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Chapter Text

Chapter One: Why is there a Dog in My Tower?

It was early morning and Tony knew it was going to be one of those Tuesdays when Clint came trudging into The Tower with a dog. The bowman didn't even have the thing on a leash. He set his coffee down slowly. "What the hell is that?" He asked.

"A dog." Clint said with the opposite amount of enthusiasm that the mechanic expected. "A redbone coonhound to be exact." Clint's voice was heavy with bone-deep exhaustion as he flopped down onto the communal couch. Throwing an arm over his eyes he let out a tired groan.

Tony standing at the breakfast bar spared his fellow Avenger a glance. It wasn't a normal thing for Clint to spout exacts in things. This was also a dog and everyone knew Clint's love for animals, especially "man's best friend." Tony studied the man for injuries but finding none shrugged. He let out an audible sigh. "I see it's a dog."

Maybe Clint had already worn himself out playing fetch with the thing in the park. He put aside his concern for Barton and took a moment to study the animal. The dog was lean but muscular covered in a shiny short copper-red coat. Tony didn't know much about dog's but even he could admit it was a handsome specimen. It sat down just a bit after stepping out of the elevator its head tilting slightly. It sniffed the air and made a pathetic noise.

Tony made a face at the whimpering sound. Hopefully that was a noise for being in an unfamiliar place and not a need to pee seeing as Clint didn't seem to be moving to aid the thing. "What is it doing here?"

"Don't call him an it." Clint mumbled as the thing finally padded slowly toward the reclining archer. It placed a paw on the man's knee and huffed. Tony watched as Clint placed his other hand on the dog's head only to flinch slightly before he let himself relax petting the animals head slowly.

Tony watched the dog with barely repressed distrust. "You're just going to bring an animal into the tower?" Animals were messy and smelly and if he remembered Marley and Me correctly dogs tended to eat furniture.

"He isn't- Don't worry he won't eat your furniture."

The dog snorted and Tony looked to it. It yawned licking its lips as it settled into an intent sitting position pulling away from Clint's petting like an irritated cat. Clearly this dog was weird. Clint snorted and Tony spared him a glance before continuing his analysis of the dog.

Its floppy ears wobbled slightly as its head tilted side to side its nose twitching like mad. Tonny squinted at the animal. Its eyes were a pale blue and… Tony had to wonder if the animal was blind. "Yes, he's blind." Clint mumbled. "Don't be a dick."

'Now that's intriguing.' Tony thought looking at Clint. The man on the couch stiffened. His arm was still over his eyes but he tensed under Tony's scrutiny. "That was a strange thing to say without prompting." Clint lifted his arm slightly squinting light blue eyes at Tonny from below his elbow.

He pressed his lips a moment before asking. "What?"

"I don't know…" Tony said then thought. 'You're just acting really weird...' as he asked. "You want to tell me what's going on?"

Clint blinked uncomprehendingly at him for a moment before glancing at the dog and letting out a groan, letting his arms fall back down on his face. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Tony frowned in confusion.

The dog let out a whining noise as it pawed at his leg. Clint moaned. The dog huffed. "Shut up I know… Just give me five minutes…"

The dog let out a growl and a bark that made both men jump. "Shit!" Clint sat up. "Fine, you're right! I'll ask him."

Tony felt a ping of worry flow threw him as Clint sighed giving him an already done look. "Do you mind me keeping him here for a few days? We… I need to figure something out. I promise it's only temporary."

Tony did not like that idea. Not one bit.

"I know you don't like it." Clint growled. "We need this though. Could you just let off on your superiority complex for one minute?"

Ouch. That was unduly harsh. Tony was keeping most of his less kind thoughts to himself. He hadn't even openly said how he felt. Clint was just jumping to conclusions. It was to be expected though everyone always assumed the worst of Tony. He may not like animals but Clint was his friend. It seemed the idea that Tony might be willing to sacrifice some of his own comfort for others was unfathomable.

Clint was staring at him wide-eyed now. "What?" Tony asked.

Clint blinked then shook his head. "Nothing." He worried his lower lip then sighed. "Tony… I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."

Tony nodded worry pooling in his stomach. Something was going on here. It was more than just taking care of a dog. That much was clear. "Okay." Tony said. "You can keep the dog here for a few days, under one condition."

Clint narrowed his eyes suspiciously at him. "What?"

"You have to give me one straight answer." Clint glanced at the dog and frowned crossing his arms. "Hey, you're a class A marksman! It should be easy!" Tony's mind was racing with theories and questions. One pressing concern was for Clint's mental health.

Clint rubbed his face. "Fine. One question. I know you have a million of them." Then not so quietly he whispered. "Literally." The dog let out a huff.

Tony's brow rose. "Just answer the question. What the hell is going on?"

Clint stiffened eyes wide and he looked to the dog his face tapering on panicked. "I… don't think you'll believe u- me."

"Try me." Tony challenged. It wasn't like they didn't live with god's and super soldiers. Or like they hadn't already encountered the impossible before.

"We could just tell him." Clint was putting all his attention on the dog now. A dog that was making an "are you an idiot?" face.

Tony blinked watching as Clint got into a one-sided argument with the thing. Which he was starting to think wasn't a thing but a someone. Either that or Clint had finally lost his mind. "Oh, now you think my apartment's fine? What about all that stuff you said about it smelling like the underside of a soiled sock soaked in pizza grease and stale coffee?!"

The dog whined. "I know you can't control what I hear! Neither can I!"

"Okay…" Tony held up a hand but Clint continued to bicker with the dog.

"It's not like I asked for your help anyway. You just had to butt in because you don't trust me-

The dog growled then whined and started to walk away. "Hey, Matt. I didn't- I'm sorry. This is stressful."

The dog pawed at the elevator door and huffed curling up into a tight ball at its base. Clint thorough up his hands. "Fine! Don't listen to me!"

"I have a feeling I'm not going to like what you have to say about what's going on." Tony said. This all screamed magic and Tony hated magic.

"I know you hate magic, and I'm sorry. It was an accident." Clint said openly pouting now. "It's supposedly temporary and I guess if we do it right it'll fade faster we are going to try to talk to his friends again tomorrow… but well… yeah..."

"Wait… Matt?" Tony asked there were only a few Matt's that Tony was aware of and he doubted that the spy was running around with his dry cleaner. He stalked up as close to Clint as he could and whispered. "Is that Daredevil!?"

"First off I wouldn't have heard that normally, and second off he can still hear you!" Then Clint flinched going stiff and looking stunned at Tony. "Wait! You knew?"

Tony couldn't help but think of when he'd discovered Matt's identity. He shrugged. "Kind of put it together, yeah."

Tony looked at the dog whose jaw had dropped comically and snorted. Clint rubbed his brow. "You knew before Natasha!?" He looked shocked. "I didn't even know you could keep secrets!"

"Hey! I take offense to that!" Tony crossed his arms. "I keep lots of secrets."

"You were Ironman for like a week before you told the whole world."

Tony huffed. "It was a few months actually and those are my secrets. I have no shame. Other people's secrets are locked away." 'I still haven't told anyone that Pepper is scared of bunnies. Thank you very much.'

Hawkeye gave him a deadpan look. "Pepper's scared of Bunnies?"

Okay, clearly, and it should have been obvious before now, but clearly Matt wasn't the only one suffering some kind of spell. Clint was obviously communicating with Matt somehow and Tony was starting to think it wasn't a psychic link but more a form of open telepathy. Now that he thought about it Clint had been responding to Tony's unvoiced thoughts all morning.

He crossed his arms to try and help hide his discomfort at the idea. "Clearly you can't keep a secret!" Tony griped then stared at the wall for a second as his mind raced. 'Shit. Not good. Having anyone in my head is bad… what if he really realizes what a fuck up I am? No one could possibly get this wide of a view into my brain and not realize it's all a front to hide my insecurities and that I'm actually not worth it- "AND THINKING OF ANYTHING ELSE NOW!" Tony spun fast walking to the fridge. "I'm getting a beer. You want a beer? How about you Hornhead?"

"Sure…" Clint said shakily talking the drink. "You okay man?"

Tony brushed him off with a wave of his hand. "Psh, yeah. Just my head. Normal bull shit. Ignore me." 'Like everyone else.'

"Okay…" Clint sounded worried but just sighed.

"I just want to hear what happened." 'Hoping it's science but it should be a good story either way. Plus, if I know what happend I might actually be able to help.'

"Okay. I get it." Clint flopped onto the couch and looked down at Daredevil who'd walked back over to the couch. "Want a bowl or something?"

The dog groused a course of warbling noises coming from it- him- before huffing and nodding. Clint let out another sigh before standing and going to the bar to grab a bowl. Tony tried to keep his mind quiet as he watched. Clint slowly poured a bottle into one of his dessert bowls. Then set the glass on the floor before he leaned back into the couch. He let out a long slow breath as he stared blankly at the ceiling.

Tony bit his lip trying to keep all his questions at bay. Sighing Clint gave him a dry look. "Really? You're that excited about this?"

