s what you really keep him around for, right?”

“I’m…I’m sorry, we really need to go. We’re already late,” Karen bursts out, at the same time grabbing Matt’s elbow and pulling him away from Felicity, back to her side. “Sorry, Feli, we’ll catch up another time, okay?”

“What? O…kay?” Felicity looks at her, a bit taken aback, eyes darting between her and Matt. “Did I say something wrong?”

Yes, Karen wants to shout, everything! but she doesn’t. Because she knows that about two weeks ago, she likely could have reacted the exact same (well. Maybe minus the kissing request) if a friend of hers had run into her with a seriously cute slave on her arm. She just never realized what it would be like to be that slave.

“No, no, it’s fine, we’re just really in a hurry. See you later!” she manages to force out and then drags Matt away with her as fast she dares go without worrying about making him stumble. They’ve made it almost twenty metres before Matt asks,

“Can we stop for a moment? If it’s alright, I’d like to put my shades back on.”

Karen almost freezes on the spot.

“Yes! Yes, of course, I forgot completely – sure. Yeah. Do that,” she says, releasing his arm again and standing awkwardly next to him while he adjusts his glasses.

“Matt. Matt, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to – it just slipped out, I didn’t think –“ she takes a few deep breaths and then tries to compose herself again. “So you don’t want anyone to know you’re a slave, no matter whether it’s at the office or on the street, huh?” she asks quietly as they set off again.

“Pretty much,” Matt replies, still sounding tight-lipped and walking slightly stiffly next to her. Neither of them is holding on to the other right now, Matt’s cane tapping his way out in front of him.

“I’m…I’m sorry. I thought you had just forgotten to pull your collar out. I didn’t realize…” she breaks herself off. “That was absolutely awful back there. I had no idea that was going to happen, I’m so, so sorry. I swear Felicity is usually so nice…”

Apparently, even if Matt can’t see on her face how absolutely horrible she feels right now, it also has to be showing in her voice, because he gives a slight huff that sounds more like wry amusement than actual anger at her. “I’ve been enslaved for about ten years now. Being made to take off my glasses is hardly the worst thing that happened to me during that time.”

And Karen feels like she’s taken another punch to the gut.

“Oh god. I didn’t...I never thought about….”

“Most people don’t. It’s easier that way,” Matt shrugs. “If it makes you feel better, nothing much has happened to me in the last five years, at least.”

Not since I’ve been owned by Foggy, is what this translates to, and Karen swallows.

“That’s…good. But still, the way she suddenly stopped treating you like a person-“ Karen breaks herself off and bites her lip. “I’m sorry. I swear I won’t ever tell anyone again. No one should have to go through this.” And, in a smaller voice, she adds, “Please don’t tell Foggy? He’d so fire me.”

Matt raises an eye brow. “You realize you simply have to officially order me to not tell him?”

Karen attempts a small, slightly strained smile. “Nice try. But you’re not gonna catch me doing that again, Mr Murdock. I learned my lesson the last time.”

Matt hmms thoughtfully at that reply. Karen holds her breath, counts the seconds, until…

“Right. In that case…would you mind guiding me again? It does make things easier.”

She lets out a breath of relief. “Sure.” She holds out her arm slightly for him to take. “You lead the way, I’ll make sure you don’t run into things.”

“Sounds like a perfect plan,” Matt replies, and they set off toward the precinct again. Karen tries not to notice the other slaves they pass as they keep walking, human pets on leashes, or trotting behind their owners like dogs, and she wonders whether Matt knows they’re there anyway.

She tugs him a little bit closer to her when they pass the slave markets. She slipped up once today, but she is Karen Page, and that is not going to happen to her again.

xxx

and because I'm a horrible person, YES, I want the party to be a DISASTER! XD And I'm also thinking, like, what if it was actually *Marci* to the rescue, for a minute, before the party gets broken up anyway? Like, I'm thinking, what if some drunk guy or girl spills a drink all over Matt's white shirt (who is sitting next to them on the sofa, obviously wishing to be anywhere else, but Foggy wants them to be there, right, so he'll just hold out a little longer) and then of course immediately paws at him with an ineffectual napkin, drunkenly giggling and apologizing - when they find his (now visible) collar and be like 'oh, wow, wait is that a collar?! God, I didn't even notice you're a slave, hahah, can you believe it? Take that shirt off, I want to see the rest of you!' and now are already halfway on top of him on the couch. Matt is basically frozen in panic, having wild flashbacks of his training - 'hold still unless otherwise instructed. Make noises of enthusiasm if the person playing with you does not order you to do otherwise' - and, because with Foggy he has regained most facets of his old life, he also has flashbacks of his *other* training, which would include tossing his attacker halfway across the room. And in between that, he can't do anything but feel his lungs constrict as his shirt is torn open and his chest is bared, and more people notice what is going on, and come over and there's *hands* on him, like sharks at a buffet, and he wants to call over to Foggy, *help me*, but nothing is coming out, and his shades are gone, so he closes his eyes, trying to get himself to *DO* something, anything - when there's another gasp somewhere above the couch, and it' from the only other familiar voice in the room.

