#the devil of hell's kitchen | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

leahkenobi · 1 year

Text

between the crosshairs

frank castle x fem!reader

word count: 2k

summary: you did everything possible to forget the day that the devil of hell’s kitchen and frank castle had saved you. somehow, even your own repression of memories wasn’t enough to keep you safe from enemy arms.

warnings: allusions to sa, guns, kidnapping, reader witnesses a murder, mentions of blood, anxiety, mostly just cannon typical stuff, frank calls reader baby but relationship is undefined

a/n: alright. i’m not gonna act like i’m great at this whole keeping up with a blog thing, it can be quite a struggle for me. but i just got POUNDED with ideas for mr. frank castle thanks to @oliviajdjarin telling me to watch daredevil. so here this is. this is set during the daredevil s2 finale!

a/n 2: to preface this fic if you are reading this, i’m intending to turn this into a bit of a universe if that makes sense. like multiple fics within the same setting and relationship situation. idk. no promises, but that’s the intention. so i suppose this is the first part. if you would like to join the frank tag list lmk and i would be happy to add ya!

the walk home from josie’s was brisk and lonely. the snow was just beginning to flutter down and the wind was whipping it in your face. it was a safe journey you had trekked time and time again.

you stepped over broken glass and other littered items on the side walk and as muscle memory took over, your mind drifted.

he couldn’t be dead, truly, could he? if he wasn’t, where was he? was he safe now?

since the day frank had saved you from the hands of a kitchen irish member, he had been the only thing on your mind. granted, he had help from the devil of hell’s kitchen, but frank was who you always went back to. the way he had soothed you, the way he had taken care of those men who had tried to hurt you, who had tried to take something from you-

you snapped from the memories at the sound of glass crunching behind you. it wasn’t abnormal for others to be walking this street at the late hour, it had happened plenty of times. you moved in unison for a while until the steps behind you increased in speed.

you kept moving, increasing your pace as well, assuming that it was just someone in a hurry. surely they weren’t following you, right?

as the mysterious person on your tail increased their speed even more to match your own, you stuck your hand into your bag, fishing through it for the little pink pepper spray you bought before you had moved to the city.

you risked a peek over your shoulder to see a man with a black ski mask covering his face, and the only thought that came to mind was fuck, you could really use frank right now.

you stopped on the side walk, knowing that running was pointless. you would never outrun this man in heels, and if you could find that damn pepper spray and hit him with it, you could have a chance.

you pulled it out, turning to spray him just as he pulled out his gun, pointing it right at your chest.

your panic rose instantly. even during your altercation with the kitchen irish, a gun was never pointed at you. a whimper nearly left your throat as the man spoke to you.

“drop that fucking pepper spray, don’t say a word, and don’t fight. come easily and quietly, and we won’t have a problem,” the man said to you.

you didn’t release the pepper spray. you tried to push it down, tried to get it to work but the damn thing was jammed-

“i said drop it. drop it now, come with me. now,” the man said with force. every part of your body screamed at you to run, to fight, to do anything to keep this man at bay.

but he took a step closer, bringing the gun right to your chest, right over your heart.

“now,” he repeated. and the pink pepper spray clattered to the ground.

————————————

you were taken to a van filled with others just like you, others that had bound hands and terror written on their faces.

on the trip to wherever these kidnappers, or human traffickers, or murderers (hell you didn’t know) were taking you, an older man tried to stand up for himself, for all of you there. only to be shot through the head.

the fear you felt in that moment was inexplicable. your whole body was burning, your ears unhearing, your eyes watering and your mind running circles. this wasn’t real, this wasn’t real, it wasn’t real-

but it was. it was real and you were here in a van filled with screaming people and the smell of copper was filling the air and the blood was pooling around you.

and then you were being thrown out of the van, onto the cold concrete, knees scraping against it. only to be hauled up again and chased into a building, gun held to your lower back.

all sense of reality was pulled from under you. all you could think was survive survive survive. so you didn’t scream. you weren’t a nuisance. as they threw you into a room, you didn’t cry, you didn’t so much as flinch.

because the less you reacted, the less likely they were to kill you. when the kind looking blonde woman and the beat up man were being targeted by your captors, while they attempted to cut the man’s foot off, you sat stoically. completely unflinching, unmoving as the man screamed and the woman begged and the screams of others filled the room-

and then he was bursting through the window. the devil of the kitchen was here again, to save you all, to get you out. as he took out the men with guns, the other captives ran. as you remained on the ground, hardly thinking anything of the scene, the blonde woman grabbed your bound hands with her own. she shouted at you.