"The fact that your mind can handle the rapid influx of information that would come with a sudden onset of telepathy is amazing!" Clint gave him a weird look. "What? I may not like magic but it's fun to theorize how some of its properties might work on a scientific level." 'Don't tell Strange I said 'magic' and 'fun' in the same sentence without 'not' in between them.'

"Fine. If it'll shut you up." Clint took a sip of beer. "It's been a week or so since me and Daredevil last went out and fought together… It was a little tense...

Chapter Text

Chapter Two: Whoops.

Okay. So Clint was following a small group of idiots. Three stooges who had said something about finding a way to get around the hero and vigilante problems keeping them from a big hit. Honestly, Clint missed a few parts. His hearing aids were awesome state of the art but whispering and the like could be hard to pick up on. Or maybe it was his attention span. It was hard to say.

Still, he'd heard these guys talking and instead of just hopping down and beating the crap out of them or shooting them in the butts with arrows he decided it'd be more productive to follow them. If they really did have a way to stop a hero, say, Steve Rogers, or anyone on the side of good it was in everyone's best interest that he find and confiscate the- probably illegal- whatever it was.

Their path led to where else but Hell's Kitchen. A part of the city he'd been avoiding as Hawkeye for weeks. He cursed quietly to himself. Of course. Matt, as it was, seemed genuinely accepting of Hawkeye's apology even inviting him out for drinks with his law partner Foggy. Daredevil, on the other hand, was distant and cold.

When Hawkeye had tried to reach out a few days after everything settled he only got short answers. It was like starting from square one. Daredevil seemed to hold the whole experience against him. It was pretty clear the little trust he had had in him was gone. Foggy's ability and habit to separate Matt and Daredevil in conversation was, unfortunately, starting to make sense.

It was concerning, actually, how much Matt could act like Clint was a good friend while Daredevil acted like Hawkeye might shoot him in the back. He wanted to wonder how the man really felt, but there was little question. Daredevil didn't trust him, so it was hard to believe that Matt actually did. Murdock was probably putting up a front for his friend.

Foggy was the one who pushed for the bar nights even though they were something Clint had suggested. Foggy was the one who came up with the idea to claim that they'd met Clint through a legal problem, thereby avoiding any association with Daredevil. Answering Matt's concerns and allowing him to communicate with Clint freely when they hung out.

The juxtaposition was off-putting. It made Clint wonder if he could trust the man and that made him jumpy. Which made Matt jumpy in turn- and it was all just a downward spiraling hell of untrust that Clint didn't know how to fix. Every past experience told him to let it go and move on before he got hurt because that's where this was headed. Toward some kind of betrayal. Clint fought that feeling because he liked Matt and Matt wasn't Barney.

Whoa… he hadn't thought of his brother in a while. That was upsetting. "You okay?" Daredevil's voice came from behind him and Clint spun swinging on instinct. The man caught his defense attack with one hand frowning slightly.

"Daredevil." Hawkeye gasped. "I didn't hear you sneak up."

"Clearly." The man said dryly. "What are you doing here?"

Clint frowned. "I'm following some suspicious guys. Said something about a tool or weapon that would keep heroes off their backs."

Matt's head tilted. "The ones breaking into that building?"

Clint glanced down from the three-story building he was on to see the three men using a crowbar on the closed door. "Yeah."

"I don't sense anything special about it."

"Well, I know what I heard."

Daredevil considered him a moment. "Okay." Daredevil nodded.

Clint felt a small thrill of happiness in his chest. Matt was offering to help. Maybe things were finally getting better. He watched as Daredevil vanished in the shadows without another word.

It was their first real fight together after everything that had happened with the bombings. To say that they were not in-sink was an understatement. Clint aimed and let loose an arrow just about the same time Matt punched his target in the face. The arrow narrowly scraping past Matt's shoulder lodging into the wall. "Shit Matt! I was aiming for that guy!"

Matt barely hesitated as he flipped bringing his heel down on the shocked guy who'd been standing next to him. The blow sent the goon down hard and Clint rolled his eyes as Matt proceeded to take on the last man. Okay, maybe Matt wasn't here to help so much as take care of it himself. Like he didn't trust Hawkeye to handle a couple of thugs on his own.

Put out Clint hopped off the building and started walking toward the fight. Matt was grappling with the bigger of the trio and if Matt had been thinking at all the man should have been his first target. "Why ya gotta ruin everything?" The man said suddenly spinning and throwing Matt through the door they had been trying to break into.

Clint suddenly wondered why the guy hadn't just shoulder checked the door to begin with. Clearly he had the strength to do some damage. Rushing forward Clint swung out with his reinforced bow smacking the guy across the back of the neck.

The man stumbled forward with a grunt only to whirl around and grab Clint by his collar. "That wasn't nice!" He bellowed tossing Clint after Matt.

Clint forced himself into a roll and careened into a table. Lucky it stayed standing but something tipped and suddenly he was being doused with something wet. It ran down his face and started soaking his shirt. He licked his lips taking in some of the liquid. "Aw, water, no." He muttered.

"Did you just lick an unknown liquid?" Matt asked sounding slightly disgusted.

"Did you just make a tactical error taking the little guy down first?" Clint snapped.

Daredevil was quiet for a moment. "Since it was your lead I thought you'd go for the big guy." Daredevil grunted and Clint could see shadows shift as Matt pushed himself to his feet. If Clint had time to process it, he would have felt like a dick but he didn't because there was a scraping sound as the behemoth pushed through what remained of the door.

No longer alone as his two friends seemed to have found their feet again. Clint was kind of impressed especially with the guy who'd taken a kick to the head. Said man was holding his head wobbling slightly.

The other man was rubbing his jaw where Matt had clocked him. "Shit." He was saying. "How'd you know we was gonna be here?"

"Maybe you should have done your planning indoors." Clint said.

"Who cares?" The larger man said. "We're gonna kill ya."

Matt took a fighting stance and Clint drew his bow. Clint sent two sticky arrows into the legs of the smaller fighters almost instantaneously. Both let out cries of pain as they tripped and landed on their faces legs mending together from the goo. Big and ugly bounded forward and was already too close for comfort. Clint shifted his hold on his bow ready to swing.

Springing like a cat Matt jumped and roundhouse kicked the man across the face. Said man stumbled back cursing. Clint checked the man's knees and he tumbled down. Not wasting time Matt pulled the man into a chokehold.

Struggling the thug smacked the ground a few times before reaching up and tossing the masked vigilante with ease. Clint swore, pulling out some heavy duty zip ties, if they couldn't knock this guy out at least they could try and restrain him.

As the guy struggled to his feet Clint rushed in and grabbed his arm. Wrenching it behind him. The guy fought it and Clint felt like he was trying to wrangle a bull. With a sing of his arm the thug slammed Clint into a wall knocking the air out of him. Matt was back with a vengeance though, before Clint got his face stomped in, snarling through bloodied teeth. Clearly that last throw had done some damage.

Matt's rapid punches sent the man back away from Clint and with a swift jump up Matt grabbed the man's head by the ears and kneed him in the forehead. Backflipping Daredevil kicked off of the large chest landing in a crouch prepared for more. The man toppled like a chopped tree and Clint flipped him not taking any chances as he tied the man up.

The man had been knocked out though and was still. Clint let out a tight breath. He was glad that it was finally over. A headache was building behind his eyes and he swore he was beginning to see spots. He shook it off. "Come on. We should see what it was they were after."

Nodding Daredevil stood his head tilting slightly. "This place is full of junk." He said.

The room was still dark so Clint couldn't tell. Quickly pulling out a flashlight he drug it along the tables and made a face. "Okay…"

They were in a room that screamed mad lab. Weird objects lined every available surface that wasn't the floor. Plants he didn't recognize were tucked in between bottles and books. Weird animal parts floating in jars and strange statues and random bits of jewelry were scattered everywhere.

"What is this?" He asked lifting the cup that had tipped. The one he assumed spilled on him. It was a mug but it was shaped like a sculpture. The lower half was that of a face and the upper part was shaped like a brain. Shuttering Clint put it back and continued to look around. "These guys were clearly out of their minds. There's nothing outrightly dangerous here. Let's just call the cops and go." Clint said shining his light on Matt who was holding a small ceramic dog his fingers feeling the shape of it.

"Everything here hums." Matt said.

"What?" Clint asked only for the light's to suddenly turn on all at once.

"What a show!" A voice cut through the quiet and Matt flinched in surprise the small statue slipping from his fingers and shattering on the ground. "That's not good…" The voice said sounding sheepish. Clint turned to another door that lead deeper into the building to see a woman looking worried.

"Sorry to intrude." Clint said. "We were miss informed that there was something dangerous here." He said only to flinch as something twinged behind his eyes. "We're sorry. We were about to call the police and leave."

"We didn't mean to cause trouble." Matt said and Clint looked to him. "Where the hell did she even come from?" Okay, Clint was either going crazy or Matt said that last part like a ventriloquist.