"What the...Murdock?!"

xxx

...I fear I reached the character limit again. Er, on to the next post!^^°

His senses tell him Marci is standing behind the couch and is probably looking straight down at him. Him, with his shirt gone, collar bright red around his throat, and currently being groped by half a dozen strangers.

Matt doesn't need to be able to see to visualize his life, and his future shatter before his eyes. Outed. Humiliation threatens to overwhelm him and he tries to turn his head away so at least Marci can't see his face any more.

Which is when the second surprise of the night happens, and it comes in the form of a verbal lashing that is usually directed at him, but not tonight. Not now.

"What. do you think you are doing?" Marci asks, tone clipped, and the person on top of him briefly stops in their fondling.

"Uh...having fun?" they intelligently ask.

"Uh-huh." Marci comments, unimpressed. "That's my boyfriend's pet you're sitting on top of. Which, by extension makes him mine. *Off*," she says, and the last word is laced with something that would make feral wolves back down. The pressure on his chest leaves.

"Alright, alright, chill, I thought slaves were here for general entertainment tonight, s'all..."

"This one isn't," Marci says, and then smartly steps around the couch to perch himself next to Matt on the armrest. He is currently struggling to sit up, shrug back into his soaked shirt, for all the good it will do him now. He can feel Marci next to him smack her lips.

"So. Murdock," she says, and it's...*amused*? "Not that I didn't have my suspicions, but...something you want to tell me?"

xxx

But yeah, so totally in favour of Marci using it as petty revenge for being defeated by Matt in class, but she wouldn't ever use it seriously against him because that would make the challenge moot. I also didn't yet write Foggy in that scene yet but he so needs to react to everything going on there (what would he do? Want to run over and tear drunk!student off Matt? Try and immediately plead with Marci that she mustn't tell that to any one else? Immediately want to comfort Matt and bring him his jacket so they can leave (which is of course when the cops show up, because nope, no breaks to be had here^^°)?

- and aw, yes, a scene like that, with Matt noticing that - like, he usually has that impulse to cover up, even in the heat, but then he pauses and is like 'wait...there's actually no reason to be worried if I'm not wearing a shirt', because Foggy's not going to view it as an 'invitation' or anything, and maybe it's at that point that Matt realizes that he truly, completely *trusts* him. (I'd also like the idea that, like the glasses in canon, Foggy is the only one that Matt doesn't feel self-conscious when he's visibly wearing his collar around - like, during changing or when sleeping).

- all the yes to contradicting feelings about the collar itself, of course. XD

- and ahah, I had to laugh at the messed-up-pizza-order comment. XD They so would! Poor Karen. But I'd so want to see that conversation afterwards. Matt could be like,

"No, seriously, Foggy doesn't hit me. Ever. Not even when I do something like this." *proceeds to grope for Foggy's cheetos bag and drop it into garbage can*

Foggy: "HEY!"

Matt: "See? Nicest owner ever."

Foggy: "I can't believe I haven't sold you yet." -.-

Karen: *utterly baffled*

- and ooh, yes about Karen first seeing Matt and immediately making all of her own theories because of COURSE he won't properly talk about anything. I adore the idea about her at first being all angry toward Foggy and protective and indignant on Matt's behalf. (Foggy would be like with his back against his own desk, and she'd be all I SAW HIM AND HE IS STILL WEARING HIS COLLAR WHICH HE HATES WHY IS THAT FOGGY and he'd be like NO IT'S DIFFERENT and...yeah. XD

(Also, I love the twist with her thinking Matt doesn't want to sue because he'd be too ashamed to be 'evidence' in a trial instead of defence council.) ah, it's so cool to be able to bounce ideas around and get them all into working order :D

- and then yeah, the Nelson question. I do have another bit, which is Foggy talking to his mother briefly on the morning after he got Matt -

xxx

“Mom, I can’t – I had to patch him up, yesterday, and the way he looked at me, as if he was grateful for something that shouldn’t…shouldn’t….”

