Title – How We Got There
Author – Moonbeam
Summary – Matt loved Foggy. He'd been in love with Foggy for years. But, he knew that he couldn't risk Foggy's wellbeing – not when Matt couldn't ignore what he could do to help the people of Hell's Kitchen. So, Matt ignored it until he couldn't anymore.
Rating – Teen…maybe
Disclaimer – I do not own anything.
Author's Notes – Fluff...I don't even know. This started life as a body-appreciation smut fic and I have no idea how it got here but it did. I'll have to try the other fic again at some point.

How We Got There
by Moonbeam

Matt loved Foggy.

He'd been in love with Foggy for years. But, he knew that he couldn't risk Foggy's wellbeing – not when Matt couldn't ignore what he could do to help the people of Hell's Kitchen. So, Matt ignored it. He ignored it when Foggy dated Marci in Law School, he ignored it with Thania and Mary who he'd dated while they were at Landman & Zack, he ignored every time Foggy's heartbeat reacted to a man that would hit on Foggy, he ignored the flash of heat that Foggy's body gave off, and the subtle shift from normal Foggy scents to the tang of arousal. Matt loved Foggy so much that he would never put him in danger and Matt knew that he was dangerous. The people Matt loved got hurt and if he could work out how to walk away from Foggy he would have but Stick was right – Matt wasn't strong enough. He wasn't strong enough to lie when Foggy had cried and kissed him and he certainly hadn't been strong enough to resist accepting everything he had ever wanted when Foggy was offering it to him.

Foggy had kissed him, crying over Matt's body as the blind man had tried to stand up. Foggy yelled at him after because 'he could not lose Matt, dammit' and 'he loved Matt too much to let him go' and 'if you don't love me like that I want you to know that I love you, you stupid, masochistic, self-righteous twit!' Matt had arched up into him – ignoring every spark of pain to keep Foggy as close as possible. In the end, Foggy had pushed him down; grinning against his lips, before he'd helped Matt to the couch and called Claire. Matt hadn't been able to force himself to let go of Foggy's hand the whole time she worked on him.

Foggy hadn't left his side when she'd gone, just washed off as much of the blood as he could and then helped Matt hobble to the bed. Matt hadn't let go of Foggy's hand even when the other man had fallen asleep. Matt slipped down into his meditations to focus on healing with Foggy's hand still in his. He had fallen asleep at some point and woke with a flash of pain to an empty bed. It took him a few long minutes to realise that he could smell bacon cooking and the scent wasn't coming from one of the other one flats in the building. He sat up and hobbled slowly from the room, one hand pressed to his side to mitigate the pain a little. He found Foggy yawning at the stove and cooking bacon. Matt hadn't wanted to get too close; he hadn't wanted to assume that Foggy still wanted him. Foggy had turned though and stepped into his space. Matt hadn't quite been able to avoid closing the distance and kissing Foggy. The bacon had burned but Foggy had just made some more and then they'd eaten together. After they were both full, Foggy had ordered him back to bed and Matt had listened to him slip out of the apartment missing him already.

He'd woken up with every intention to go out and patrol but there was someone in his apartment. He paused to listen and his senses were flooded with Foggy. He'd climbed out of the bed immediately and started moving towards the lounge room. Foggy rushed to his side and helped him to sit, telling him how good he looked compared to earlier in the day. Matt had explained the benefits of the meditation that Stick had taught him and then Foggy had handed him a stack of papers and they had spent a few hours going over case notes before Matt had gone out on patrol. He could hear Foggy's worry, smell his nervousness, and he knew that Foggy didn't want him to leave. When he came home Foggy was sitting in his lounge room, his heart beating fast with worry which settled immediately as Matt slipped into his window. Then Foggy had rushed over and kissed him. Matt hadn't been able to resist grinning into his mouth. Afterwards, Foggy had made them hot chocolate and offered to go home. Matt could hear the lie in his offer and he finally reached out for exactly what he wanted and pulled Foggy into his bed.

The next night Foggy was waiting for him as soon as he slipped back into his apartment with hot chocolate warm on the stove. The first sign of him being there Matt had was the scratch of a pen across paper and he'd known it was Foggy. That had been the start – every night Foggy would either be there when Matt left or he would slip in when Daredevil was out but regardless Foggy would be there when Matt came home ready to check his injuries, call Claire if needed, or just to kiss him senseless when he came home unharmed. Regardless of his health, there was always hot chocolate. Matt had a feeling that Foggy was unsubtly making him try harder to come home unharmed – Foggy's kisses were the best incentive that Matt had ever known. After Matt showered and they had their hot chocolate Foggy would say something about going home. Matt could hear his reluctance and always shook his head and took them both off to bed where he curled himself into the soft, welcoming lines of Foggy's body and he had never slept better. On the nights when they had to call Claire Foggy would lie next to him, one hand wrapped softly around his wrist.

Matt got sick of listening to Foggy leaving in the morning to get changed and one night when they were sweaty and catching their breath he asked Foggy to move in with him. Foggy had laughed, his body moving under Matt and said they hadn't even been dating for two months but Matt knew better – they'd been dating for years they just hadn't been sleeping together. Foggy moved in that weekend and then Matt was able to revel in having Foggy that close again but it was so much better than Law School had been and Matt knew he'd never have to spend his nights wishing he was in bed with Foggy while he listened to him breathe from the other side of the room.

Now, they'd been together for six months and Matt was sitting next to Father Lantom and asking him what to do. The priest shook his head and clapped Matt on the back – wishing him luck. So…Matt had gone to Claire who just laughed at him and kissed him on the cheek. Then he'd gone to Karen who made a face at him and kissed him on the cheek and cried while she laughed. Now, Matt was standing in front of the building where Foggy's parents still lived but he had no idea what he was really doing here or if he was being ridiculous. He couldn't make himself move and then, suddenly, there was a hand between his shoulder blades. Matt startled and turned around. Foggy's mother had ushered him inside and sat him down with a large piece of cake and a cup of coffee; hazelnut – the way Foggy would drink his own coffee when he was upset. Matt hadn't been able to work out how to ask her and the arrival of Foggy's dad certainly didn't help. Foggy's dad had frozen in the doorway and looked at him for several long minutes before he laughed and sat down. He had just told Matt 'yes' and drank some coffee while Matt tried to work out what was going on but Foggy's father shook his head – 'you're not the first nervous, mildly-baffled partner I've had in this kitchen' and Matt had thought about Foggy's two sisters' husbands. Matt had gone home, stopping on the way to get Foggy's favourite food from the weird little out of the way Chinese place where they had to order by pointing. Matt fidgeted his way through dinner while the confusion poured off Foggy. He sat stiffly on the couch while they watched some movie that Foggy just had to share with him. Finally, Foggy had demanded to know what was going on and Matt felt like he was going to vomit. Foggy's heartbeat started going fast and then he pulled away from Matt – asking with a hitch to his voice what was wrong. Matt had blurted it out – none of the lovely words that he'd been planning but he had asked and Foggy kissed him. It was wet and dirty and before Matt realised that Foggy hadn't said anything they were naked on the couch and Matt was digging his fingers into Foggy's back while the other man opened him up. Later, when they were lying on the couch Foggy did say yes and a few months later they were married and Matt got to catalogue the feeling of a ring on his finger and the specific clink of his ring against Foggy's.

The End