"I'm sorry." Matt said motioning to the mess on the floor. "I'm always breaking things." The last part again without his mouth. Clint rose a brow at the man.

"No, I'm sorry." The woman said shaking her head as she moved into the room. "That was cursed… I'm afraid it's clung to you."

"Wha-?" Matt's voice halted as Clint gasped grabbing his head as pain spiked sharp in his brain and the world spun around him. "Hawkeye?" Matt suddenly sounded worried his head tilting toward him and Clint wondered why as he stumbled forward and dark circles invaded his sight.

"Wha's happenin'?" Clint slurred as Matt rushed forward.

"Oh my!" The woman's voice cut in and Clint forced his eyes to stay open through one hell of a light show and a pounding in his head.

Distantly he heard screaming. It took him a second to realize it was Matt.

"Matt!" Clint pushed up onto his elbows and that was funny. When… when had he ended up on his back?

"Oh dear! Oh dear!" The woman was saying as she shuffled around the room in a tizzy. "Not good, not good."

"What happened?" Matt's voice was groggy a pitched whine underneath it.

Clint blinked sitting up more. His eyes swimming as the old woman rushed around her long pepper colored braid flailing behind her. He could hear her voice as she looked over everything listing items. She paused at a table."Oh no!" She glanced at Clint. "The Mug of Open Thought. Your wet hair and shirt." Her mouth wasn't moving. "You pore dear." She said voice echoing.

Clint blinked. "Where's Matt?" He mumbled

The woman's eyes fell to a mound on the floor. "Your friend is here." She said her voice still echoing slightly. "He should be waking up soon…"

Clint squinted at the mass. He couldn't tell what he was looking at but it didn't look like a person. The form shifted and he knew he was looking at fur. "Ow." Matt's voice came from it as a head lifted. The head of a dog.

Matt's whole body froze as he scrambled to his feet. Clint could hear his voice. Running a mile a minute. He was struggling to figure out how to stand up. Struggling to make sense of his surroundings; of his own body. "Something's wrong." Matt thought letting out a small whine that only had him freezing. "Did I just whine? Wait no. My legs are wrong my arms are wrong. Do… do I have a tail?!" Matt's head swiveled and then tilted. "Clint? Is that you?"

"Y-Yeah." Clint stuttered staring openly at his fellow crime fighter. "Matt slow down… you seem to have turned into a dog."

"A redbone coonhound to be exact. That's very important." The woman said and both of them looked to her. Or well, Clint did. Matt narrowed his attention to her, tilting his head in her direction. Letting the world know he was listening. She was holding the head of the broken ceramic. A red dog. "You broke the vessel of the curse… My apologies." She said. "This is really a pore way to say thank you for defending my things. I can pull my resources and lift it in a few weeks. Or you can break it yourself."

"What breaks it?" Matt asked.

Clint looked to her expectantly. She blinked only to seem to realize something as she huffed. "Sorry dear." She looked at Clint. "I can't understand him, could you translate?"

Clint blinked. Then blinked again. "He… asked what breaks it."

"Oh. I have no idea! The original curse was put on a man in the 18th century but redirected to this statue in order to free him, because they didn't know how it was broken. I can do the same, I'm sure… I just need a new dog statue… and to find the original transference spell…" She was mumbling but Clint could hear her thoughts rolling through complex ideas, formulas, and languages he couldn't even begin to understand.

"What about Clint?"

Clint blinked still feeling like he was having some kind of out of body experience. Not understanding what Matt was talking about. "What about me?"

"Oh. You took a good splashing from the Mug of Open Though. I was experimenting with frogs- and well anyway long story short the longevity depends on the amount of exposure. From what I can see it'll probably wear off in about three days."

"What will wear off?" Clint asked dumbly.

"The telepathy dear."

"What happened to the men?" Clint asked looking around the room. It was just him the witch and the dog that was Daredevil.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about them." She said a glint in her grey eyes. "A few weeks in the swamps should do them good." Clint was positive she didn't say that last part. He shuttered. Standing he wobbled and made his way toward Matt and the man turned dog's hackles rose. "It's okay Matt… I mean… this majorly sucks. But we have some magic users on the team and there's that sorcerer guy who's helped us out once or twice. Doctor Weird or whatever. I'm sure we can undo this."

"This can't be happening. Since when was there magic? Magic? I feel like I've been touched by Saten."

Clint chuckled his head retaliating with a sharp twinge. "Okay. Calm down Matt."

He got a growl in response. "You calm down! I don't want you in my head even if I can't speak right now!"

"Wow…" Clint said feeling a pang in his chest. For some reason that hurt.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean that." Matt whined. "I mean I kind of did. But I don't want anyone in my head if that makes sense. Not just you specifically." He grumbled. "I messed up tonight. God, Foggy's going to kill me!" Matt froze. "You have to tell Foggy! No- We can't tell Foggy. He'll die. Either from shock or laughter. Do you think he'll believe us? "

Clint was realizing very quickly that though Matt was usually outwardly very stoic and calm he was kind of a panicky kid inside. Or at least he was right now. It was throwing him off and making him feel panicky. "I don't know!" Clint said. "I barely know Foggy!"

"You're right. He's going to kill you and put me on a leash! He'll probably think this is better. Can't get myself killed if I can't even open a door!" Despite himself, Clint found another chuckle leaving him. "Do you think this is funny?" Daredevil's question was paired with a snarl.

"No." Clint said ignoring the woman's alien thoughts. "Sorry."

Matt's thought's halted and his head tilted. "It's not your fault… I rushed in without even telling you my plan-" Matt suddenly recoiled his head tilting. "What…? Everything just..." His tail tucked between his legs and he jumped. "The world keeps changing what just happened?"

Clint blinked and realized that the room they'd been standing in was empty. All the selves and strange objects were gone. The woman stood smiling in the center of the room. "Don't worry dearies I'll find you when I am able to lift the curse." With that Clint watched as she just disappeared and he wasn't sure if he imagined the "pop" sound or not.

"Wait!" Matt growled. "Damn it!"

"Okay…" He drew out the word feeling shocked. "Now what?"

Chapter Text

Chapter Three: Overwhelmed

Tuesday Morning:

"So… you guys basically walked into a witches den…" Tony said, twisting back and forth on the office chair he had dragged over from somewhere, tapping at his tablet happily. He'd pulled the distraction out about halfway through Clint's storytelling.

Clint rubbed the side of his face trying to ignore the insistent buzz of Tony's thoughts and took another sip of beer. "I guess…"

"Nice." Tony smirked and Clint could tell he wasn't talking to him. "The perfect shade of red."

"What are you doing?" Clint asked leaning forward out of curiosity.

"Looking at Dog collars."

"What?" Matt growled.

"Oh, this one's customizable." Tony's voice echoed as his thoughts and words overlapped. "I'll have it delivered right away." He said a manic chortling in his head.

"I am not wearing a collar!" The Daredevil growl was full force and Tony only found it amusing when Matt bared his teeth emitting a low rumble.

Ignoring the man turned dog Tony clapped his hands together looking intrigued. "So what happened next?"

"Don't ignore me Stark. I'm not above maiming." Daredevil snarled.

"Well…" Clint said patting Matt's head in hopes of settling him down. "Matt decided we should head to his office… I didn't really catch on right away…"

Monday Morning:

So no big deal. Clint could handle this. Not like he wasn't wondering what Matt was really thinking. Though at the moment most of those thoughts were "What the hell?!" As he adjusted to his new body. Just another manic Monday. With shapeshifting and mind reading. It wasn't so bad at least it was only temporary.

Or so he kept telling himself. His head was pounding and as the sun began to rise and people began to wake Clint realized with growing horror that Matt's and the witch's thoughts were not the only ones he was tapping into. He mumbled an apology as he stumbled into someone his mind so full of everything he could hardly focus.

It was so loud. Clint pulled out his hearing aids in hopes of reducing the stimuli. It did not help as much as he had hoped and as much as it didn't seem to matter apparently cars didn't think and it was Matt's very loud thought of "STOP!" That saved him from becoming road pizza.

Clint heard the driver's road rage for a moment before they seemingly drove out of range. Suddenly the world was horribly unbalanced. Voices loud in his head and everything else disconcertingly silent. Breathing was suddenly harder than it should be. Colors were sharper than they should be. Clint hadn't felt like this in years.

"Breathe." Matt was saying. His voice the only familiar one in the din. "Focus on me. Clint. Focus on my thoughts. Don't think about anything else…" Clint lost Matt under the roar for a moment. "Remember how we met?"

Clint laughed out loud. "You mean how you yanked me out of a vent and threw me against a wall like yesterday's garbage?" He felt a trickle of amusement from Matt and as uncomfortably weird as it was it did help him to focus.

People were parting around him as he stood visibly breaking down on the street. Giving enough notice to avoid but not enough to see if they might be able to help. He was honestly kind of grateful for the slight paranoia or disinterest on their part. He really didn't want to try to hold a conversation right now.

"Where are we even going?" He asked breathless. He was fine.

"My office is just down the street. We're almost there." Matt's voice had managed to reach him like a shout through a rally.

