13th July 1977- Clint: 14, Barney: 18

Clint rolled out of bed with a thump. He grumbled to himself as he staggered to his feet. Thor had taken up the entire bed at some point in the night. Bobbi was squashed against the wall, her head turned at a funny angle. Benny was nowhere to be seen. Probably in the bathroom. Clint slipped his hearing aids in and opened the window. Ronin swooped out and vanished in the direction of the park. Clint grabbed the Muggle camera Frank had given him and snapped a photo of his friends before going downstairs.

"Mornin' Benny."

"Mornin'. I think your brother melted the pan."

"What?" asked Clint.

Benny tilted the frying pan at him. It looked like it had bubbled in the middle. Clint rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, Barney doesn't cook much."

"I'm not surprised."

"Wait, are you cooking?"

"Pancakes. Proper pancakes, not the weird ones Barney was making."

"They're American pancakes, the best kind of pancakes. Not the thin things you guys have."

"I'm going to brain you with the pan if you don't move."

Clint shuffled out of the way, pulling himself onto the counter. Benny muttered something that sounded insulting but went back to his business.

"I think we have chocolate spread here, ow cupboard no."

Clint rubbed the side of his head where the cabinet door had banged into his head. Benny looked despairing but also not surprised. Thor came downstairs as Clint was tucking into his first pancake, lured by the smell of food.

"You my friend are a wonderful cook."

"Relax, I'll make you a pancake."

"Can I have four?"

Benny muttered again but agreed. Bobbi emerged a few minutes later. It was incredible how Bobbi got terrible bedhead and yet Thor never did. Bobbi did not appreciate this comparison when Clint said it aloud and flicked his nose.

"Hey!"

Eventually the noise produced by four fourteen-year-olds in a kitchen lured the remaining inhabitants of the house out. Castiel and Natasha were both staying over at Bucky's, but Aaron and Gabriel both began asking for pancakes. Gabriel to combat his hangover, Aaron because he was a bottomless pit.

"Where's Gadreel?" asked Bobbi.

"Went with Barney." replied Aaron shortly. "Thanks Ben."

"Benny."

"Yeah whatever."

Clint asked, "What time did you get in last night?"

Gabriel made vague noises and almost managed a hand gesture before he thunked his head back on the kitchen table.

"How much did you drink?" asked Bobbi.

Clint flicked the coffee pot on. When he'd done, he poured himself a cup and passed one over to Gabriel via Thor. Gabriel made another noise.

"Come on." said Clint. "Let's get outta here."

When the four were dressed, they set out to Manchester centre. The first port of call was, as always, the comic book store. Bobbi was looking for anything involving Catwoman, while Clint wanted a Green Arrow comic. Thor didn't care much for comics and was too busy admiring the replicas of weapons on the wall. Benny stuck with Bobbi. Clint tracked down the newest Green Arrow and brought it up to the counter.

"Hey, kid. How you doing?" asked the clerk.

"I'm good."

"Haven't seen that brother of yours for a while. Will, right?"

The name hit Clint like his dad's punches to the gut. Only more painful. He looked up at the clerk and plastered on his brightest smile. It didn't feel very bright.

"Will won't be coming round anymore."

The clerk's face fell. He'd probably managed to guess what had happened.

"Alright kid. Here's a bag for your comic."

"I haven't paid yet."

The clerk waved his hand. "You've been coming here for like four years. It's a loyalty rewards thing. We've just started it."

"Oh. Cool!"

Clint wandered over to Thor who was currently in the process of trying to measure himself against a replica sword from… Lord of the Rings possibly.

"I'm two and a half Narsils tall." Thor informed him.

Clint had no idea how to respond to this information. He was saved from having to work it out by Bobbi and Benny arriving, Bobbi also with a free comic book.

"That rewards thing is pretty cool huh?" asked Clint.

"Definitely! I wonder why they've suddenly started doing that."

They wandered out, debating on where to eat. Bobbi was favouring the food markets on Market Street while Clint was lobbying for something from the Arndale. Benny sided with Bobbi and Thor with Clint. Bobbi won. They split up at the markets, Thor going for a burrito, Benny going for the slow-cooked burger, Bobbi for paella and Clint for pizza. They were heading to their next target, the bookshop for Bobbi, when Clint spotted something in an alley.

"Hang on a sec."

He passed his bag over to Benny and headed over. Huddled up behind the trash cans was a dog. A man was stood nearby smoking. The dog looked miserable, ribs sticking out against its skin and the collar too tight against its neck.