Franklin (Foggy, you’re supposed to call him Foggy), is taking deep breaths now, probably trying to calm himself down – yup, heart rate elevated, Matt nods to himself. He is a bit surprised that he can already track Foggy through the building, but then again, they had spent quite a bit of time together yesterday, and none of it had been overwhelming or seriously painful for Matt, so he’d been able to catalogue everything about Foggy quite well. That was…new. Matt carefully decides not to dwell on it.

“Franklin,” his mother says, “that is a normal way to discipline slaves. You’ve seen that he acts quite docile now, doesn’t he? That is probably what made him such a well-behaved boy.”

“Bullshit,” Foggy seethes downstairs. “That’s not…I wouldn’t ever-“ He takes another deep breath. “Fine. You wanna give me a slave, fine. So, as long as he is mine,” Foggy says, and Matt concentrates hard at this point, so he can hear the air part as Foggy jabs a finger into his mother’s face, “No one is ever going to touch him like that. Is that clear?”

There’s a sigh from his mother’s end. “Yes, dear, if that’s what you want. But you should read the owner’s manual I got you, anyway. If – or when you run into difficulties with him at Columbia, you’ll probably be glad to have it.”

“Yeah, so I can light it on fire when the heating is down,” Foggy grunts, and Matt can hear him stomp out of the kitchen and toward his room again. He panics for a moment – doesn’t know whether he should pretend to still be sleeping, or whether Foggy would want him to be up and dressed, or up and undressed, so when the door flies open and Foggy crashes into his room in a thunderous mood, he is presented with one slave, too-large sweatshirt half over his head, flat on his face in the room with his feet hopelessly still tangled in the futon.

“Uh…morning?” he manages.

xxx

...gah. But yeah. I dunno, I wonder what would have the most feelings/comedy potential. I could think Foggy being seriously torn in between leaving Matt for thanksgiving at the dorms (where he'd be left in peace, but would also be lonely) VS taking him home for the weekend (where he may or may not even be allowed to participate at the dinner). Maybe the parents also have radically differing attitudes toward him? Argh, so many possibilities! What do you think?^^°

AYRT back again! And replying on the phone at work yet again.

Lol yes! Or Foggy could maybe do it for her, because he’s Matt’s owner so his orders supersede anyone else’s so he could be like ‘Matt can I order you not to obey Karen unless you want to I think she will literally have a heart attack otherwise’. I love Matt poking fun at Karen with it too, it’d be a good way to get her to relax about it because he knows she’s trying but she’s just so worried she’ll offend him lol.

I don’t know if it was said before but I totally had Matt’s collar as red too, I have this idea his old collar is heavy and metal and digs into his neck and Foggy notices and goes out and gets the fanciest damn soft leather, silk lined collar he actually can’t afford but they can live off noodles for a while they’re students right?

Also I feel like almost all of Matt’s explaining how most slave owners act would finish with some variation of ‘but not Foggy’ which I love :P

Hehe at Matt’s ‘really???’ thought too, poor Karen :P but she will learn! Also she probably goes really far the other way at some point and like NEVER asks Matt anything for fear he might take it as an order until Matt finds her like trying to translate one of his braille documents because she lost Foggy’s version and he’s like ‘okay but you could just ask, that’s still a thing you are allowed to do asking people for help is a thing, Karen.’

Ooooh yes, I LOVE IT. And I love especially that it’s someone Karen thought would not be like that because you never really know do you?

I love her just being all over Matt and him having to take it because there’s literally nothing else he can do. Also, I love that he can manage and reassure Karen but it’s probably the first time he’s been treated like a slave in a while and in the moment he’s just focused on Karen being upset and calming her down but later maybe he panics a little because it brought back a lot of bad memories and Foggy’s like ‘wtf is happening omg’ and Matt partially explains minus that it was Karen’s fault and then they both curl up on the couch and Foggy narrates bad movies and finds a lot of times to casually mention Matt’s only got a few more months until he’s free and it’s going to be so great.

I love her taking his glasses off too because I always feel that’s such a big shield for Matt to have (hell I wear normal glasses and I like hiding behind them sometimes lol) and he probably had owners who wouldn’t let him wear them at all or just outside and took weird pleasure in watching him knowing he can’t look back (and even if they didn’t know he can ‘see’ them with his other senses, he still can’t look back). And Foggy probably didn’t even consider it and maybe Matt mentioned he’d come with a cane when Foggy’s mother bought him but not glasses and Foggy’s like ‘okay let’s get you glasses then’ like it’s no big deal at all to give Matt something he wants but to Matt it’s like the biggest deal ever because no one has done that since his Dad even and he cried and Foggy’s just confused because it never occurs to him not to treat Matt like a person for even a second.

