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"So what do you think? Considering you haven't made up some half-assed excuse in order to slip away, I'd say that you're not entirely against it. The look on your face absolutely says you're at least thinking about it."
"You can't know that. I'd say my expression and thoughts are as neutral as they can be."
"Well the slight raise of your brows say otherwise. Reading your microexpressions comes with the territory of knowing you for years. Comes in handy a lot, actually. Anyways, it's not a decision to rush so if you need time to think it over—"
"It's less about rushing the decision and thinking it over, really," Matt huffed, swirling the remnants of coffee in his mug. Bitter with a hint of nuttiness. A teaspoon of sugar for a hint of sweetness. Hazelnut creamer to keep it balanced. Simple, unlike the question Foggy had dropped on him. "It's the logistics of it. It's certainly more complicated than before."
"Usually I'd agree, but you said Kilgrave's weird purple kids mind wiped everyone so no one remembers that you're" —Foggy glanced around the cafe patio, its fellow patrons busy with their own devices before leaning towards Matt —"you know who and that the only people who know now are people you've personally told. Which I hope finally includes one Kirsten McDuffie?"
That was enough to have Matt squirm in his chair, expression uneasy with a white-knuckled grip on his mug to match.
"Seriously? Matt come on, it's been months—"
"It's one thing telling you, Jess, Luke, Danny and Peter," Matt stressed, running a hand through already mussed hair. "It's another to tell Kirsten. Same reason why I'm not telling Sam either. Don't give me that look."
"I'm not giving you any look," Foggy lied, absolutely donning the usual exasperated look he reserved for these situations. "Besides, we both know the reason you haven't told Sam is different from why you still haven't told Kirsten; one of them isn't suddenly carrying the baggage of a secret they can no longer remember. It's more like my deal where you hemmed and hawed for days before finally telling me. What makes her situation any different from mine?"
"Because you're my best friend?"
"As opposed to telling your girlfriend— I'm sorry, ex, who's only your ex because you broke things off instead of telling her the truth even though she stuck through all the bullshit you've been through. And don't say it's because you're afraid she'll get hurt. You know as well as I do that Kirsten's able to handle herself."
It just had to be the one afternoon where the streets were free of any suspicious activities, leaving Matt with no way to excuse himself from the conversation entirely. Though knowing Foggy he'd just show up at his apartment later, annoyed at best or annoyed and pissed off at worst.
And right now, the last thing he wanted was to get into another argument so soon after they'd made amends.
"If I say I'll at least consider the actual pros and cons of telling her, would that be enough to drop the topic?" Matt offered. "It's not exactly an easy decision to make."
"Fine, but only because you look like you're two seconds from bolting and we need to get back to the actual reason I wanted to meet up," Foggy groaned, leaning back in his chair. "We're far from done talking about it though."
"As long as it's not presently, fine by me," Matt muttered into his mug. Maybe one of these days he'd work up the nerve to let Kirsten back into his life. Even if he was being extra careful about keeping his identity under wraps nowadays, the risk of another reveal always lingered. Telling five people was already a gamble. The less connected she was to him in general, the safer she'd be.
Or so Matt tried to convince himself each night.
"I've done some searching and a bit of snooping," Foggy began, steering the topic back on track, "and as far as I could tell, the Purple Children also managed to wipe all official records and papers connecting you with the horned menace."
"Seems like it so far. Otherwise neither of us would've gotten our licenses reinstated here."
"Yep. No questions asked asides from the standard ones plus the oath. Still wonder why you decided to become a prosecutor for a while though. Now that was a choice."
"Not my best decision," Matt grimaced. "I'd rather get repossessed by the Beast instead of doing that again."
"And I would prefer neither happening again for both our sakes," Foggy deadpanned. He had enough ninja related shenanigans for one lifetime and Prosecutor Murdock just sounded all kinds of wrong. "So other than so-called 'logistics,' why haven't we attempted to reopen Nelson and Murdock?"
Wasn't that the million dollar question constantly hanging over their heads these days? A firm permanently dissolved by the most mundane of methods, even though Matt confirming he was Daredevil was a spectacle for the court and city to behold. There wasn't any resentment towards the board when they had disbarred them both; despite their appreciation for what Matt had done for the city, ethic violations couldn't be swept under the rug. He and Foggy swore to uphold the law and while they had, they had broken them all the same.
But the board doesn't remember Daredevil and Matt Murdock are two sides of the same coin anymore. They don't remember Foggy Nelson being complicit in keeping Matt's identity a secret. Nothing was stopping Nelson and Murdock from returning to Hell's Kitchen once again.
It would be as easy as the day they first opened up years ago. It could be that simple, according to Foggy.
The problem, Matt knew deep down, was that it would never be simple. "Well for starters, we weren't exactly on speaking terms when we returned to New York. You went and opened your own firm while I decided to play prosecutor until Fisk appointed me deputy mayor—"
"Which was also a choice—"
"And then there was that entire ordeal that ended with me becoming mayor for a while. The only good thing that came from that was taking down Fisk with those powers before relinquishing the position. And now…" Matt sighed, shoulders dropping. God he needed a break. "Now I'm trying to figure out where to go from here."
"See, the timing is perfect! And we're on speaking terms now!" Foggy pointed out. He should've expected the push back from the idea alone, but he didn't think Matt would be this stubborn. "And sure, we're sort of back to square one with the danger of you getting caught breaking the law but it's a risk I'm still willing to take."
"Would you? May I point out you've actually been able to work with no problems caused by my extracurriculars. You're winning more cases than before. You've been thriving as a lawyer." Matt's lips quirked into a half-smile. "That's surely a nice change of pace from how frustrated you'd get whenever the horns interfered with the office."
