Steve Rogers' eyes snapped open, greeted by grey. A grey of the ceiling, softened by warm yellow light of a nearby lamp.

Steve Rogers woke up and he saw. He blinked several times, his eyelids slightly heavier than usual, probably the effect of the tranquilizers, his lips feeling like made of lead. Yet, they managed to form three words.

"Oh, thank god," he whispered, running his hand down his face and pushing himself up to a sitting position.

"Nope, just foggy," a voice on his right informed his swiftly. A horrified inhale followed. "Shit, sorry, knee-jerk reaction."

Steve quickly looked at the man. He was a bit chubby, beige suit, blond rather long hair, inviting smile. Steve thought he was familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Yeah, things did feel a bit foggy, but that could not have been what the stranger was imply- right. "Right. Foggy... Hi."

"Am I talking to-"

"Steve," he assured him, making the lawyer grin victoriously.

"Right. Welcome back, Cap," Foggy saluted with two fingers, making the soldier smile.

"That's what the president said," Tony joined them in the couch area and Steve's smile widened despite the fact he should probably be annoyed. Who would think that seeing Stark's face would be an actual pleasure. "At least the Smithsonian claims it. And if you ever bring up the fact I was there ever again, I'll deny it. I was only there to draw you a moustache."

"Hey, Tony."

"Hey, Cap. How many fingers?" the billionaire asked cheekily, holding three fingers in front of Steve's face, switching to four just as Steve opened his mouth to humour him. So he closed it again. "What, cat got your tongue? Are you mute this time around?"

Steve sighed and made a disapproving face at Tony, feeling Foggy's sharp glare even without looking at the lawyer. "Tune it down, Tony. You're being insensitive."

Tony raised both of his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Sorry. You know I don't mean it. My heart's in the right place."

"You deal with this all the time?" Foggy asked while Steve just shook his head at Tony, who knocked on the device in his chest gently.

"Yes."

"Respect, Sir," Foggy mumbled and returned his gaze to the figure lying on the other couch.

Steve smiled unwittingly at the care Foggy was expressing by guarding his friend and protecting his honour in the process; and from Steve's experience, also by telling him with no restraint when he was being an idiot when needed. Steve knew that kind of friendships - he had a friend like that to, always by his side, no matter how much trouble he had got himself into.

To silence the pang of guilt and longing, he looked back at Tony; despite him being an arrogant human being at times, he was a friend too.

"I'm fine. But since you mentioned it... I can't believe I'm saying this, but now when I can't hear your heartbeats, I feel almost deaf."

"You were able to hear a heartbeat?!" Bruce's shocked voice sounded from behind him, almost making Steve jump out of his skin, while Tony raised a curious eyebrow, commenting on his own: "You can bond with Barton over that."

Steve couldn't help himself; he just rolled his eyes.

"Anyway. How about some calories? You must be-" the grumble of Steve's stomach cut Bruce off and as if on command, one of the specially designed post-mission drinks landed in the table in front of him.

"Thank you, Bruce."

"One of us has to be a good host."

"Aaand that's my cue to leave," Tony uttered, making a U-turn and disappearing from the room.

"He's something."

Steve snorted, relaxing onto the backrest and sipped the green semi-solid drink, grateful he couldn't taste every ingredient and god knew what, which he would be able to in Matt's body.

"He's a friend... no one is easy to handle. I'm sorry about his manners."

It was Foggy's turn to snort in amusement. "Matt would probably encourage him. He makes way too much blind jokes. Dork."

No one could possibly miss the fond smile Foggy sent Matt's direction. Steve's heart ached a little at that, missing his own friend again. This time, he didn't resist.

"You're a good friend, Foggy."

"That's gonna mean something, coming from Captain America himself," the lawyer hummed, hiding a hint of red on his ears by letting his hair fall into his face.

"I'm sure he appreciates it. Take it from a guy who needed someone to pull his stupid arse from trouble more times that I can count."

Foggy looked up shyly, clearly as pleased as uncomfortable. "Well, someone has to."