"Hey buddy." said Clint softly, holding his hand out.

The dog sniffed it and licked his fingers. Clint offered the pizza to him.

"You like pizza?"

"No." said the man.

"Course he does. Every dog likes pizza. Huh big guy?"

The dog appeared to agree, wolfing the pizza down.

"Leave dog alone." growled the man. "My dog."

"He's starving." said Clint angrily. "Look at him! If you can't look after him you shouldn't have him!"

The man shoved himself off the wall he'd been leaning on. He dropped the cigarette and ground it under his heel.

"Fuck off boy."

"No."

Clint was vaguely aware of his friends stood behind him. The man swung a fist at him. Clint went to duck but before he did, the dog leapt at the man. He sank his teeth into the man's arm. The man shouted, hitting the dog in the ribs. The dog let go, dropping to the ground. Clint smashed his own fist into the man's stomach and Thor, the tallest of them, slammed his head into the man's face. There was a satisfying crunch of bone and the man stumbled back, holding his nose. Clint gathered the dog in his arms and they headed back into the safety of the main street. Bobbi's jaw dropped.

"Is that a dog?" asked Benny.

"No, it's a Hippogriff." replied Clint. "Anyway, we need to find a vet."

They tracked down a vet by sending Thor, the friendliest of them, to ask random people where a vet's was. This was less than successful but they did finally discover a vet's. Benny held the door for Clint as he rushed to the vet. The receptionist looked startled at the appearance of four teens and a battered dog.

"Lady, how do we fix this dog?" asked Clint.

"I'll call Mr Walker immediately."

Clint hurried through the clinic and rested the dog on the table.

"You gotta help him."

The vet, an older man, blinked and sprang into action. Clint was instructed to keep the dog distracted as Mr Walker cut the collar off the dog.

"What's his name?" asked Clint.

"Arrow."

Clint groaned. He could practically hear the jokes now. Mr Walker finished cleaning the dog's cuts and scratches.

"He needs good food and regular checkups. Will you be taking him to a shelter?"

"No. I need to make a phone call though."

Clint turned to leave but the dog whined. Mr Walker chuckled. They lowered the dog back onto the ground and slowly made their way back into the main room. Mr Walker instructed his receptionist to allow Clint behind the desk to make a phone call. He dialled his home and waited patiently for someone to pick up.

"What?" snapped Aaron.

"Nice to hear from you too. Is Pops' car there?"

Aaron sounded deeply suspicious as he answered.

"Yes. Why?"

"Can you come pick us up?"

"No."

"Aaron! Come on, Pops isn't due back 'til Thursday!"

"You got into town yourselves, come back yourselves."

Clint, sensing the resolve in his cousin's tone, played his trump card.

"Barney'll flip if he finds out."

There was a long pause. It was then Clint remembered where exactly Barney was and felt extremely guilty. The last thing Barney needed after spending a day at Underhill was to come home to a surprise dog.

"Wait, never mind-" he started saying.

"Yeah, I'll come pick you up." said Aaron. "What's the address?"

Clint gave it and reminded him to drive. The dog was probably too weak to Apparate. After he hung up, Mr Walker gave them permission to stay in the vet surgery until Aaron arrived. Clint sat on the floor and the dog rested his head on Clint's legs with a sigh.

"Good dog." said Clint.

Aaron groaned as he pulled up on some street. He hated driving the minivan. It was clunky and slow and turning was a nightmare. He'd already been sworn at six times. He parked the van and looked around. Yeah, there was the vet surgery and there was Bobbi and… shit was it Frank? Benny? Dean? Not-Thor. Bobbi waved to Aaron, Not-Thor looked over his shoulder and called something into the surgery. Thor appeared, holding the door for Clint. Clint came out, carrying something in his arms…

"Oh fuck."

That was a dog. It was practically skin and bone, but it was definitely a dog. Where the fuck did he get a dog from? Clint appeared at the car and Not-Thor tried to open the door.

"It's locked." said Bobbi.

"I'm not opening it 'til you send that mutt back to where it came from."

"He's coming with us. Barney won't mind."

Aaron doubted that. If it went for Trick, there'd be hell to pay. Thor was currently stood in front of the van and Not-Thor behind it. Hell, he couldn't even drive off. Reluctantly, Aaron unlocked the van and let them in. Clint gently put the dog on the seats.

"You have to explain this." said Aaron irritably.

Bobbi smiled at him as she hopped into the front seat. Thor sat next to Clint and Not-Thor squeezed into the seat behind Bobbi.

"What's its name anyway?"

"Lucky."