Clint nodded a part of his brain telling him that that made sense. "Okay. Okay. Lead the way."

"You know I didn't know what to think of you. When we first met. I couldn't think of any reason for a grown man to be crawling around in the vents. I thought you were trying to get the drop on me. Every time we met you were just... You kept throwing me off and I found you amusing."

Clint placed his hand on Matt's head as the man turned dog bumped into his leg's forcing him to walk more to the left. Matt was guiding him through the thrall of people and Clint couldn't thank him enough. "Thanks…" Clint murmured.

"You're welcome." Matt sounded embarrassed but sincere. "I know what it's like to be overwhelmed. When too much noise and feeling and everything rushes in all at once…" Something like white noise was suddenly coming from Matt and Clint was gagging at the feeling's rolling off his friend. Taste of memories. Hearing the sound of a fly's joint's moving. (How do you know that's a fly, brian, how?) Tasting the sweat of a runner a half a block away. Feeling the air shift. Smelling coffee and eggs and garbage and piss- hearing… oh god hearing. Hearing. Hearing.

Clint hadn't realized he'd crouched and had covered his ears rocking on his heels until Matt's thoughts suddenly halted. It was like a wall had slammed down. He was free from whatever hell that was but thoughts were still pounding him from all sides. Rushed and fleeting. Sounding just like an overcrowded auditorium on an amplifier. Overlapping voices pressing against his skull and it was like static with voices cutting in every once in a while. Tiny snippets of thought. Most of it didn't make sense.

Clint was about to scream but then Matt was bumping him with his wet nose and the noise slowly faded back and Clint could hear Matt's panicked voice. "-nt! Clint! Hawkeye! Clint, I'm so sorry! I'm sorry Clint. I didn't mean to. I shouldn't have thought about my senses even for a moment. I'm sorry. Clint. Clint? Please."

Reaching out Clint patted Matt's head taking in a calming breath. "I'm fine." He said pushing himself back to walking.

"You are not." Matt said with a hint of exasperated fondness. Clint blinked looking down at the dog padding beside him. Matt snorted. "What?"

"I… don't know?"

Matt's ear twitched and his head tilted slightly toward him. "I know what it means when men like us say we're fine."

Clint sighed. Of course. Leave it to a blind vigilante to see right through him. "I will be fine." Clint countered.

"I know you will." There was something in the voice of Matt's thoughts that Clint couldn't identify. He shook his head. He heard a murmur of thought from Matt but it was lost in the sea of thoughts surrounding them. It wasn't important though. Clint needed to focus on staying grounded.

"We're here." Matt's voice cut through again and Clint realized that they were. The two of them stood at the entrance longer than they probably should have. "We going in?" Matt asked a hint of worry and fear in his voice.

"Yeah." Clint pulled the door open and they walked in. The further into the building the quieter the world got. It seemed the range of Clint's mind-reading was relatively small… at least compared to that bombardment of senses he got from Matt.

"How do you do it, man?" Clint asked and realized he could feel more than hear his own voice. He had no idea what volume he was speaking at. Right.

He slipped his hearing aid's back in as Matt asked. "Do what?"

Clint shrugged. Realizing he didn't really want to get into it. "Never mind."

"How are we going to tell them?"

"I figured I'd just say it." Clint said stopping in front of the door. He could hear Foggy singing or thinking of a song… honestly, Clint couldn't tell for sure. The man was getting the lyrics all wrong either way.

"What!?" The small yelp that came with that question had Clint snickering. "You can't just drop this on them."

"It'll be fine." Clint said in response to Matt's rising panic. Those words did not calm his friend. Clint snorted as "the man without fear" had a minor freak out. "They're your friends Matt."

The silence this prompted was not reassuring. Clint sighed as he knocked on the office door. "Here goes nothing."

Chapter Text

Being a dog was not something Matt Murdock thought he'd ever experience. Here he was though. With dewclaws and a tail and floppy ears. His scenes seemed normal for the most part. Still blind. Still hearing and smelling more than he should. One major difference was that his fur caught the wind and he could feel much more than normal in the way the air moved around him. He wondered if that was because of the fur or the lack of clothes. He shook his head. Clint could hear his thoughts he shouldn't be thinking about his state of undress.

So instead he focused on other things. Like how Clint towered over him- how everyone towered over him. Their voices falling from high above. Yet, he didn't feel smaller. He kind of felt like he was crawling around. Hands to the ground feet to the ground but somehow he didn't have to bend his knees to be level. In fact, trying to stand up in a bipedal nature felt as awkward as trying to run on his knees.

So far, Matt was finding the whole experience a mild inconvenience at best. Though he'd yet to do much more than guide Clint out of the hurried path of people running late to work.

He didn't know exactly what it was that had happened. At all. But the fact that the witch had used the word's open mind when talking about what happened to Clint and the clear indications of mind reading it was easy to guess. Matt decided to look at it in the same manner that he looked at his ability to hear heartbeats. Slightly invasive but unavoidable.

Clint was out of it. Clearly suffering from some kind of overload. Matt had struggled to get his attention. Let alone hold it as they walked. Now Clint was knocking on his office door and Matt was nervous. Despite this being his idea. "Okay." Clint said in response to his unspoken worry. "Easy peasy. We go in. Tell them what's up… then you get a week off and…

"It's open!" He heard Karen call. Clint took a breath as he grabbed the door handle.

"And what?" Matt asked. His voice not forming words so much as whines and he hated it so much. "Spend the whole week cooped up in my apartment? I've managed walking but what am I really capable of in this body? How am I supposed to eat?"

Clint's heart sped up for a moment but settled just as quickly. "We'll figure something out…" At least Matt felt a little better knowing Clint was also worried about how this all would go. "Of course I'm worried." he hissed finally pushing the door open. "Just… let me do the talking."

"Ha, ha." Matt couldn't help but shoot back. Like either of them thought he was in any position to explain what had happened. Matt felt the wry grin Clint sent him despite it all.

Karen was typing contently at her desk. The world was fairly peaceful and the only thing making the day not steller was the absence of her friend and business partner. It was weird thinking of Matt and Foggy as partners rather than bosses but they insisted.

Lately, she'd been looking into hiring an aid. Since her journalism side job sometimes got a little hard to balance with work and vise-versa. She didn't get her job back with the Bugle and Ellison was still short with her but she'd found a piece of herself in writing and it made her feel closer to Ben so she kept it up. It wasn't the real deal, just a blog she'd thrown together but it helped keep her grounded.

She had applied to a few other papers half-heartedly. She wasn't sure if she'd have the wherewithal to accept a position even if they overlooked all of what she felt were a glaring lack of qualifications. She let out a sigh. Okay so maybe there were a few things not making today the best but Foggy and Matt were getting along and they had a couple of clients.

Even if only one out of ten ever actually paid in anything more than pie and thank you notes. It wasn't the same rhythm as before…everything, but it was getting better.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door bringing her out of her thoughts. "It's open." She greeted. There was a moment where she wondered if they'd heard her when the door finally opened and Clint Barton's head popped through. She smiled. "Hey." He was probably looking for Matt. "Sorry. Matt's not in right now."

"I know." Clint said his voice pinched. "Can I come in?"

That's when she noticed how pale he was. She stood rushing to the door. "Are you okay?" She opened the door all the way to get a look at him.

"I'm fine." He said and he didn't seem to be injured. As she did a quick sweep of his body her eye caught red near his leg. She gasped taking in the dog that was with him. "Oh my gosh! Is that a redbone coonhound?"

"I…" Clint glanced down at the dog looking dazed.

Karen's neighbor back in Vermont used to bread them. They were very good hunting dogs. She hadn't thought of that neighbor or the dogs in years. The breeder had moved away when she was ten. She kneeled down and began petting the dog, it jerked away from her touch at first before leaning into her hand hungrily and she noticed the milky blue eyes. Usually, this bread only had brown eyes..."Oh." She said. "Sorry. I should have asked first. I couldn't help myself. He's so adorable!"

The dog made a noise starting to pull away and Karen moved to scratch behind its ears and it seemed to melt. "It-" Clint was working his jaw looking shocked. "It's okay. I'm surprised. He seems more than okay with it."

"I know!" Karen said scratching both of the dog's shoulders vigorously. "Look at that smile!" Her voice quickly devolved into puppy talk as she moved back to scratching his ears. "You like ear scritches don't you?" She asked resuming said scratching as the dog leaning heavily into her hands. Then she looked at the dog's eyes again. "Is he blind?"

Clint coughed then let out a strained laugh for some reason but it was off, slightly panicked sounding. "Yes. He is." Clint sighed. She looked up in time to see him shaking his head. Muttering something under his breath Clint motioned into the office. "Look let's go inside." Rubbing the side of his face Clint looked around nervously. "Do you have any clients right now?" Karen stood and the dog did a full-body shake.

