castigador | ( OPEN ) Frank Castle

[Even months later she remembers to shove down the impulse to put his head into the floor. At some point she adjusted to him. His heartbeat is a solid reminder of what had changed between them and where it started. She did, after all, toss one at his feet once upon a time.

Elektra retreats wordlessly once he pulls back, flexing the hand that felt that steady beat as if it could still feel it. She decides now is a good a time as any to set the table in preparation. It's a quick job for only two people so she tosses in,]

If you have any drink requests, make them now. [She might have become good friends with a bartender. Long, ridiculously stupid story.]

[ it's even worse when she pulls away a second time, but he still has a soft haze around his vision from her standing so close. it makes his work go quicker. at the mention of drinks, he only perks up even more. ]

Is there bourbon? [ god, he's missed booze. though her offering like that does make him curious. ] Wouldn't say no to a Manhattan, since it seems like you're asking for a challenge.

[ not like it's a complicated cocktail, but he can't remember the last time he bothered to drink anything more complex than warm booze in a glass. ]

I did pick up bourbon among other things. [Elektra goes to retrieve it from the small wooden cabinet beneath her wine rack. (She supposes she should get a proper spot once less practical concerns have been addressed.) She's more of a wine girl with few exceptions for harder liquor. Lauren had successfully pointed out a few things she might want to get during their conversations when her man returned as she so indelicately put it. Elektra, needing a distraction, had followed her advice. It's been strange having a normal woman as a friend, but it's been undeniably what she needed.

She sets about moving the liquor and small bottles to the table. To finish she pulls out a new phone and starts scrolling through her messages. There are a strange amount of heart emojis and gifs from whoever she's talking to, but Elektra speeds through them to get to the recipe. She starts following it as if this is a normal part of her routine now.]

[ he sneaks a peek at what she's doing, hiding a smile by keeping his full attention on the stove. ]

What else did you get me? [ he knows she doesn't drink bourbon, so that impulse had to be an expectation of him coming back. at least, he's going to assume so and be smug until he learns otherwise. ]

[She doesn't like that he presumes anything. Elektra has to concede he isn't wrong. Lauren's idea or not, she still chose to do it for Frank. It still annoys her to be called out however subtly.] I could be trying new things.

[She points out defensively as she starts following Lauren's recipe. The actual doing part isn't too hard. She knows how to make poison so mixing drinks isn't too challenging.]

Well, that's apparent.

[ he admits, starting to plate the first component of their meal. it's simple, but hearty. which seems appropriate for the moment. ]

Do you want to tell me what I missed?

[Elektra nods even with her back turned to him. She supposes now is a good a time as any to get into her incident.] There was a lull at work so I went searching for distractions. I picked the most distracting place I could think of: Las Vegas.

[She frowns, finishing the drink as she talks.] There were complications... many complications.

[ frank raises his eyebrows, that place is distracting alright. and loud. which is funny for a guy who's only ever in new york or LA when he isn't taking over hydra jail but you know what: we never claimed he wasn't a huge hypocrite. ]

Go sit down, you can tell me while we eat. [ he nods his head to the table so he can serve her properly. ]

[She takes the out he offers; only pausing to drop his drink off at his seat before pouring her own from an already open bottle of wine. Once settled, Elektra starts in earnest.] It didn't take me long to get bored. Making myself richer than I already am isn't very entertaining for me. I went to the bar for a drink or four.

[She grimaces. Her judgment really does go downhill when she's bored.] Enough that the bartender started playing therapist.

[Elektra lets out a soft sigh, staring at her glass thoughtfully.] Fortunately for her, I'm much better at it because I don't waste my time listening to words. Bodies do not lie. Hers made it very plain that someone was hurting her on a regular basis.

[She stops here to dig into the food. Elektra has missed his cooking. Now is a good a time as any to let him guess at where she is going with this.]

[ he sits down across from her with a small nod of thanks for his drink. frank thinks of the sister for a moment and closes his eyes in silent prayer. in all his many stints in jail he'd never come back with any of the habits others do. but this time things had been... different. not like he's going to go back to the church any time soon, but he can at least pause before a meal. unfortunately, it gives him the focus to read between the lines of her story. his blue eyes come open, an angry heat in their gaze. ]

You found him. [ that's what they do, isn't it? he reluctantly takes a bite and washes it down with a sip. and then another longer one, he'd missed whiskey as much as she'd missed home cooking, apparently. ]

[Elektra nods, only explaining after a few more fantastic bites.] Without even trying. He was in the women's bathroom making crypt comments about why he had any business in there. I found her in one of the stalls; half her face and neck were purple.

[He'd know better than her what that means. Looking back, did she really have a choice? Lauren would have been another dead body otherwise. Her abuser was rapidly escalating.] Making sure I killed him with all of his men was the only inconvenient part. There's no point in taking most of them out if a survivor shot her the moment I left town.

[Elektra takes a long sip of wine.] Their deaths attracted the worst kind of attention.

[ frank has to smile softly as she recounts it, picturing the moment for himself. he hides any prolonged mirth behind his glass and it's gone a moment later when she mentions trouble. ]

Ongoing attention?

Most likely. Lauren said he had a ninja fetish and I don't think she is wrong. Lucky for us, there's a long list of people who want him dead. He is also absolutely pathetic excuse for a man who cannot win even after altering reality to ensure his victory. He's really no physical threat aside from disgusting me. [She rolls her eyes. Time to stop beating around the bush.]

Have you heard of Arcade?

[ he wrinkles his nose as he listens, eating though he's only getting madder as she goes on. that's not a new phenomenon and like she said she doesn't need him to take care of her problems. ]

These villain names are getting lamer and lamer... [ that's a no btw ] Should I?