YES I love Marci and she's clever too so she may not know exactly what the deal is but she can put two and two together and guess Foggy's probably kept Matt's status a secret for a reason and she might try to deny it but she's actually a good person deep down. Lol, now I'm imagining Matt using that to tease her when she mentions him being a slave like 'yes but I know you're actually a nice person so don't try me because I will tell people'.

Ohh yes, maybe Foggy was dragged away for a moment and is now looking for Matt and finds him with his shirt open and collar out next to Marci of all people and he doesn't even need to ask to know something bad has happened.

I'm all for it getting worse when the cops show up too because you already know I'm trash for this prompt. Like Matt's already freaked out because he's just getting used to being himself and having his own decisions etc but he's on edge from being treated like an object but Foggy's there with his jacket so it's going to be okay then BAM the cops are there and they're separating the slaves put because some have been borrowed from parents without permission and suddenly Matt's dragged away from Foggy and Marci and the cops like 'this collar's a bit loose' so he tightens it until Matt can only just breathe and it feels just like he's back to before.

But Foggy's fighting tooth and nail with the cops and Marci's threatening to sue but it still takes way too long to get Matt back. And on the way home Foggy's trying to think of what he can offer Marci to stop her telling everyone and when they get home he launches into a huge list and Marci's terribly amused and waits for him to finish before she's like 'buy me lunch we'll call it even' and Foggy's like '... what that's it?'

Ohh yes, he's just lying on his bed in track pants and nothing else and in his head there's an old ingrained impulse of 'need clothes before owner comes in' but even when he hears Foggy he's like 'ugh too much effort' and he gets used to it and used to having control over his body again- which makes the times people treat him like a slave all the worse.

I bet Matt keeps the collar too. Even after he's free. Because he hates being slave but being owned by Foggy was the start of being himself again.

Lol yes, poor Karen :P but once she sees the crap Matt gets away with she realises physical discipline is not a concept that exists in Foggy's head :P

Yessss ugh it's like the worst timing for Foggy to find out I love it. And Karen being so pissed off with Foggy then just confused and maybe Matt thinks Foggy will just tell her too cause it's his secret but he doesn't own anything, not even this. And he's freaking out they're all just going to hate him and Foggy's just like 'well at least you're still as much of an idiot as ever'.

And I loved the bit with Foggy's Mom and Foggy wanting to burn the owner's manual. Except I think he'd actually have to read it because there's a lot of legal stuff in there that he does need to know not to get either of them in trouble but he tries very very hard to ignore all the 'discipline suggestions' scattered throughout. And then burns it :P

I mentioned my Nelsons headcanon a in my other reply but I think maybe he might leave Matt at the dorms at first but Matt gets bored and lonely so they decide it's better to take him home cause at least Foggy can spend time with him. Which would basically mean they just spent all their time in Foggy's room or out until Mrs Nelson is like 'for God's sake Foggy bring him down I want to at least see you once while you're here'.

ALSO THE IPAD BIT MADE ME FLAIL!!! YES!!!

Hah, woah, that is an impressive reply from a phone, so cool! :D

As for how this whole ordering-around-business works, I was a bit torn in between how it would make the most sense/be the most fun to write. I *think* the idea in the AU would be that any free person can order any slave around, at any time, and while the owner's orders override others' orders, he can't give the slave the command *not* to obey other free (adult) people (obviously giving kids command over slaves would be the worst idea ever). This would be necessary to be sure slaves can be controlled at all times if there is a free person nearby.

This would make Matt's life more difficult with the circumventing of unintentioned 'orders' he gets from others, but also more interesting to read :P So he might have to tell Karen to give Matt that standing order (concerning her) which is also awkward for all parties concerned.^^° I'd love scenes where Karen accidentally asks/deliberately not asks (I was laughing a lot at the Braille translation) Matt to do something ("Karen. I'm taller than you. You nearly succeeded in getting that dictionary falling on top of you. Please TELL ME if you want to get something from the top shelf, I *promise* I won't be offended!" - "Matt, standing order, non-optional: When you see Karen trying to kill herself with office equipment, stop her." - "See?! Foggy gets it!") any more ideas? :p

As for the collar, ahaha, I miiight have sth for that too...?^^°

(imagined time line: Foggy gets Matt while he's still at home for a like a week. In that time he patches up Matt's back, and takes him shopping. The first shopping trip doesn't go that well because Foggy gets upset with how people treat a visibly collared Matt. This scene takes place like 1-2 days after that.)