She frowned in confusion and felt her brows raise. "No…? What's up?" Now that she thought about it. It was weird that Clint was here with a dog. Even one as beautiful as this one. Plus, he wasn't here to see Matt, he'd all but said as much. "I'll get Foggy." She said motioning the man and dog further into the office, closing the door, and hoping he'd just tell her why he was here. He did not.

As she knocked on her friend's office door Clint let out a sigh and slid into one of the chairs the dog stood next to him. Clint shrugged mumbling slightly and Karen began to worry.

"What's up?" Foggy opened the door and Karen motioned toward Clint and his dog. "We have visitors."

Foggy lit up instantly. "Oh my gosh! Is that a dog!?"

"Yeah..." Clint said sounding wary. "A… red...blood? coon-"

"A redbone coonhound." Karen snapped walking up to her desk then blinked. It wasn't important that Clint know the breed of the dog. She didn't really know what had come over her to so vehemently correct him.

Clint blinked at her wide-eyed. "Okay… that's weird. I guess the witch wasn't joking about that being important…"

Foggy had moved over to the dog and was scratching him behind the ear. "Wow, you are handsome!" He was saying moving his hands clearly trying to get the dog to kick its leg. In response, the dog had lowered himself to the ground in a crouch his tail tucking slightly but he didn't seem to be against the pets just strangely conflicted. "You know I've been trying to convince Matt to get a seeing-eye dog. He's against it for some reason."

Clint watched the two interacting; a nervousness about him. "I'm sorry, witch?" Karen asked looking between the dog and Clint with a new wave of unease.

"Yeah…" Clint said. "Matt and I, we met up last night-

"You know where he is?" Foggy asked eager and anxious. "We have a meeting with a client in a few hours and I haven't been able to get ahold of him."

Clint swallowed thickly. Karen felt her stomach twist. That wasn't a good sign. Her mind went to all the times she'd heard of Daredevil getting hurt and Foggy's face paled considerably hand's stilling. "No. No!" Clint held his hands out toward Foggy. "Jesus, he's not dead or injured." The dog whined.

Karen let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding at the same time as Foggy. Then confusion crossed Foggy's face as he slowly started petting the dog who was inch by slow inch relaxing into a normal sitting position. He moved to rub the dog's ears looking thoughtful. "Okay… then… why isn't he answering his phone? Why isn't he with you?"

"Well, Matt and I met- Would you stop that?!"

"What?" Foggy asked as he was squishing the dog's face. Then he scratched behind the dog's ears and Karen's hands twitched wanting to do the same but Clint looked more tense the longer Foggy pet the dog. The dog nuzzled Foggy's arm and the man let out a happy laugh. It pulled back and put a paw on his nose. "Hey!" Foggy laughed. "By the way, what's his name?"

"That's the thing…" Clint scratched the side of his nose not looking at either of them. Clint took a breath and motioned toward the dog. "Guys… Matt Murdock dog without fear." He tried to smile but it came out more as a grimace.

Clint flinched then Foggy nearly screamed. "WHAT?" He pulled back his hand like it had been burned looking at the animal with new eyes.

Karen was mentally screaming staring at the dog in shock. The animal let out a low growl toward Clint baring it's- his- teeth and the man shrugged then Matt whimpered hunching his shoulders.

Karen couldn't really wrap her head around it but she couldn't deny it either. The dog was blind but moved around easily. It hadn't even occurred to her how odd that was. The dog didn't have a collar let alone a leash so clearly Clint hadn't helped him get here. Every little nuance that had her making a correlation between the man she knew and the dog before them had her freaking out.

"It's temporary." Clint said his hands up placatingly. Then he looked at Karen a pleading in his eyes. "Please, calm down."

She took a shaky breath. Okay. Okay. It was okay. This wasn't the weirdest thing… there were thunder gods and men flying in mecha suits and spider-men…. But it was the weirdest thing that had ever happened to her and that included the zombie ninjas.

Clint was gripping his head as Foggy was shouting at him or the dog that was apparently Matt she wasn't sure. "What is my life!?" The man was grouching. "Why can't you just be a normal person!? Why did my best friend have to be a vigilante with a proclivity for trouble?!" Matt then… or maybe he was just taking turns she amended as he continued. "Why do you both feel the need to complicate your lives?"

Clint whimpered grimacing slightly. Karen's thoughts froze. "Clint?" She said softly moving forward toward the man.

"I'm okay." He said stiffly. "I'm fine."

He didn't seem fine. Foggy said as much. "You and Matt I swear. Is this a hero thing? Saying you're fine when you're clearly not?"

Matt huffed. "You are too." Clint mumbled.

"What?" Karen asked gently placing a hand on his shoulder. He flinched away from her. "Sorry." She said holding up her hands.

"It- It's okay." He sounded strained. "I just- it's too loud."

"Okay…" Foggy looked confused. "Did you get hit with… a witchy spell too?"

Clint nodded putting his head in his hands. "Yeah." He moaned. "Calm down Matt."

Matt- oh, it was so weird to think of the dog as Matt- was looking between Foggy and Clint frantically. It made a talking like noise. Yet none of the noises were actually words. "Foggy won't hate me." Clint said glaring at Matt.

"What?" Foggy gave Karen a 'freaked to the max' look.

"Look." Clint took a breath. Then he took another and abruptly stood throwing his hands down. "Everyone just calm down!"

Karen took a step back in surprise. Foggy flinched. Matt stood up and walked up to Foggy. Foggy kneeled down and seemed to be studying Matt seriously. "Matt?" He asked.

The dog nodded and Foggy gasped. "That's what we're saying, yes." Clint said and Foggy looked up to him sharply. Karen swallowed as Clint tensed. "No. You didn't… I don't think. I can't tell sometimes."

"Did you just hear me say any of that Karen?" Foggy asked.

"You haven't said anything but, Matt."

"OH MY GOD, YOU'RE READING MY MIND!" Foggy screamed hopping to his feet.

"Not on purpose!" Clint snapped. "Also it's only surface thoughts… I think. Sometimes I feel deeper thoughts but I only hear what you're actively thinking?"

"And I thought Matt hearing heartbeats was invasive." Foggy muttered.

"You have no idea what it's like to hear everything at once." Clint snapped then took a breath. "He can't help it all the time. Your heartbeats calm him down help him center-

Matt barked then growled. Foggy looked stunned. Karen's mind was still processing. "Shit sorry." Clint rubbed his temple. "I think I broke Karen… I can tell you need some time to process. We'll just go…" He sighed. "It's only temporary… this mind thing. Matt being a dog…" Clint balled his fist. "Don't worry about us. I have plenty of food at my apartment. We'll wade this out."

"No." Karen said. They were leaving in their state it didn't make sense and all she could get out was a weak. "What?" Matt gave a gental woof and pawed up to her resting his forefoot lightly on her shoe.

Clint smiled at her. "It's alright. We'll be back to normal in a week tops."

Karen looked to Matt and couldn't help but think about being held up in a room for a week. As a dog. Maybe this was a chance for Matt to run around without the stigma of being blind. It would be fun if they could all go to central park and just run at least for a day. If anything Matt deserved that much.

Being turned into a dog must suck, but if he was stuck as a dog he didn't have to mope. They could make something fun for him. Something to take from it. Clint's smile grew. "That's a good idea, Karen. We'll be back tomorrow." He frowned at Foggy. "Don't worry. I won't say anything… I get it…" Karen glanced up to see Foggy fidgeting with his hands looking subdued.

Matt whined. Clint laughed shaking his head. He shrugged. "We'll figure it out. Come on let's go." Matt followed him to the door where the Avenger stopped. His hand still over the handle a small tremor in his fingers. Voice quiet he said. "I don't know if I want to go back out on the street with all those people."

He looked terrified. "I'm not scared." Clint snapped at her and then bit his lip at her widened eyes. He glanced down at Matt. "Okay… I might be a little worried."

"I can drive you." Karen offered.

"Nah…" Clint waved her off. "Come on DD let's get out of here." He nodded at Foggy winked at Karen and with that the two of them were out of the office. It kind of felt like a whirlwind just passed through. She glanced at Foggy as he just plopped down onto the floor.

"Well, that just happened." He said.

"And tomorrow we're going to play in the park." Karen nodded feeling a bit numb. "What do you think Matt would enjoy more? Chasing a tennis ball or a frisbee?"

Foggy just gave her a disturbed look for a good minute before he busted out laughing. "I think he'd find them both beneath him. Let's bring both- oh! And a rope!"

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Jesus Christ this was fun. Oh God, Matt was going to hell just for all the times he had said the Lord's name in vain today alone. But Mother of Marry, this was fun. The grass was singing as he rushed through it. Birds fluttered in the tree’s without a care, until something round and fuzzy and covered in saliva sailed a little too close and Matt hesitated for a moment but reminded himself it was just his spit and he hadn’t let it hit the ground once since the first time and he wasn’t about to now.

That ball was his. With a sharp shove, he sent his body into the air and his jaws clamped around it. With a flourish, he twisted his body into a half turn and landed on all fours tearing through the ground back up to his friends.

“Show off.” He heard Foggy say with fond amusement in his voice holding out the stick so that Matt could place the ball himself.