"I absolutely agree. Steve, how do you really feel?" Bruce entered the conversation, picking up on Foggy's uneasiness as well.

"I feel... like me."

---

Matt Murdock woke up to a terrible noise of three heartbeats, breaths, low voices and buzzing of the city deep below, smell of something that could not be food and yet he could taste it on his tongue, the scent mixed with a bit of sweat, deodorants and shampoos, leather and coffee. The said leather felt hot under his back, slick and yet harsh against his skin, the cotton shirt and slacks feeling like an assault on his mechanoreceptors.

All those sensations melted together, already helping to build a headache. Lovely.

He didn't even have to open his eyes to know he was back to his own body. Yet, he commanded the heavy eyelids to check.

Nothing. Darkness. A wildly dancing image that had nothing to do with vision. The world was on fire as it should be.

He could tell the number of people in the room, he could identify one of them as Foggy even, yet, the picture in his head was so messy, scrambled by the fucking pain-meds, that he couldn't locate his friend. Which was why it startled him so much when he spoke up.

"Hey, buddy. How bad is it?"

Matt winced, probably giving an answer on its own. He couldn't supress a groan as the world was getting even louder and less bearable each second he was involuntarily walking towards full consciousness - without being able to control the input.

"That good, huh?"

"Yeah, I'd be better if you knocked me out again," Matt rasped.

A bottle of water was immediately pressed into his hand in response. He pushed up so he could take a sip. The whole world swam, loud tide waves washing over him, slowly drowning him. Oh jeez. What had he done do to deserve that? He was so gonna punch Stark for the tranquilizers...

He forced himself to open the bottle, trying his best to ignore the plastic he could taste from it. But god, it flooded his taste buds with so many chemicals he could cry - or spit out the water. He didn't, he was stronger than that.

"Thanks. I'll be... fine, just... gimme a minute."

"You want me to stay?" Foggy asked, lowering his voice. The remaining two people walked away, the vibration of the floor rattling Matt's bones.

He was glad they left, even with the little earthquake it brought on. To be honest, Matt needed Foggy out as well. Focusing on him usually helped, but now, all he needed was as much silence he could get.

"No. Please. I... meditation might help a little."

If Foggy picked up on the hesitation and shame in Matt's voice, he didn't mention it. He reached out to Matt to pat his shoulder, but stopped two inches away; Matt could still feel the heat radiating from his friend's palm, but was grateful he didn't go for it. Perhaps he should give Foggy more credit when it came to understanding his senses than he did.

"Sure thing, buddy. I'll be right-- with the others. Do you want a room for yourself?"

Despite feeling like his head was in a hive, squeezed in a vice and being placed on a ship in the middle of the raging sea, Matt charmed a smile - or he tried to do so. He was whispering, when he spoke.

"That would be really nice."

"You got it. I'll be guarding the door with my life," Foggy promised, the thunder of his heartbeat not faltering. The buzz in Matt's brain tuned down for a split second, filled with affection instead of the sensory overload.

"Please don't. They are aliens, supersoldiers and other whatever. Can't lose you to that squad."

Matt felt blood rush into his cheeks right after the sentence left his mouth, but he couldn't find himself to regret it. He was in the whole room at once, his consciousness all over the place, incredibly messy, but one thing was clear as day. He appreciated Foggy's care. Maybe, he should let him know more often.

---

Steve was biting the inside of his cheek as he watched Foggy's expression of perfectly faked understanding. Tony had taken him for a tour through the Tower, specifically labs, and then moved onto Avengers' gear, explaining all the 'cool stuff'. Judging by Foggy's excitement, he was fascinated by all the toys, even though he understood even less than Steve; but hell, he was too proud to admit it until the tour ended.

When Friday announced through the speakers that Mr. Murdock requested she informed them he was quite settled and ready to welcome people back in the room, they didn't hesitate. Foggy was the first to come in, followed by Steve and only then the two geniuses.

They found Matt standing by the couch, turned their direction - just the fact he was standing must have meant a lot if the state he had been in when Steve and Bruce had emerged from the room was anything to go by. This looked like a big improvement - key word: looked.