Xxx

The collar, it turns out, also brings with it some more problems than just making other people behave like dicks.

“Okay. So these are my underpants, and these are your underpants…” Foggy is trying to sort both of their (meagre) belongings as he’s packing them for college, and Matt is in his room (as always) and not able to be much help.

“Can you get me the shampoo sitting on the table?” Foggy asks, more because he wants Matt to feel useful than because he is too lazy to do it himself. “It’s sitting at the front, in the middle.”

“On it,” Matt says, raising himself from where he has been sitting on the bed, and walking over to grab it from the desk. As he moves, something that Foggy has been noticing for a while catches his eye again.

“Is something wrong with your neck?”

“Hm? No, I’m fine,” Matt replies, because that seems to be an automatic reaction from him, and Foggy gives him an unimpressed look, that (sadly) is of course totally wasted on him.

“Uh-huh. That’s why you’re keeping your neck straight as a board and avoid turning your head when you move your body. Let me see,” he says, already moving over. Matt has frozen, looking like a deer in the headlights as Foggy nears him, but he doesn’t resist when Foggy puts a hand on his shoulder, leaning in to have a closer look at Matt’s bare throat and neck.

And then almost rears backwards.

“…Matt! You’re bleeding.”

“Yes.”

“’Yes’? ‘Yes’?! ‘Yes’ isn’t the answer to that question, Matt,” Foggy wants to wail, because why is any of this happening to him, and Matt is just looking into his general direction, his expression a slight frown.

“What you said…wasn’t a question,” he points out, a bit consternated, and Foggy only groans, because of course he would say that.

“Matt. Take that collar off, now.”

“I can’t,” Matt replies, swallowing. “It’s locked. The key is with my ownership papers.”

Which prompts a wild hunt through all of the documents Foggy had painstakingly assembled for transport to college, until he has found the damn contract his mother had given him last week, and which had been crumpled all the way underneath everything else. But it does have a metal key taped to it, looking just as scratched and busted as the old collar around Matt’s neck, which Foggy carefully extracts.

“Okay,” he says, voice, for his credit, almost calm again now. “Lift your head and let me take that…thing off you.”

Again, Matt obeys, and Foggy tries to be as careful as possible as he inserts the key, twists it, and then gingerly removes the collar. Underneath Matt’s skin is angry, red and irritated, exhibiting a rash-like look and small open wounds at irregular intervals. Foggy winces and hopes none of them are infected yet.

“Fuck,” he says, quietly.

“Not looking great?” Matt ventures (and at least that’s progress, a slightly hysterical voice in Foggy’s head reminds him, that Matt doesn’t straight jump to the conclusion that he’s somehow defective, when Foggy voices how badly cut-up he is).

“No. No, Matt, it doesn’t. Why didn’t you say anything?” Foggy moans. “I swear, I have aged twenty years in the last two weeks,” he sighs, as he gets out – again – the first aid kit, the salves and the bandages. “Sit down, hold your head up, and hold still. What kind of sicko even made you wear that thing?”

“It’s a standard government collar,” Matt says, once again eerily not flinching even when Foggy does his best to disinfect and clean the irritated ring of red skin around Matt’s throat. “They’re made to be durable, not comfortable.”

“Yeah, well, I’m now drawing on three months experience from when I was trying to flirt with this girl into anarchist bands back in tenth grade, and I’m saying ‘Fuck the government’,” Foggy says with conviction. “You’re not wearing that thing again.”

Matt huffs out a small laugh of amusement. “I’m legally required to, Foggy. You can’t take me out of the house without a collar.”

“Says who,” Foggy argues back. “I mean, what if you simply went out without one, who would even know you’re a slave?”

Matt begins to shrug, but Foggy slaps his shoulders back down. “Uh-uh. Hold still.”

Matt freezes for a moment, and Foggy realizes with a slight jolt that this is technically the first time he’s ‘hit’ Matt because he’s done something wrong. Fortunately, Matt seems to realize that Foggy meant it as a friendly reminder, not as a punishment, and he relaxes again. “Sorry,” he says, clearing his throat, sounding slightly awkward.

“It’s fine,” Foggy replies, trying to let his voice sound calm and non-chalant. “So you were saying, about going out without a collar…?”

“Ah. Yeah, no, people wouldn’t be able to see right away, that’s true. But the moment anyone asked to see my ID for something, and I wouldn’t have either a citizen ID card, or a collar with an ID chip, I’d be taken in by the police. And uncollared pets are pretty much taken in and…auctioned off.”