"That's not the point, Matthew. The point," Foggy emphasized with every fiber of his being," is that my success means jackshit if I'm not sharing it with you. I'd rather be dealing with your villain of the week shenanigans that sometimes interfere with work if it means I get to work alongside my best friend. Arguments, time apart, and cataclysmic events don't change those facts."
Even without listening to his heartbeat, Matt knew Foggy's words rang true from the conviction in his voice. They'd had so many fights at this point he'd lost count just how many times they've both either needed some space or ended up temporarily disbanding their partnership. It didn't even cover the other bullshit they'd been through that most others didn't have to experience: fake deaths. Imprisonment. Witness protection. Demonic possession.
It was more surreal to Matt that they were here discussing a possible future together again. That alone shouldn't have been possible and there was plenty of reasons for why: what if the next time the firm dissolved was truly the last? What if Foggy's license was suspended again because of him? What if something so much bigger occurred that not even another complete mindwipe could undo it?
What if the next time they fought was the day their friendship would finally lay in tatters, unable to be repaired?
Or even worse—
"Hey? Earth to Matt? You still with me or are you listening to something down the block? And if you are, it better be some juicy gossip you're willing to share with the class."
The outline of Foggy's hand in his radar pulled Matt out of his spiral. "You know you look like an asshole when you do that. People are gonna see and wonder why you're messing with the blind man. "
"Good thing it's you then. Least I could say I'm doing it because I've earned the right simply for knowing you," Foggy joked. "I take it no juicy gossip to be heard?"
"'Fraid not. Just the good old sounds of the city, you and the pigeons cooing above the awning of the cafe. A normal afternoon, all things considered."
"So what is on your mind?"
"Nothing."
Too quick of an answer, one that caused Foggy to let out a knowing hum. "Which means you're overthinking everything, aren't you?"
"Got some mind reading powers I don't know about, Nelson?" Matt questioned with a wry grin.
"Nah. Just enough years of friendship to know how you get sometimes." Foggy shook his head, his own smile fond before it fell. "Listen, I know I'm being pretty pushy about reinstating our partnership. I've been stewing on it ever since we came back and I sincerely think it's about time we gave it another shot. But if you really don't want to pick up where we unceremoniously left off, I'll drop it. It's as much your decision as it is mine. I can't promise I'll understand if you don't want to, but I'll respect it."
And there it was, the out Matt was hoping for. Just one simple reaffirming 'no' was all he had to say and that would be that. Their friendship would continue on while their future as law partners would be left in the past. Foggy would continue to thrive and build a proper name for himself with his current firm while Matt figured out something else. His own practice? An adjunct position at one of the colleges? Maybe offer his services as a retainer?
The 'no' lingered on the tip of Matt's tongue. It should be that simple.
But things were never simple, especially when it came to them.
"It's… not what I want." God knows as much as Matt could try to deny it, saying 'no' would've gnawed at the pit of his stomach for the rest of his life. "I want to set up Nelson and Murdock again. I want to be partners again. I want us back together doing what we do best."
"Then what's stopping you?" Leave it to Foggy to keep level headed when Matt couldn't be.
"Everything that could come after if we go through with it. I don't mean legal wise. You know our track record as well as I do and trouble finds both of us wherever we go. Things always go wayside—"
"And we've always managed to work it out eventually—"
"And look what's always happened, Foggy! Even when I thought I had found a balance, no secrets to hold onto, your recovery from illness and"—Matt barked out a bitter laugh— "someone who loved me, bullshit and all, somehow the universe managed to take that all away. I've already permanently lost Kirsten. What if things fall apart and for whatever reason, I lose you too?"
"Okay first off, you make it sound like Kirsten's dead when she's just back in San Francisco, probably just as broken hearted and plenty confused to why you ended things," Foggy said reasonably but with sympathy. "Second, I can't say nothing won't happen to us; something always will, whether it's horn-head related, lawyer adjacent or just from our luck living in New York City which is the hotspot for every kind of superhero situation at this point. But we would be facing it together. That's all that matters. You haven't lost me yet, Matt, and you're never losing me."
"How could you be so sure of that?"
"Because you're my best friend too. The universe could try to tear us apart again and again but no matter how much it tries, you can bet your ass I will fight against all odds to get back to you. Third time's the charm right?"
"I'd argue it's probably the fifth but I've lost count a while ago," Matt dryly responded, uncertain. "Are you really sure about this? About me?"
"Buddy, I've been sure about you since the day you walked into our dorm room. All I ask is that if the devil has to take an extended lunch break for whatever reason, leave a note or something. Or at least make sure your fights are as far away from our firm as possible so it doesn't get wrecked. Insurance isn't as cheap as it used to be."
Matt chuckled. "Our firm, huh? I haven't even moved in yet, let alone say yes."
"Yeah well, I got an office space made for two out of habit. Could use it for storage but I think having company is much better," Foggy said, leaning towards him with his hand out. "So, what do you say?"
It was times like this where Matt wondered how he ended up with someone like Foggy. Where Matt wondered why Foggy stuck around for as long has he had. Why Foggy kept coming back no matter how much Matt seemed to stumble and complicate their friendship due to his frequent short comings both as a lawyer and as Daredevil.
It was when there were moments like this with Foggy's unwavering belief in him that reminded Matt exactly why he stayed despite it all. How, no matter what happened, the certainty of Nelson and Murdock was never in question. Not now, not ever.
And if Foggy was certain they could survive anything?
Matt smiled, taking Foggy's hand in his to finally seal the deal. "I promise I'll foot the bill for property damage if your window so much as gets a scratch."
Well, Matt could trust him to guide them both through the chaos.