“He really seems to be enjoying this.” Karen sounded pleased.

“Oh, he is.” Clint said with a yawn. “Yo, Matt, you aren’t going to go to hell for having fun. Just enjoy it.”

Matt nudged the ball in the throwing stick and then stuck his nose up affronted. “Well,” Foggy lifted his arm and Matt shuffled in excitement. Shame at his lack of control boiled in his chest but the ball was about to fly and he was just so excited he couldn't sit still! He was going to catch it. Maybe he’d go for a backflip this time! “Matt’s not exactly used to having fun.”

Matt’s ear twitched something in him flinching at the words but the ball was all the way back. Come on Foggy just throw it already!

There it went! Matt was right under it. If he could push just a little further he’d be in front of it... Yes! Yes! Matt lept flipping back and rolling around the ball landing on all fours. He lifted his head to listen in, to see if his friends had seen his cool trick. His chest was so full of energy he was vibrating when he rushed back up to them. Foggy ruffled his ears and Karen scratched his chin. This was amazing.

"Oh no." Clint mumbled, still sounding really tired. Matt tried to ask if he'd slept any when he found him in the kitchen that morning but the man just drank straight from the carafes and said he got enough. It was clearly a lie but Matt hadn't pushed it.

Suddenly Matt noticed a small group walking toward them. There were a lot of people around taking advantage of the late summer day. Their group had found a spot as far from people as they could if only for Clint’s sake. "That was so cool!" One of the smaller ones– a kid– says hopping excitedly. "Do you think they'd let me throw the ball?"

As they came closer Foggy looked up at the sound of their voices taking notice of them. "A whole family has come to join us," he whispered, sounding excited.

Clint groaned leaning against a nearby tree placing his head in one of his hands. Karen's head turned toward him but Foggy was already greeting the strangers.

"Did we really just see your dog do a backflip?!" One of the older kids asked.

"He's a redbone coonhound." Clint, Karen, and Foggy all said at once. There was an awkward moment before Foggy laughed it off. "His name is Matt."

Matt huffed. Wondering what the person who originally had the curse even did to warent not only being tuned into a dog but also have others impulsively state what kind of dog he was. "Can we film him doing one of those cool flips?"

"Can I pet him!?"

"He's friendly… but…" Foggy hesitated.

"Tell him it's fine." Matt tried to say. It seemed to help Clint hear him.

Clint made a movment Matt was pretty sure was a nod.

"One at a time maybe." Karen suggested clearly catching on.

"Pictures and video should be– are… fine." Foggy said. Matt nodded. It wasn't like he had to worry about anyone seeing a likeness.

Karen handed the teen the ball thrower and Matt was off. For some reason this wasn't as fun.

Part of the reason it was less fun, Matt decided, was because Clint was giving off distressed vibes. Matt couldn't focus on forgetting his problems when his friend was clearly suffering. After doing another couple of flips the kids seemed placated and left with a hearty goodbye.

Matt's tail, which had been wagging, fell and his ears dropped. He walked up to Clint and nudged his leg. "You need sleep." Matt tried to say. 

"I know." The bowman sighed, sliding down the tree until he was sitting. Matt winced at the sound of bark scraping against skin. "I did lie." 

"What?" Foggy asked. 

"Matt knew I was lying about getting sleep last night." Clint sighed and huffed when Matt thought that Foggy was jumping to conclusions worrying about lies. Though that was undoubtedly Matt’s fault. "Worriers worry." Clint mumbled. 

"What?"  

Clint’s fingers were gripping his hair tightly, and pushed against his skull. "It hurts." He hissed. Then shook his head. "I'm fine. I-" Clint's voice caught and he let out a high-pitched sound from the back of his throat like he was failing to hold in a scream. 

"Okay time to go." Foggy said, sounding worried as they gathered their things. Matt stayed by Clint's side all the way to Matt's apartment and they all got Clint to lay down on Matt’s couch. 

Matt wandered into the livingroom mind reeling. Somehow he'd forgotten this place, his home, existed. Wandering the floor he begins sniffing the corners making sure it's all secure.

Foggy and Karen set out to get food situated and it sounded like Clint had passed out. Matt stopped at the wardrobe in the corner. It was faint. But under the blood and sweat of his suit it smelt like dad.  

Matt wondered if his dad would have taken finding out his son had been turned into a dog as well as his friends had. He laid down in front of the wardrobe and let out a huff. Memories of a time long passed licking at the back of his mind.    

Jerald Therious was not a man of patience. He had no time for it. A self made man working hard in the city of Savannah Georgia. He'd taken the no name company that his father and uncles had started in the mid 1880s and turned it into something worthwhile. In the seven years that he had control of it he'd given it a name people recognized.

Yes. Therious's Hemp Rope was going places. Not to mention the many other products in development. 

Yet, people didn't know how to stay out of the way of progress. Was it his fault that the man had no control over his dog? Surely not. Nore was it his fault when his carriage rolled over the damned thing. 

He was five but he got around. Already climbing fire escapes and learning which big kids to avoid on the street. He'd found something the other day though, and he didn't think his dad would let it stay, so Matt snuck some lunch meat and placed the small bit of it on the ground by the dumpster behind the apartment.

The small little dog he'd found limped out on its three functioning legs and started eating. Tentatively reaching out to pet it. Matt's fingers tangled in its curly gray fur. It smelt dirty and musky but its little body was vibrating with life. The pup let out cute little noises as it ate and Matt smiled.  

Every day for a week he brought the dog food. It kept getting weaker and weaker. Matt told his dad about it when the dog refused to eat. He should have said something sooner. Jack went with him the next time but there was nothing left to do.

Jack took the dog and buried it out near the park under cover of night. The next day he brought Matt with him so he could say goodbye. Matt cried all night.

Jerald laughed. "What? You want me to pay for fixing your dog?"  

"There are animal doctors in the city." 

"It's just a dog if you fancy them so much just get a new one." 

"This isn't just a dog. He's my partner." 

"I will pay for the bullet you put through the mutt's head and not a penny more." 

"He's far from a mutt. He's the best damn hunting dog there ever was, you bastard!"

  The dog was huge. Its brown fur matted with mud and blood. It smelt awful. Its barking was gargled and rough as saliva and drool rolled out of its mawl. Its eyes were round and empty as it lunged.

 A seven year old Matt held up his arms, having nowhere to run. With his eyes stuck open in fear he saw the tire iron smack the dog aside. Its teeth barely caught and ripped the skin of his arm. It yelped, crashing into the trash as Jack rushed up. "Matty, are you okay?" 

 Matt nodded. There was blood but not much. Looking to the dog wide eyed Matt trembled. It was a dog that he'd seen around but it had always kept to itself before. 

 It limped to its feet and Jack held up his makeshift weapon and yelled. Matt flinched the same as the dog as it tucked its tail and ran.

 "It was just a mut— probably sick." Jack said, checking Matt's arm. "Well, have Mr. Ellis look you over. Comon lets get ya home."  

Jerald crumpled up the newspaper. The local editor had allowed a personal page to be printed; written by the man Camerron. The owner of the dog. Libel. 

It was actually working though. The man and his dog were garnering a following of bleeding hearts. Building slander on Jerald's character. Calling him a liar, a cheater, and a thief.  

His cousin cut him out. As if he knew anything about what Jerald had done for the company. All of this because of a stupid dog and his damd mutt.  

Jared slipped the bullets into his gun and watched Camerron walking down the street toward the pharmacy. A stop he made every Wednesday. His slobbering friend limping behind him.  

Aggravating the man was enough to aggravate the beast and that would be plenty enough excuse to put the creature down. 

The dog went down… but Jared was down in the next moment. Camerron glaring at him as he held the thing close. 

He said something not in English and Jared felt something cold run in his vanes. Then it was fire and he's running away. 

Matt can smell them. They have a bitter smell that rubs at the back of his nose. They're snarling, snapping at him as he moves. He's holding up his sticks. The sticks he's barely learned to use and he swings, throwing one of the dogs that lunges back.

 The other goes for the opening and Matt ducks, letting it jump over him. He doesn't want to be doing this. But Stick stands in the corner observing his every move and Matt can't let him sense any weakness.

 Matt swings down and the dog yelps. He flinches back from the sound and he hears the other one coming for him but he doesn’t have time to counter. The dog catches on his arm and he screams as its teeth sink in.

 Stick blows his whistle and the dogs stop and back off.  Matt shakes the shrill sound from his ears and cradles his arm. "Can't even take on a couple of mangy mutts. Why do I put up with you?"  

 It's the last test Matt passes (using his sticks well enough to hold off the dogs) before Stick leaves and Matt wishes he'd been able to hit the dogs without feeling guilty. Maybe then Stick wouldn’t have left. 

Dogs are awful.   

Matt stood and shook his whole body. He felt disoriented and wobbly as he walked into the kitchen where Karen was looking in the fridge. "How is Matt’s fridge so empty?" 