“Oh. Right,” Foggy says, lips thinning as he works. He is now wrapping the bandage around Matt’s throat, giving him a soft, white collar instead of the grey, cruel metal one. The metal one still holds the ID chip Matt has spoken of, a small thumbnail thing that would display his registration number, name of his owner, and county of holding if held in front of a police chip reader. “Can we get you a different collar? One that doesn’t hurt?”

“Sure. I think pretty much anything that isn’t metal or too tight will be fine,” Matt says. “Most of them will have a holding space for the chip, too. That’s the one thing that separates them from dog collars,” he adds wryly, and Foggy nods.

“Do you have a preference for anything? Favourite colour or something?”

Matt, however, doesn’t actually smile or snort at that like Foggy had hoped. Instead, he only replies quietly “It’s a collar, Foggy. I’m pretty much bound to hate it whatever it looks or feels like,” and Foggy, uncomfortable, drops the topic in favour of returning to packing for college.

Xxx

which would lead to...(one day later, after Foggy went to go shopping on his own):

xxx

“Matt? Buddy?” Matt’s head goes up as Foggy enters the room, and there’s still remnants of that familiar snap-to-attention reflex whenever Foggy says his name, as if he was always bracing himself for an order or a blow.

“Hello, Foggy. Welcome back,” Matt says, but it’s said with a mild, hesitant smile, as if Matt actually was a bit happy that Foggy’s returned, and didn’t just say it because he’s been trained to.

Yeah, right, the cynical voice in Foggy’s head says, as if a slave would ever be happy that the person who can order them around is back.

“Haven’t gotten bored, have ya?” Foggy asks instead, carefully putting the bag he’s been carrying on the bed. Matt is sitting pretty much where Foggy left him this morning, on the floor next to the bed, leaning against the covers. Foggy had pressed the remote control for both the radio and the TV into his hands before he left, explained what the buttons did, and then excused himself to run ‘errands’.

(“I’d ask if you wanted to come with, but…” he’d said, but Matt had given him the usual tight-wound smile, ducking his head in the already familiar way.

“But you can’t take me out without a collar, and you don’t want me to wear it until my neck’s healed again,” he had finished Foggy’s sentence, white bandage around his throat constricting as he swallowed. “I understand.”

“That, and I don’t think you had much fun last time we went shopping,” Foggy admits with a grimace. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize what a-holes people could be.”

Matt shrugs. “It happens. Once you’ve been out a few times with a collar you get used to it.”)

“No,” Matt shakes his head. “I like having a bit of downtime.”

“Right. Well, I bought something for you.”

“Again?” Matt tilts his head at Foggy. It’s not that easy to tell with the dark glasses but he seems a bit confused.

“Um. Yeah,” Foggy says and now he actually feels a bit embarrassed. “It’s ah…uh, here. It’s a new collar.”

“…ah. Of course. Thank you,” Matt replies, but it’s a stiff tone again, and he tilts his head toward the ground. For a moment he looks more like a regular slave, slumped at Foggy’s feet, and Foggy instinctively grits his teeth.

“It’s…here. Have a feel.” He takes the item out of the bag and presses it against the back of Matt’s hand. A brief frown passes across his slave’s face, but he does take the proffered collar obediently. As his fingers wrap around it, the frown deepens.

“It’s very thin,” Matt says. “And very long.”

“Yup,” Foggy says. “It’s also made from genuine leather and it’s red. Uh, sorry about the garish colour. I, er, also got from the female slaves’ section, but I figured, what you really needed was a collar wide enough and thin enough that you could wear it under your shirt so no one would be able to see it. You know. So you wouldn’t actually be breaking the law, but also people won’t be treating you like you’re not a person,” Foggy says, and he can hear himself babbling a little now, because Matt is now staring off into space even more than usual, feeling the collar between his fingers and not showing any emotion at all on his face. “Do you, uh, like it? I mean, duh, dumb question, of course you probably won’t really like that stupid thing they’re making you wear, but-“

“You…” Matt interrupts him, then, voice hoarse and he seems a little out of it, because he doesn’t even apologize for it like he usually does. “You…got me a collar specifically so I would be able to pretend…to be a free man?”

“Well, yeah,” Foggy shrugs helplessly. “After that disaster of a shopping trip it seemed like the thing to do.”

And then he almost flinches backwards, because all at once, Matt has pitched himself forward onto his knees and grabbed Foggy’s legs.

