History Main / PlayingNiceForNow

Compare ChaosWhileTheyreNotLooking. See also TheMasquerade, LivingWithTheVillain, VillainsOutShopping, VillainOverForDinner, SafetyInMuggles, SuchAPhony, and NonViolentInitialConfrontation. Compare TeethClenchedTeamwork which happens when they're forced to play nice and work on the same thing. Compare GoKartingWithBowser for opponents who have genuinely friendly interludes between confrontations.

* ''Film/BackToTheFuture''. Marty and Biff do this when Strickland shows up.

* In ''LightNovel/TheDevilIsAPartTimer'', Maou reveals to Suzuno that he knows her secret and had only pretended to ignore it so long as she did not interfere with the daily lives of him and his associates, which shocks her greatly. [[spoiler: Subverted later when Suzuno decides to side with Maou instead [[EnemyMine against Archangel Sariel]]]].

[[AC:ComicBooks]]

* In ''Film/WestSideStory1961'', we have the Jets and Sharks putting up a facade for the cops. The cop doesn't buy it, but lacks any evidence to arrest them for assaulting each other.
* This occurs in ''Film/KillBill Volume 1''. The Bride and Vernita Green are fighting, but they temporarily stop when Vernita's [[NotInFrontOfTheKid four year old daughter]] Nikki arrives home from school.

[[AC:Literature]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* In ''Series/{{Dexter}}'' season 5, Dexter drugs a villain, but the guy gets him with his tranquilized dart as he falls down. They both fall unconscious, and wake up in the same ambulance - quickly starting a friendly bickering about the "accident".

* Partial example. In ''{{Series/Merlin|2008}}'', nobody except Merlin and Gaius know about [[spoiler: Morgana's FaceHeelTurn]]. Merlin has to play nice and pretend to be overjoyed about [[spoiler:her]] being back, and [[spoiler:she]] has to continue the facade of friendship so as not to raise suspicion. That they keep this up for the better part of a ''year'' really says something about either their acting or everyone else's obliviousness.

* ''Series/TheBarrier'': The protagonists live in a PoliceState and have a TheStoolPigeon with NosyNeighbor methods as their next-door neighbor. The protagonists sometimes get in heated disputes with home guests who would be at great risk if they were reported to the auhtorities, but said disputes tend to only be able to last for so long without attracting the attention of the denunciation-prone neighbor. Cooperation in making her leave and making sure she doesn't come back soon will hence temporarily take priority over everything else.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* In the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/WingCommanderAcademy'', Maniac and Blair get into a heated argument. Maniac is about to strike Blair when Archer restrains him (using the StandardFemaleGrabArea no less) and then tosses him over her shoulder. Commodore Tolwyn and the Academy's commandant happen to witness that last part. The cadets claim that they were practicing for an unarmed combat class. Not quite an EnemyMine take on the trope though, since Maniac, Archer, and Maverick are all comrades in arms (with a strong rivalry between Maniac and Blair, and a considerable amount of FoeRomanceSubtext between Maniac and Archer.)
* Young Ben and Gwen of the ''Franchise/{{Ben 10}}'' franchise do this sometimes when Grandpa Max gets sick of their constant fighting. The most epic moment was in a five-minute short to go with the "Destroy All Aliens" CGI movie: their usual arguing escalates into a ''full scale battle'' with the full might of the Omnitrix vs. Gwen's magic, even more epic than the one time they fought each other with their powers ''and meant it'' in ''Ultimate Alien.'' The result is the complete and utter demolition of the area - and being in perfect sync as they feign innocence when Max comes back.

* In the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/WingCommanderAcademy'', Maniac and Blair get into a heated argument. Maniac is about to strike Blair when Archer restrains him (using the StandardFemaleGrabArea no less) and then tosses him over her shoulder. Commodore Tolwyn and the Academy's commandant happen to witness that last part. The cadets claim that they were practicing for an unarmed combat class. Not quite an EnemyMine take on the trope though, since Maniac, Archer, and Maverick are all comrades in arms (with a strong rivalry between Maniac and Blair, and a not inconsiderable amount of FoeYay between Maniac and Archer.)

* In Series/{{Dexter}} season 5, Dexter drugs a villain, but the guy gets him with his tranquilized dart as he falls down. They both fall unconscious, and wake up in the same ambulance - quickly starting a friendly bickering about the "accident".

* Partial example. In {{Series/Merlin 2008}}, nobody except Merlin and Gaius know about [[spoiler: Morgana's FaceHeelTurn]]. Merlin has to play nice and pretend to be overjoyed about [[spoiler:her]] being back, and [[spoiler:she]] has to continue the facade of friendship so as not to raise suspicion. That they keep this up for the better part of a ''year'' really says something about either their acting or everyone else's obliviousness.

Compare ChaosWhileTheyreNotLooking. See also TheMasquerade, LivingWithTheVillain, VillainsOutShopping, VillainOverForDinner, SafetyInMuggles, and NonViolentInitialConfrontation. Compare TeethClenchedTeamwork which happens when they're forced to play nice and work on the same thing. Compare GoKartingWithBowser for opponents who have genuinely friendly interludes between confrontations.

[[AC:Comicbook]]

Two guys or groups are at each other's throats. TheHero versus [[{{Villains}} The Villains]], [[Theatre/WestSideStory the Jets versus the Sharks]], the vampires versus the werewolves... you know the drill. But then the cops or muggles or whatever show up, and bam! Time to put up the friendly faces and play nice with each other. The enemies instantly turn into best friends. And it will last until those nosy people have left the scene. maybe even a few seconds longer. Then it's back to trying to kill each other again.

!!Examples

* In ''Film/WestSideStory'', we have the Jets and Sharks putting up a facade for the cops. The cop doesn't buy it, but lacks any evidence to arrest them for assaulting each other.

Compare ChaosWhileTheyreNotLooking. See also TheMasquerade, LivingWithTheVillain, VillainsOutShopping, VillainOverForDinner, and SafetyInMuggles. Compare TeethClenchedTeamwork which happens when they're forced to play nice and work on the same thing. Compare GoKartingWithBowser for opponents who have genuinely friendly interludes between confrontations.

Compare ChaosWhileTheyreNotLooking. See also TheMasquerade and LivingWithTheVillain. Compare TeethClenchedTeamwork which happens when they're forced to play nice and work on the same thing. Compare GoKartingWithBowser for opponents who have genuinely friendly interludes between confrontations.

Two guys or groups are at each other's throats. TheHero versus The {{Villain|s}}, the Jets versus the Sharks, the vampires versus the werewolves... you know the drill. But then the cops or muggles or whatever show up, and bam! Time to put up the friendly faces and play nice with each other. The enemies instantly turn into best friends. And it will last until those nosy people have left the scene. maybe even a few seconds longer. Then it's back to trying to kill each other again.