"Feel better?" Steve asked lowly, examining the blind man, who had somehow managed to find his glasses and slip them on.

"Good enough for not wanting to be knocked out, bad enough for not trying to punch Stark just yet," Matt said wittily, making exactly three people in the room smirk.

"Should I just leave or- oh wait, this is my building, so if you mind me being here..." Tony hummed, earning a stereo groan from Steve and Bruce.

"Stark, Steve, Doctor Banner... where is Thor then?"

"Oh, Thor flew away. It was supercool. The other part of the artefact appeared - probably when you switched back - and he just took it in this super-secret-government container and... yeah, flew away. Sorry you missed that," Foggy spilled out in hurry, his enthusiasm not unlike Steve was used to see on children's faces when meeting him. Matt must have picked up on it, because his smile widened.

"I think I'll live. I guess you'll just have to remind me of that often enough."

"I don't think that will be a problem," Bruce noted with a kind smile and handed Matt a cup of the 'green special' Steve had received after waking up. "Try this unless it offends your taste too much. High protein, high carb, lots of ions and generally the good stuff. It might even help with burning out the drugs you've been dosed with."

"Hey, we didn't agree on getting him one. What if he's feeling good enough to punch me after? Way to be a friend, Bruce!"

Matt scrunched his nose when smelling the drink up-close, but obediently took a sip, accepting the wordless dare. Despite the slightly disgusted face he made, he continued. Steve started to understand his street name.

Foggy cleared his throat, looking around. "So... what happens now?"

Steve wavered. Honestly, he had a million questions for Matt - starting with the ones about his senses, which might be more than inappropriate and none of his business, ending with moral ones, which included asking about what had led to his decision to start the part-time job as a vigilante, which belonged to the category of things Matt probably wasn't up to answering right now.

So Steve said the only thing he could think off. He took a leap of faith, deciding to hope Matt would stay in touch somehow (read: via them visiting his apartment or office if it came to that) and to let him leave with no feeling of owing anything to them. But there was something he needed to do first.

"I believe someone asked for an autograph...?"

Steve didn't need to hear heartbeats to know Foggy's just skipped a beat in joy - his expression spoke volumes, no matter how much he tried to stay contained.

"That would be awesome, Captain."

It didn't end with an autograph. They took a photo too. They took one with reluctant Matt as well - the vigilante ruined all Foggy's fun when he forbade framing it and hanging it in the office.

"But, Matt! Clients!"

"But, Foggy! Too many questions!" Matt mimicked, but had enough decency to look guilty about making his friend's face fall.

"Alright. But the selfie is my new lockscreen. You can't take that away!"

Steve wasn't sure what lockscreen was - he hoped it wasn't anything that would embarrass him too much. Matt's lips twitched, which actually worried Steve a little.

"Not sure Marci will like that."

"She'll understand," Foggy muttered and took selfie with Tony as well as with Bruce, who seemed quite uncomfortable, but didn't have the heart to disappoint the excited lawyer - how typical of him. He excused himself right after.

Foggy and Matt looked genuinely surprised and grateful when Steve announced his intention to let them leave whenever they wanted, no questions asked. Tony, on the other hand, appeared to be ready to punch the supersoldier to his face, but didn't protest, clearly already planning a surprise visit to the office; Steve immediately felt sorry, especially for Karen.

"We'll be in touch - I'll make sure of it," Foggy assured them, shaking Steve's hand for probably longer than was socially acceptable. Steve didn't mind, if only because it irritated Tony. To be fair, he received the same treatment afterwards.

"See you around, Steve. Soon, Mr. Stark," Matt threw over his shoulder when he was entering the elevator on Foggy's arm, grinning as the door was closing.

"You're terrible," Steve heard Foggy huff and that was the end of it.

Steve felt strange lightness in his soul, blaming the enthusiastic blonde for it. The world needed more people like him. Matt needed him for sure. Despite the warmth, Steve couldn't help but worry about the vigilante though.

"We should keep an eye on him. I have a feeling he has no self-preservation."

