nerakrose

let's have a classic old school unprompted reclist! when have I last done one of these?? genuinely if I find out it's been a decade I will not be surprised.

As of today, there are 42 Matt/Foggy fics in the fake relationship tag on AO3. When corrected for fics where they aren't the main couple or where the fake dating is not them fake dating each other, and filtering for completed fics only, that number drops to about 30 ish. and I read every single one of them over the past weeks/months/I don't know, time is a construct. these are my favourites.

The Constellation of Touch by what_alchemy, 19k, No Archive warnings Apply.
Tags: The Nelson Family, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Body Worship, Senses, frank discussion of bodily functions, Barebacking
Summary: Months after Fisk is put away, nothing's right between the partners at Nelson and Murdock. But Christmas is here, and Matt is still expected at the Nelson house.

this is TOP TIER, combining family (whoops they think we're together best not let them down at Christmas), pining, set after s1 ish so after Foggy finds out Matt is daredevil and their relationship is rocky, intimacy (Matt opening up about his senses!), sdfgdflgjf I loved this one, fabulous work

Worth The Wait by TheLadyZephyr, 32k, No Archive Warnings Apply Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Tags: Supernatural Murder Mystery, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Mutual Pining, Protective Matt, badass Foggy, investigator Karen, Brett who knows Matt is Daredevil, Post-Season/Series 03, Canon-Typical Violence
Summary: The best time to realise you’re in love with your best friend? Not after you’ve convinced him to pretend to be in love you for an elaborate ruse designed to lure a supernatural murderer into a trap.
Friendships have been reforged at the law firm of Nelson, Murdock and Page, but a series of brutal murders push Foggy, Matt and Karen’s lives back into chaos as they try to track down the killer responsible.

as far as fake dating go this one gets a idk B- because the fake dating didn't start until well over halfway through the fic, however there was PINING, Foggy getting worked up because a hot guy flirted with Matt and Matt flirted back! plot, pining, it was very fun actually and (lololol) well worth it

In the City of Blinding Lights by Mizzy, 27k, No Archive Warnings Apply
Tags: Sexual Content, Canon-Typical Violence, Fake/Pretend Relationship ,Pining Post-Season/Series 01, Not Season/Series 02 Compliant, Identity Porn
Summary: Matt's come up with a long list of lies to cover for his night-time activities. Foggy pretending to be Matt's boyfriend wasn't on that list for a very good reason.

a classic embodiment of the trope! ticks all the boxes! pining, people making assumptions (whoops they think we're together so obv now we have to pretend to be together), dramatic confessions turning fake into real, petty jealousy (the missing scene linked at the end: A+), great work

Something Dumb to Do by poisonivory, 33k, No Archive Warnings Apply
Tags: Marriage of Convenience
Summary: If Matt and Foggy get married, Foggy will never be forced to testify against Daredevil. It doesn't mean anything has to change, right?

ok the tag might say 'marriage of convenience' but it still filtered under fake dating AND IT IS FAKE DATING IF THEY GET MARRIED TO MAKE PEOPLE THINK THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, TOGETHER, delicious, they are both of them idiots and this fic is all the better for it

Daredevil is Into Me (Sexually) by BlueBioluminescence, Stirfbot (certaintendencies), 15k, No Archive Warnings Apply
Tags: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Secret Identity, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Happy Ending, possible blasphemy
Summary: He really can’t tell the detective the true reason behind their late night rendezvous. Which is why, after a second’s hesitation and a deep, irrational moment of the fuck-its, Foggy shrugs and says, “Because Daredevil is into me.” And then, when the detective blinks rapidly and fails to respond, Foggy specifies, “Sexually.”

absolutely hilarious (Danny in the Daredevil suit fake breaking up with Foggy while he's on a lunch date with Matt to keep up the ruse is absolutely the crowning glory of this fic), pining is off the charts, perfect, guaranteed good times here

For the Win by Stirfbot (certaintendencies), 9k, No Archive Warnings Apply,
Tags: Fake/Pretend Relationship Getting Together
Summary: "So how does it change?"

"Oh, well, one day, out of the blue, you confess your undying love for me."

Matt grins. "What do I say?"

"So you come up to me, right? This is at the office - You come up to me - I'm at my desk - you come up to me, and you get down on your knees."

Matt snorts.