Foggy shrugs from where he's seated on the arm chair. "I have no idea. Does he have any beer? You don't mind, do you?" Foggy asks, his voice lifting, directed toward Matt. "Buddy?" 

Matt tilts his head toward him and he realizes he's not sure what Foggy is asking him. He whines shuffling forward. "Foggy." He places his head on his best friend's knee and the anxiety in his chest lessens. Hesitant fingers brush his scalp and Matt lets his tail wag lazily.

Foggy smells worried and Matt is worried because of that. It was probably because of what happened to Clint. 

Lifting his head Matt licks Foggy’s hand in thanks and sits in front of the couch to guard his sick and defenseless friend. His other best friend.  

Chapter Text

    Foggy is freaking out. Matt is sitting like a guard dog by Clint's side. Alert. 

More than anything Foggy wishes he could talk to his best friend but the spark of confusion in Matt’s eyes a moment ago and the licking and head butting… Matt is acting more and more like a dog and Foggy isn't sure if it's just the spell or if them allowing him to run around and let loose triggered something. 

"Here. Don't worry so much if Matt were here he'd have offered you one before you even asked." Karen says handing Foggy an open beer as she settles taking a sip from her own.  

"If he wasn't a dog you mean. He's right there." Foggy motions to Matt and Karen blinks.  She smiles then frowns and Foggy’s heart slams hard in his chest with yet again another bout of worry. At this rate he was going to die before the day was out.

"Ah…" she says, looking guilty.   

"You didn’t forget that it was Matt, did you?" 

She shakes her head looking bothered. "Not exactly… it's more like I forgot he wasn't actually a dog…? And human and dog Matt were the same but not…" she rubbed her brow looking pained. "This spell is weird and kind of awful." 

Foggy took a deep drink. "Kinda yeah." 

"It was nice to see him have fun and not worry about his blindness though." Karen smiled. "I really hope if nothing else he appreciates that moment when this is all over." 

"I mean Clint did say that there was a witch coming up with a solution for Matt somehow." 

"Exactly… so as weird as it is, as long as we show him we love him everything will be okay." 

"I hope so." Foggy chuckled, deciding to let go of his worries for a moment. "Did you see him? He was doing flips and twirls and just full on showing off. When you’re normal and the shock has shaken off of you I am going to tease you about the happy 'throw the ball please' wigle you had going on." Foggy said, glancing over to see Matt with one floppy ear perked up toward them. 

Foggy recognized the self-satisfied smirk on Matt's face though it was ruined a moment later when his tongue lolled out as he began to pant. Foggy had to wonder how cognisant Matt was at the moment. Maybe when Clint wakes he can ask him. 

Though part of Foggy hopes the guy sleeps till he's over the mind reading thing. It did not seem fun.  

Clint woke to quiet voices. Hushed and off to the side. Something wet and cold touched his cheek then he heard a huff and a very loud voice ringing in his skull. "Clint! Clint I can hear your breath changing. You're finally awake. I thought you were going to sleep forever!"

Clint's brain supplied the knowledge as to what the touch was. A cold dog nose was on his face then sniffing and moving into the crook of his neck. Clint tried to squirm away but a squishy wall blocked his escape. "You still smell sick though so you should rest." The strange voice said  slightly quieter as the nose moved away only for a light weight to fall on his chest.

Taking in a breath Clint could feel the air scraping down his raw throat. It was more of a growly "wha?" that came out when he tried to ask what was going on. 

"Matt! Let him sleep."  There was a grumbling noise that vibrated from the weight on his chest. "He's awake. Thats not my fault." That kind of sounded like Matt.

Clint forced his eyes open to see the head of a dog on his chest. He blinked blurry eyes as the rest of his senses kicked in. 

The skin in his ears were throbbing in a dull pain, letting him know he'd had his hearing aids in a little too long. They felt strangely heavy and thick in his irritated conail. He heard a shuffle and the light shifted. Clint turned to see Foggy walking away from a bar covered in Chinese food. The smell was thick in the air. Karen gave him a little wave, her mouth full of chow mein. 'Hey.' She thought at him. 

'Jesus Christ you'd think Clint was dying. The way he's been acting. ' Foggy’s thoughts gripped. Then speaking his thoughts gently echoed. "Sorry if he woke you. We've all been a little worried." He placed a hand on the dog’s head. Matt. Matt’s head. Matt leaned back into the touch.

Foggy's mind exploded in worried thoughts and a touched kind of feeling. "You ready to try and eat something now?" He scritched and Matt's tail thumped on the floor.  "He hasn't left your side since you passed out." Foggy said. "Refused to eat." 'Stubborn as always.' Foggy’s thoughts were fond.

  'Okay.' Matt stood shaking his body out. The collar around his neck clicking. 'You should eat too Clint. Build your strength. Be battle ready.' Matt thought.  

Clint grunted trying to sit up, Foggy quietly helping him. "Want any? We bought plenty." 

"Sure." Clent croaked. "And water." He said when all three of the others' thoughts landed on how painfully dry or scratchy his voice sounded. "How long was I out?" Clint asked, pulling out his hearing aids. There was no need for them right now. 

'Forever.' Matt huffed. He was eating what everyone else was. It was placed on a plate on the floor but unlike in the morning he seemed  content with it. A bowl of water was also there. 

  'About 7 hours.' Foggy said, pulling Clint’s attention away from the man turned dog. Foggy's voice vibrated under his thoughts. Clint hummed accepting the plate Foggy brought to him. Sporting a little bit of everything.  

"Thanks." Clint said. Then there was water and Clint realized he'd zoned out for a moment. He took a bite of food letting the trailing thoughts around him just flow.

He could hear a few random thoughts but they were a bit easier to ignore. Foggy’s mind was a mess. It was kind of funny considering how much Matt spoke of him as a steady presence in his life. Clint was just glad his mind reading abilities seemed to be surface level thoughts and strong feelings.  

He seemed to get a little more from Matt but he assumed that was because of Matt's spell… speaking of which… "Hey, Matt, you okay?" 

The lawyer's thoughts had been turned into taste and smell and little snippets of memory. 'Good.' Matt thought at him. 

"Okay…" Clint frowned as both Foggy's and Karen’s thoughts jumped.

He caught them sharing a look as Karen thought. 'Has he noticed something too?' 

Foggy's thoughts were a bit jumbled, bouncing between worry and notes of observation but he clearly heard. 'Finally. Clint will know whether or not Matt is alright.'  Clint glanced over to see Matt incessantly licking his empty plate.

"Um…"   Matt's thoughts were on getting the plate clean. 

'Done!' Matt barked then stood and slammed his paw on the edge of the plate sending it flipping into the air towards his face and he snached it in his mouth like it was natural and in a much more unnatural way sauntered over to the counter where he got onto his back legs so he could drop it with a loud clang into the sink. 'Dirty dishes go in the sink.' 

"Uh…" 

"Still a clean freak." Foggy says. 

'Yes. Cleanliness is next to Godliness.' He paused his ear twitching. 'Hear that? Someone is in trouble. I should help.' 

Matt started running for the stairs and as Foggy started going off in his head about stopping him. Clint stood in time for Matt to encounter a pretty substantial obstacle. That being the door to the roof. Matt scratched at the handle and started throwing out curses Clint has never heard before. 'I hate not having thumbs!' Matt howles. 

"Oh thank fuck." Foggy says as he flops against the couch and Clint stumbles from the vivid visuals of Matt dying flashing through his head they were all coming from Foggy with a suffocating amount of anxiety and distress. 

Then Matt's thoughts hit him. Someone is being beaten and Clint does not hesitate. He takes off running up the stairs and pushing the door open. Following his friend into the night. Foggy and Karen’s worried thoughts fading out behind them.  

While they get closer to the sound of what Matt hears as screaming and begging for forgiveness and pleas to stop the beatinng Clint doesn't hear crying or screaming. Instead he hears a whine and a yelp. The thoughts are as indistinguishable to Clint as the sounds the dog makes but he doesn't need mind reading or allspeak to understand.  

Matt snarls and jumps grabbing the wrist of the man beating up on a dog that was cowering on the road. His teeth sink in and draw blood and the man lets out a scream dropping the two by four he'd been whilding.  

As he swings his arm throwing Matt off of him Clint runs to check on the dog. He's not an expert in animal health but what he sees gets his heart racing. 

It doesn't look good. Matt has jumped off of the wall he'd been thrown to and lands with his paws slamming into the man's chest. Springing back from that he falls to the asphalt and rambs into the man's legs with his shoulder.

The man curses as he stumbles and kicks out, sending Matt flying into a parked car. The alarm starts blaring and the man binds over to pick up the two by four with his uninjured hand. Clint can hear his murderous thoughts and he shouts. "Drop it!" The man startles, apparently so distracted by Matt he hadn’t noticed Clint's presence at all. "Hurt him and I'll give it to you two fold." 

"The thing bit me." 

"He's a redbone coonhound, and my best friend, and he was just protecting the dog you were killing." 

The man spits. His thoughts are clear. "The mutt's useless, better off dead." 