"Consider it done, Cap. And you know that behaviour sounds familiar, right?"

Steve smiled for himself, ignoring Tony's nudge. "Well, at least he has good friends to take care of him."

"Cheesy, Steven," Tony hummed when he realized the analogy, but Steve had a feeling it pleased him anyway.

He didn't call him out on it though. After all, some things were better left unsaid; yet, it didn't mean they weren't true.

Feeling's usually mutual. Yeah, Tony. I care about you too.

"Whatever you say, Stark. I'll be in the gym. I feel like I need to burn some of the tranquilizers you shot me with before..."

"You're welcome!" Tony shouted after him as Steve just waved at him blindly, making his way to his room to change.

Yeah. I know.

---

Exiting the Tower with relieved sigh, Matt leaned onto Foggy a bit more.

"Thanks for putting up with this," Matt whispered into the cold of the night and heard Foggy's heartbeat falter. It made him frown. "Foggy? What's wrong? I'll be fine, I mostly already am. We'll be fine. Hell, Tony Stark even promised to get us better heating to the office. How many people can say that?"

Foggy gulped, his cheeks burning up. Oh god, what?

"You wanna know what's wrong, Matt?"

"Yes, of course. Talk to me, Fog."

Foggy took a deep breath, more blood rushing to his cheeks. "Please don't laugh, but... I really made an idiot of myself."

"When? You were great the whole time. You were a good friend to me. You apparently even helped me get dressed! Kinda me..." Matt corrected himself, not bothering to clarify, knowing Foggy understood what he meant. But he was only rewarded with silence; he was getting worried, to be honest. "Foggy?"

"Matt... I called Captain America a duffus."

Matt was silent for a split second and then he burst out laughing, stopping in his tracks in order to throw his head back.

"I asked you not to laugh!" Foggy hissed, squirming in embarrassment and it only made Matt laugh harder. Foggy slapped his arm. "You jerk!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry-"

"No you're not..."

"No, I'm not. He didn't seem to hate you for it. And to be fair, my hand punched his face, so I think that from the two of us..."

That seemed to calm Foggy down and he let Matt take his elbow for guidance again. "Okay. Thanks. I think you actually were worse. We're menaces, Murdock."

"Yeah, Fog. We sure are. Earth's mightiest menances."

Matt could hear a grin in Foggy's voice when he spoke again. "Best damn avocados."

"Best damn avocados-- oh, that reminds me. So, I heard you agreed it was a fruit-"

"Shut up, Murdock..."

"Captain America told me that-"

"Blah, blah, blah-"

"You're such a child-..."

Their laughter echoed in the streets of Manhattan and despite the insanity of that day... Matt thought that life was good.

---

A week later, Tony Stark received an envelope he would never expect to receive.

It wasn't particularly unusual for the billionaire to get sued - hell, he often was on the receiving end of everyone's fury when it came to the damage the Avengers had made (please note, the blessed Captain America was never blamed, how outraging) -, but being sued for drugging someone wasn't exactly daily occurrence. Neither was the complaint about the ADA incompliance of the Avengers Tower.

The first set of documents was signed Nelson. Naturally, the latter held the name Murdock, or Tony guessed so, because it was hard to decode the scribbled letters.

He couldn't believe they had actually done it. He had honestly thought they all of their threats had been only a joke. Clearly, they had been deadly serious.

So if he took off - quite literally - the moment Friday announced that Matt Murdock entered the building, supposedly to have a training session with the American Golden Boy, no one could blame him.

Yet, it didn't mean Matt didn't laugh his ass off when the AI informed him of Sir's departure. It seemed that the genius would have to wait and the only person punched by Matt Murdock's fist today would be Steve Rogers.

But that was okay. Matt would love to wait for his moment and it would get only sweeter.

-----Notes:

Just FYI, some of you noticed/know EN is not my first language. Matt had a brilliant line to Foggy: "Yeah, I'd be better if you knocked me up again." I re-read it at least three times before it hit me just how much the course of the entire fic would change if I missed it and left it that way.

Aaaanyway, thank you all for reading, you are amazing :))