"You're very catholic, and very dramatic," Foggy explains, "And this is just the type of thing that you do. So you're on your knees, and you turn your face up to me and you take my hand, and you say 'I, blind, tragically catholic Matt Murdock, must confess my feelings to you.'"

another classic rendition of this trope - Foggy gets invited to a charity do and needs a plus one because his ex will be there and he needs to win the break up, and what better way to do it than show up with Matt on his arm? jokes on them they are pining and in love and will get together before the end of this fic A+ would read again

What All This Time Was For by lady_ragnell, 14k, No Archive Warnings Apply
Tags: School Reunion, Fake/Pretend Relationship
Summary: On the rare occasions he reminisces about high school Foggy kind of wonders if he isn't just filling in the worst parts of teen comedies.
Foggy goes to his high school reunion.

another TOP TIER fake dating fic - the high school reunion edition, combining comeuppance and schadenfreude and pining and petty jealousy and family and banter, PERFECT

jump, check parachute by augustbird, 12k, Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Tags: Pre-Canon, Law School, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Pining, Fake/Pretend Relationship
Summary: Foggy Nelson: good at law, terrible at feelings.

as far as fake dating fics go this one gets a, hm, C+ ? I don't know how American grading scales work. this is primarily a friends with benefits catch feelings and pine fic (and deliciously so), the fake dating is at the very end when after they 'broke up' Foggy takes Matt to a family wedding as plus one and then they kiss and make up

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year by GealachGirl, 2k, No Archive Warnings Apply
Tags: college-era, holiday parties, Fake Dating, Pre-Slash, the soul-sucking corporate world, Light overstimulation, Crush, confessions, Flirting
Summary: Despite the printed instructions, Foggy did not bring a date to the office holiday party, but then Matt Murdock shows up.

AU where they are not roommates or friends but are in law school together and they have a fake dating meet cute at a party this is SO SWEET I wish it were longer so I could read more of it

As in Olden Days, Happy Golden Days by Werelibrarian, 4k, No Archive Warnings Apply
Tags: Nelsons galore, Christmas Party, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Mistletoe, Christmas, Fluff, Sharing a Bed
Summary: Something was happening in the ever-decreasing space between them, something they were talking around was refusing to keep on being ignored. "Foggy, I've got a confession to make."

"Yeah?"

"I could have set them straight. I could have said I was just your roommate. I didn't want to."

"I know, you told me—"

"Foggy," Matt interrupted, and slid his hand over Foggy's elbow, under the covers. But he had no more words to follow, just Foggy’s name over and over again like a rhythm. An pulse of electricity; a magnetic pull.

this is adorable and fluffy and perfect and also a classic 'whoops assumptions were made and we're running with it now' except jokes on them they ARE in love in pining, this is what I'm here for

Insert Cheesy Elvis Lyric Here by keepitdreamin, 11k, No Archive Warnings Apply
Tags: Fake/Pretend Relationship Fake Marriage Alternate Universe
Summary: After Matt and Foggy get married “platonically” for the married student housing benefits, Foggy’d assumed there were no more secrets between them. After all, he’s told Matt all of his and Matt’s told him about his father and even taken him to Fogwell’s so… why don’t they have their rings yet?
Inspired by a writing-prompts-s post:
All newlyweds are given a rock which breaks apart to reveal their wedding rings once the couple knows every secret about each other. Most couples typically get their rings on their wedding night. Five years later, you still don’t have them. What could be holding you back from getting them?

SO MUCH PINING YOU GUYS this is perfect

Romantic’s Pizza Package by neonbrutalism, 9k, No Archive Warnings Apply
Tags: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Allergies, Hospitalization, Camping, Only One Bed, Awkward Conversations, Evil Wizards, oblivious Foggy, 4+1 Things, college-era, mid-series, Post-Season/Series 03, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Happy Ending, Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining
Summary: Or: Four Times Matt and Foggy Pretended They Were Dating and One Time They Didn't.
--
Okay, so maybe Matt wasn’t so much on board as he was being forced to improvise without any warning, because Foggy hadn’t actually told him the plan – this was also not something anyone could blame Foggy for. He was pretty sure Matt was against lying in any form because of the Catholic thing, so, of course, Foggy was forced to take the situation into his own soon-to-be-carrying-cheap-pizza hands.

this is so darling I could not stop smiling the whole way through. pining! evil wizards! pizza! the steady progression of ever more elaborate fake dating scenarios! 10/10 would read again

Sentiment by SearchHistory, 14k, No Archive Warnings Apply
Tags: Post-Episode: s01e08, The Defenders, Light BDSM, Sex Club. Sensation Play, Nipple Play, Fake Marriage, Gentle Dom Foggy Nelson, Sub Matt Murdock, playing gay chicken to save lives, half this fic is pining the other half is nervous giggling over kinky stuff tbh
Summary: “Strip.”

“What?” Matt swore he misheard but Foggy had returned to the bedside to unzip the bag and Matt could hear him waving at him to move it. Matt turned to frown at him again.

Foggy repeated himself, firmer this time. “Strip. Now. They’re looking for Daredevil. So let's hide the mask.”

Or The One Where Matt and Foggy are Fake Married and Try to Blend In at a Sex Club

final rec on this list is a fic that MAGICALLY APPEARED when I accidentally hit re-fresh on the ao3 search results tab: this had been a wip for some years but was updated (and finished) just a few days ago. I don't think I've ever seen the fake dating trope taken quite this direction (having literal sex in front of the enemy to maintain a cover!) but it was great. pining!!! communication! almost no angst about the turn things are taking! truly excellent, we are blessed

P.S. I'm still looking for fic recs