Matt growls. The dog lets out a sad sigh. Clint balls his fist and steps forward. "It's not your problem anymore. It's mine." 

The man glares him down. Clint can hear his intent to fight. Matt moves to stand next to Clint, his hackles raised. "Maybe if you trade him for that one." The man snears. 

'I'm not not his to trade.' Matt snaps snarling and letting out faint almost word sounds. "Guy like you doesn't deserve a dog. Besides, he's not mine." Clint says slipping into a fighting stance. "No deal." 

The man looks at the length of wood in his hands then at Clint. His eyes slide over Matt. His thoughts on how good of a fighting dog Matt would make. Clint grits his teeth, the man has completely written off the other dog as dead.   "You know what If he ain't yours I'll just take him." The man says as he thinks about swinging the board in order to knock Clint out. Clint ducks and grabs the man's arm wrenching the board free.

Matt takes hold of his pant leg and yanks and the man tips over hitting the ground with a heavy thud. The guy's thoughts go murky. He hit his head and is out. Clint turns his focus on the hurt dog.  

It looks like it's at least part lab but probably a mixed bread. Its fur is matted with blood. Especially around the face. He takes a moment to decide the best way to pick the dog up without hurting him more. "Hey, Matt, mind telling this guy I'm not going to hurt him." 

Matt walks over and shakes his collar jingling slightly. 'Uh sure?' He sounds confused. He walks up to the dog and sniffs it. 'You’re safe now. Clint’s going to help you.' The dog whines. 'Yeah, he's good.' The dog sighs. Then lets out a small noise as its tail thumps. 

  Matt hesitates. 'Sure…' The dog goes limp and Clint takes that as his cue and moves in to pick it up. It cries but doesn't fight him. Luckily Clint knows a place just a few blocks away that can help him. 

As they walk Matt is telling the dog about Clint. How he is a good guy and fights bad guys. How he likes pizza and coffee. He tells the dog it's okay that he can't see out of one eye. He explains that he's blind and the dog's tail wags. Clint doesn't understand the dogs thoughts or how how Matt can understand the dog's little noises and he's guessing body language cues but he's grateful. Then Matt's telling him that the dog's breathing doesn't sound good and his heart is weakening. 

Clint picks up the pace and the three of them barge into the 24 hour emergency vet center.     

Chapter Text

Clint was so nervous and Matt was equally anxious as the Veterinarian vanished in the back with the injured dog. It genuinely surprised Clint when his vision started to blur. Exhaustion curling in his chest. Clint shook his head and Matt's worried voice tickled through his head, wobbly and strange, tinged in worry.

There was a light touch on his shoulder and Clint jumped. His body tencing. The hand that was touching him pulled away and he followed it back to where it curled at the chest of the old vet. She frowned and said something. Her voice was muffled and Clint couldn’t understand– oh.

Oh, he left his hearing aids at Matt's. No wonder he passed out. The spell must have run its corse. He frowned. Of course it'd stop working like this. He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm hard of hearing. Could you say that again?"

They nodded. Clint did his best to focus and read their lips. The bit of sound he was getting clued him in. The dog was stable but groggy from surgery. Clint nodded.

Then in a nervous way the woman indicated a need for payment. "Oh." Clint dug into his pocket pulling out his wallet. He frowned hesitating before handing over his Avenger's credit card. He rarely used it, but seeing as he didn't know how much this was going to be… "Just pay the whole thing on there. No need to split up payment or whatever…" Clint knew places like this tried to ease the burden of cost by offering a sort of split payment plan. A credit in its own way. "Oh, and if he can't walk I'll buy a career if you got one…"

The woman shook her head but ran the card. In the end Clint walked out of the emergency animal clinic with the fluffy blonde dog bundled in his arms and draped over one shoulder. Matt bumped his leg as they walked out onto the street and Clint looked down at him and sighed. "Sorry buddy. I can't hear thoughts anymore. I hated the experience but never minded hearing you."

Matt's tail wagged slowly and he nudged him again before taking the lead.

Clint followed adjusting the dog in his arms. He couldn’t hear well but a small vibration ran through the dog. "Sorry." Clint said.

A warm soft tongue gave a single lick to his ear. Somehow he felt it was the dog's way of letting him know it understood.

In the end Clint and Foggy ended up staying at Matt's as the man turned dog and the rescue ran rampant in the man turned dogs apartment.

It took three days for the dog they saved, which Clint started calling Lucky, to start moving around. By day four Matt had taught the dog how to open the fridge and Clint laughed as he watched Foggy scold them both for eating the leftover pizza. "You can't be teaching him bad habits Matt! Dogs aren't meant to eat things like this and even though you'll be human again eventually Lucky is a dog! A dog dog who needs to eat dog food!"

"Hey." Clint laughed. "The guy's had a rough life up till now. Let him have his 'za."

By day six Matt had figured out how to open doors on his own and proved that despite being stuck on four legs and blind he could not be contained.

By day seven Matt had taught Lucky how to open doors as well.

Day eight found Foggy and Clint both on the couch exhausted. A beer in hand, both staring at the ceiling. "Do you think that witch knows how to find us?" Foggy asked.

Clint shrugged one shoulder. The other was sore from being yanked around by Matt when they tried to take him and Lucky on a walk that morning. Surprisingly Lucky ended up doing what Foggy and Clint assumed was some sort of scolding when Clint faceplated in a bush.

After that, Matt had walked up to Clint with a tucked tail and nudged his hand slowly. Ears back. "I get it." Clint said. "The leash is probably the worst."

Matt gave a single nod. Foggy decided after that it was time to eat and they headed back to Matt's place. The dogs got to wrestling Matt clearly being gentle with the still healing Lucky. Then they fell into a pile and started to doze. Clint and Foggy took the chance to relax as well. It was Maybe twenty minutes later when the two looked up at the sound of a groan.

Lucky hopped to his feet and whined. Matt let out a whimper. Then his body began to glow. Clint squinted through the glow as it grew to a bright light and watched as Matt's form shifted. A few seconds later Daredevil was laying on the floor letting out a painful groan.

Clint blinked. Then looked around to see if the witch had shown up but he didn't see anything. Foggy was on his feet. "Matt!"

Matt was wobbly seeming to be having trouble finding his feet as Clint and Foggy helped him up. They helped him out of his suit and into the shower. It was a good thirty minutes or so before the man spoke. "How?"

Foggy shrugged. "Does it matter?"

Lucky whined and Matt jumped slightly, his hand jumping away from the wet nose that touched it. Several complex emotions flashed over the man's face before he knelt and rubbed Lucky's ears. "Told you I was a man. Believe me now?"

The dog licked Matt’s face and Clint caught it crumbling slightly before Matt buried his face in the dog's fur. "Heh. I'm sure you're apologizing. You doofus."

Clint shared a look with Foggy and the two decided to leave Matt with the dog for a moment. When it came time for Clint to leave Matt handed Clint Lucky's leash. "What? Don't you want him?"

"No. I don't need a dog." Matt said coldly as Foggy huffed behind him. "Besides. Lucky said if I wasn't full of cat shit and really did become a human that he wanted to stay with you."

Clint looked down at the dog and it looked back up at him with its one good eye. It's tongue flopped out as it's tail wagged slowly. Clint smiled and knelt down ruffling the dog's ears. "I'd love to bring you home boy."

Lucky danced around yapping happily.

Four days later Daredevil and Hawkeye were sitting on a roof. Clint was tossing little bits of gravel into the alley. Matt had assured him that no one was around. Clint didn’t see anyone but that didn't mean much. It felt nice to do something benignly reckless. "So…"

"So?" Clint could hear the brow rise in Matt's response even though he couldn’t see the man's face.

"You doing okay?"

Matt took in a deep sigh like breath. "Yeah."

"For real?" Clint looked over to see Matt smirking. "What?"

"I'm good. Miss being able to run around without judgment but the lack of collar is worth the trade off. Besides, no one would take a dog as a lawyer."

Clint snorted at the image. Then the two of them jumped when a voice came up behind them. "Oh! You broke it yourself. Good on yah. Guess we won't be needing this." Clint turned around in time to catch a swirl of light and blinked when he saw a little yellow bobblehead dog nodding at them innocuously.

Matt reached over and grabbed it. Running his fingers over the little toy. He snorted. It probably would have held up a bit better than a ceramic he supposed. He was happy that it hadn't come to that though. Knowing the curse was gone was better than having it out there somewhere haunting his dreams.

"So you did break it." Clint said, flicking the little dog's head , making it bounce. "Have any idea how?"

Matt shrugged thinking back on the last afternoon he had as a dog. How fun it had been. How content he'd felt. How the part of him that cried when it thought of dogs was silent. "I don't get magic, do you?"

Clint failed to bite back a laugh. "He'll no." He sighed and bumped his shoulder against Daredevil’s. "Glad you're back. Now, want to see who can make it to Mike's Pizza the fastest?"

"You're on." Daredevil showed all his teeth eager for the challenge and if he sent an extra slice with Hawkeye for 'luck' no one had to be the wiser.