“Thank you,” he says and it’s raw, and helpless, and Foggy SO doesn’t know what to do with it.

“Woah, woah, that’s okay, dude. Here, come on up, please.” Foggy reaches down to grab Matt by his upper arms, pulling him to his feet because he is so uncomfortable with him clinging to his legs, pressing his face into his thigh like a damn illustration from the colonies.

A slave may nuzzle you in an attempt to thank you, or offer sexual favours. It is up to you to either reward or curb that behaviour as you see fit.

“You don’t…seriously, I’m glad you like it, but if you want to thank me, a hug will do just fine!” Foggy tries, carefully not adding Just please don’t act like a dog. “I like hugging. Big hugger here. Let’s hug it all out, okay?”

His voice is pitched just slightly higher than usual, and he’s unsure of how to hold Matt without aggravating the injuries on his back. He settles for keeping his hands on the other man’s shoulders, holding him in a light grip that he hopes doesn’t come off as threatening or possessive.

“You want me to…hug you? As thanks?” Matt asks, voice somewhere between thick with near-crying, and genuine, simple disbelief.

“If you want to,” Foggy says, shrugging, thinking maybe the motion will transmit through his hands on Matt’s shoulders, even if he can’t see it. “Like, seriously, you don’t have to do anything. But if you want to do something…well, friends generally hug, yeah. Or bake muffins? One or the other. I don’t know whether you can bake, but-“

Matt hugs him, hard.

The next morning, he has also baked muffins, and the way they taste Foggy fears if he’s going to take Matt with him to Columbia, he’s going to put on the freshman fifteen again, and this time they’ll have brought friends.

xxx

Note: not yet too happy with the second part. Anything you could think of editing/changing? But yeah! Character limit reached, I'll have to continue in the next post!^^°

i love this entire thread. you guys are AWESOME <3

+1 I love reading this thread.

...there's more readers than just us two?! Awesome, I didn't know that! :D You're always welcome to voice your opinions on the mini-fill bits/discussions, that makes writing them even more fun!^^

aaaaand here's the rest of my reply!

I'm hoping that the red collar is wide enough (like...maybe 70cm around-ish?) that it *really* can't chafe, BUT I'm also thinking that when Matt needs to get a visible collar to be worn for an extended period of time (i.e., during their internship at L&Z) Foggy would go all out for the softest, most comfortable he can find. Matt still looks just so...defeated when Foggy puts it on him, though, that he knows it's probably just a small comfort.

Also, yes. The 'But not Foggy' is gonna be strong in these fills. XD

As for how others act around Matt - yeah, I'm thinking that most of them probably wouldn't even be deliberately *cruel*, they're just...not quite thinking of slaves as people, is what makes their treatment so horrible. Only after becoming actually friends with one do both Foggy and Karen get a crash course in a slave's perspective on the whole thing. (and it's doubly jarring because Matt is so strong-willed that he still internally reacts like a free person to this treatment, even if his pride has been trampled into the dirt for *years* now. But there would be slaves who've been born to this and actually act affectionate when there's belly rubs, which now makes both Foggy and Karen as uncomfortable as it does Matt.)

And yeah, Matt *would* likely return in a very bad mood to the office, even if he'd try to hide it from Karen. But Foggy knows him better than anyone and he'd find out. And then be relentlessly nice and caring until he's wheedled out of Matt what happened and can re-assure him again. I'm a huge sucker for hair-petting, so I'd like to imagine they have a few routines that fall juuuust in between the blurry borders of 'things you'd do for an upset friend' and 'things you'd reward a well-behaved slave with', (the latter of which *still* elicit an involuntary positive response from Matt, it's not that easy to shake) so, yeah. There could be hair-ruffling, lying with his head on Foggy's thigh when they're enjoying a movie, giving Matt food - anything to remind Matt that he is NOT a slave to Foggy, but not because he's a *bad* one. Got any more ideas how that scene when Matt and Karen come back from that trip could go?

And argh, the glasses. I might have to write that purchasing scene. What are you doing XD

Also, Marci! Hah, yeah, a mutual blackmailing scenario between her and Matt would be fun. XD

And oooh, the cops! Yes to the tightening of the collar. They could be like 'Sir, I know there's no exact regulations as for the fit of the collar in NYC, but it really shouldn't be so loose that your slave could simply slip it off or loose it.' (which is exactly what Matt has usually been doing at parties when he went home with someone). And then he pulls it ridiculously taut, and Foggy can *see* the twitch in Matt's hands showing how uncomfortable and crushed he is to be reminded of his status in this way, and Marci holds him back before he does something stupid. They end the night, much later, by drinking themselves under a table at Josie's.