[She shakes her head.] No. He's a low level assassin at best. His only claim to fame is trying to force teenagers with special abilities to fight to the death with varying degrees of success.

[Which sadly turned into more of an X-Men problem to Elektra's recollection given that most of the kids were predictably mutants. Elektra can't help thinking cynically that it's the human deaths that he's likely in jail for right now.] He told Wilson Fisk that I was in town killing casino owners. Fisk paid him to keep me there for a while.

[And so she has another weirdo fixated on her. It must be Wednesday.]

[ frank ducks his head over his plate to hide his expression. he knows he wouldn't have done anything differently, but that doesn't mean he gets any pleasure out of kids killing each other. though he looks back up and rolls his eyes at the mention of fisk. ]

Nothing you can't handle, right? [ it's flat - rhetorical. he starts shoveling in his meal to avoid talking about this anymore. ]

“Nothing I couldn't handle.” Elektra confirms. It had been strange. She's not used to robots or augmented reality. She survived as always. They both did. Her eyes travel to his hands as she lets that sink in. She had a close call as well even if there's no mark to show for it. She made it through thanks to a bartender. He'd survived thanks to a nun. They really were birds of a feather. She smiles at the thought and focuses on poorly devouring her food. Silence never troubled her. Now isn't the exception. She'll let it go on comfortably.

He ends up smiling to himself, as always bemused by how Elektra never picks up on any awkwardness. Frank catches her eyes by accident, notices her smile and quickly glances away.

"So, I, uh..." Frank swallows before nervously getting to his feet and gathering their plates without properly checking if she's done or not. He carts everything to the sink and leans against the counter to catch his breath that's suddenly shallowed. He's been through so much fucked up shit, but he realizes this moment is different because he had somewhere to go — someone to come home to. His knuckles go white and he closes his eyes, trying not to see Maria and his babies when he closes his eyes. No such luck.

It's easy to be oblivious when you are always looking for the wrong things in people. Elektra scans for distress or danger. She doesn't see anything that doesn't relate to survival in some way. That is what makes this reaction easier for her to understand. It's weakness. Her back straightens when she sees it in preparation to intervene against an enemy that won't show up here.

It's the reminder that no one is coming that makes her change mental tracks. The only one here to trouble Frank is Frank. She scowls to herself as she rises to her feet. It'd be easier if someone were trying to kill him. She very rarely gets this part right, comforting others, but she has to try for Frank.

She pads silently over, resting a hand on his arm in the barest of touches. She can't be sure what's welcome and what isn't. "Something is troubling you." It's stating the obvious without any demand. He doesn't have to tell her anything....

You could tell me, goes unsaid.

Frank's bicep jumps under her touch, and when he looks up his eyes crash into hers all over again. He hates how vulnerable he must look, less for himself and more because he knows it will make her uncomfortable, but he doesn't move away. Instead, he shifts closer, his free hand coming up to gently trace her cheek as his fingers settle gently on her throat.

"Just... tell me if you want me to stay or go. I don't have the energy to guess anymore."

It takes her a second to process the question. It isn't easy to sort out the way he jumps at her touch with the softness of his barely beat later. Elektra's brows knit together in confusion. She thought the answer had been obvious when she let him back in. Maybe not now that she comes to think of it. Matthew never knew where she stood on anything either. She always said the opposite of what she really wanted with him.

Elektra can't bear to repeat that mistake again with Frank. "I want you to stay." It comes out a little stilted. It feels like weakness to admit as much when the universe could take him away as it did her father. She breaks eye contact because she doesn't want to think about that and end up following her instinct to run. "Frank... there will come a time when I cannot control what will happen to me. I try to prepare for everything, but there are things even I cannot foresee. When that time comes... wouldn't you want me to come back as soon as possible? Or would you want me to stay away for leaving to begin with?" Because she knows where she stands. Her anger and resentment paled in comparison to that desire to have him back.

His hand skates around to the back of her head and he leans in, pressing a dry kiss to the rise of her cheek before slotting his face in next to hers. He's sure he can't smell great, but he can fix that in a minute. Right now he needs this closeness - and to hear those words. "What if... we both just stick together from now on?" He knows it's a naive suggestion, but right now he wants nothing more than to be glued to Elektra's hip for the foreseeable future.

He smells terrible, but she's adjusting. Honestly he is a lot more likely to bathe sometime this month than Logan is. Elektra spends a fair amount of time with him while he's alive.

She allows herself to rest against him. Her weight is nothing to Frank, after all. She wraps on arm around him as she thinks it over. A lifetime ago, a teenage Elektra heard a similar question. Her answer still works even now. "That would be nice." Even then she knew it was naive. They couldn't hide in Matt's dorm room as teens. As a woman, she knows it's really no different. Their enemies will do something to separate them. She'd like to try at least for a little while.

Frank hides a smile against her skin, letting her hold him and just trying to live in the present for once in his stupid life.

"I should probably shower then." To spare her his filth, though the prospect of showing her his new scars comes up in his mind again - stopping him from suggesting she join him. He's not used to these things affecting anyone but himself, he's sure she could understand this just as she does his many other flaws. A fingertip brushes idly over a scar on her shoulder as he contemplates warning her beforehand, he's honestly not sure if it makes a difference either way.

"It would help." Elektra agrees with a laugh too soft for most people to pick up on. It does occur to her that it is strange he isn't inviting her. He's been around her long enough now to know overbathing is never an issue for her. If it wouldn't ruin her skin, she'd probably take three baths and a shower a day. Water is one of the few things capable of relaxing her. She debates the merits of actually confronting him on this since it is so small an issue. It doesn't take her long to realize that if she's thinking about it, she may as well come out and say something. Elektra suspects she hates guesswork almost as much as he does when it comes to them.

"May I join you?"

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