And oooh, yes, all the scenes where Matt feels himself slipping more and more into normal-person mode. Like, the first time when they've reached the joking-about-it stage, when Foggy makes a quip along the lines of 'You threw away my entire stash of cheese pretzels, Matt. They were only two weeks old. They were actually acquiring *aroma*. Why do you have to this, Matt? I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to whip you now or something.' and normally, this would mean that he'd have to throw himself at his owner's feet, begging for forgiveness, but right now, it's all he can manage to go 'nooo, no whipping. I've just found the perfect spot for lying in the sun, I don't want to move.' and turning over on his bed. ('also, that wasn't *aroma*, Foggy, that was *mould*.') ('That is just what a slave who doesn't want to get whipped would say.') And generally being a lazy-ass instead of always being at high-alert to avoid displeasing his owner.

The collar, yes! I have to admit I was wondering what he would do with it after he was freed. I've written slavery AUs with this kind of dynamic before and found it cute when the now-free-character keeps the collar and wears it wrapped around his wrist as a bracelet, buuuut I'm thinking that wouldn't quite work with the respectable-laywer-wardrobe. XD Now I kind of would like to read the scene where they're at the bureau in the end, *finally* submitting the paperwork, and the worker then tells him, 'Congratulations, you're now officially a free citizen. Please sign here for your new ID.' I'm sure they'd hug, and laugh, and then Foggy might reach up and go 'alright, here, lemme *finally* remove that vile thing off you-' but Matt could catch his wrist and go 'No. Don't throw it away. I'd like to keep it.' 'Keep it? Matt, what *for*?' 'It's the first thing you bought me, Foggy.' he gives a slight smile. 'It doesn't have just *bad* memories attached to it.'
Heh, maybe he keeps it rolled up in his pocket to run his fingers along it when he needs something to either focus or distract himself (or is just thinking of Foggy).

And Karen! YES for Matt being a dork/bit of a prankster at the office, giving Foggy shit. Matt could be like 'Hm, you know, I think we're confusing Karen. There probably should be more punishment around here, you're being terrible today.' Matt tilts his head. 'You think? Huh. In that case...you could punish me by getting lunch from that Vietnamese place I like? Or maybe punish me with a shoulder massage. I think those are good punishments.'

Also ooooh, YES to Matt's panic at realizing not even his secrets should technically be his own :3 (and that means he might be so surprised when Karen comes to see him and doesn't know anything about the truth)

And hah, yeah, I like that idea with the Nelsons! Like, maybe his father thinks the whole idea of getting a study aid is ridiculous, because what could a slave possibly know, right? He probably doesn't even understand half the lessons he's supposed to go to. Cue Foggy gently nudging Matt to add something when a particular topic he's interested in comes up (and Foggy can *tell* Matt would usually speak up at this point if this were a discussion in class, he's just incredibly self-conscious because the parents know what he is, they're the ones who *bought* him, who saw him in the cage at the market) but at Foggy's request, he does, and actually delivers a very conscise, and thought-out argument concerning the topic of debate. And you can just tell the two parents are a bit wowed, because they're suddenly starting to see how maybe, slaves aren't *that* different from free people, they *can* actually think. (Even though that still doesn't stop the mother attempting to be pragmatic and to use him for chores a couple times. Foggy is not very amused when he finds out).

Gah, so many head canons, what is *happening*?!

Regarding chores, Matt can always point out that a free guest would be asked to do chores as well - with Foggy heatedly countering that at least a free guest would be able to say no.

A-And since you don't have enough scenes, and I've just gobbled down the whole batch in half an hour, I'll add the ones from my own headcanon of Matt still being religious and Father Latte being, like, the second person after Foggy to be completely unruffled by Matt's status. Faith becomes a huge refuge for him. (And maybe Father Latte's part of the Underground Railroad, but now I'm REALLY dragging things into AU territory.)

And another headcanon of Foggy getting so desperate for Matt to take care of himself at some point in law school that he finally straight-up orders Matt to eat/shower/sleep and it makes Matt regress horribly. Because, yes, he knows he should have been taking care of himself, and that Foggy was just trying to do the job. But his whole sense of security and freedom was built on the guarantee that Foggy would never cross that line and use his power over Matt. And now he has, and Matt can't help it, he starts slipping back into the old slave mentality without even realizing it, and Foggy feels AWFUL.

Um. Yeah. Those are my two cents. Love the different scenes you've got going!

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