“get up, cmon get up,” she said frantically. her voice pulled you from your stupor, igniting you instinct to survive. she would lead you out, you would survive.

and you did. you made it out. you watched as the blonde woman went to her friend or boyfriend or brother, whoever he was.

you stood there in the middle of the street, unsure of what to do now. you were out, but your mind couldn’t move quick enough. you needed to go- get somewhere safe, but where? and how? where even were you?

your breathing rate must have increased because the nice man with the blonde woman approached you.

“hey, are you alright miss?” he asked.

you breaths kept coming out fast and labored.

“that’s okay, you don’t have to answer. my name is foggy, and that woman over there is karen,” he spoke softly, “can i cut these off of you?”

you nodded firmly, you needed out, needed free, needed to be away from here.

your hands were free, and slowly your breathe came back to you. you had needed the added freedom to move as you wished, and not feel like a captive, apparently.

“do you have a family?” karen asked, her voice kind and gentle.

you shook your head, “no, i-i not here.”

“that’s okay,” she said smiling faintly, “what about a boyfriend, or husband. maybe any friends?”

you shook your head. you had one friend, one who was unreliable, but somehow always there when you needed him. he had always been there, but he was gone now.

“alright, we can take you home,” she said, looking to foggy for help and confirmation. but his gaze was fixed elsewhere, focused in on the roof where some sort of fight was breaking out.

shots were heard by all of the people who were flooded in the street. loud, piercing gun shots. panic swelled in your chest once more, not sure of where the shooter was aiming.

but the shooter would never aim at you. no, that was his girl down there, his girl stood in between that lawyer and the blonde who he’d met through him.

that was his girl he saw in his crosshairs, shaking in the street, wrists bloody and red.

“y/n?” he muttered to himself quietly on the roof.

he wanted to run to you. right now, he wanted to jump from these buildings, climb down, get to you. you were bleeding and he needed to get to you, to keep you safe, protect you-

but he couldn’t. because he was dead. he was dead and he couldn’t just run into the bustling street filled with cops and strangers who had all known him as the punisher.

he couldn’t do anything as you were coaxed into a car with the lawyer and karen. he couldn’t get down there to stop the car, to get to you.

but he could meet them at the location. he could find you again. they would probably bring you home or to their office, maybe even karen’s apartment. he would find you, search all over this goddamn city to get to you.

————————————

karen spoke with you softly in the car, asking about where you lived and where you worked. you could hardly focus on what she saying to you, confused about why she needed to know what you did for a living. you couldn’t understand that she probably was trying to figure out who to call to check in on you- even if it was just a coworker, you needed someone right now.

eventually, you reached your home. foggy and karen helped you inside your apartment, carefully walking you up all the stairs to the quaint studio style living space.

as soon as you reached your door, you pulled out your spare key from under the welcome mat and began to turn it in the lock.

“um.. thank you for helping me and bringing me home. that was… that was very kind,” you said to the two of them.

foggy gave you a nod. “it was no problem, honestly. i’m just glad we’re both okay,” karen said. you couldn’t understand how you had both been in the same situation and you could hardly function while she was here, bringing you home. how you had both seen that man get shot, how you had both been in that room-

she cleared her throat. “here, why don’t you give me your phone so i can give you my number. that way if you need anyone, you have me to text or call,” karen said.

“okay,” you nodded softly and gave her your phone, cracked from having been in your pocket.

“try to get some rest,” karen said after entering her number and turning to leave.

“i’ll try,” you responded politely, knowing just how unlikely that was. these past few days had been too much. with frank, with work, with this now too, you couldn’t take anymore.

“g’night,” foggy shouted as he climbed down the stairs with karen.

you didn’t even have the energy to respond.

you pushed open the door to your apartment, ready to collapse on the ground instead of attempting to get to your bed. it was all too much, you just needed to lay down for a while.

as you closed the door behind you, your back turned to the room, you heard a voice you never thought you would hear again.

“y/n,” frank said.

you whipped your head. and there he was, standing in the middle of the room waiting for you. expecting you.

“frank?” you questioned, knowing the answer, knowing he was there, right there.

“frank,” you said again, moving in closer, a slight whine in your tone.

“frank,” you said once more as he crashed into you, holding you together as you sobbed into him, as all of the pieces you were holding together while those nice people brought you here fell apart.

“oh y/n,” he said, pulling you impossibly closer, his jacket brushing against your tee.

“please,” you said, not even sure what you were asking for at this point.

“shh shh shh,” frank whispered, “it’s going to be okay, i’m here now, i’m here.”

you clung to him, the fabric of his coat bunched under your hands. he was here now. it would be okay.

“i won’t let them hurt you again, y/n. i swear,” he said.

you only sobbed into him harder.

hours could have passed, but you would have had no idea. all you could feel was him, his body holding you up. his presence keeping you safe.

“i’ve got you now, baby,” frank said, gently pulling you off of him to look at your face. his callused hands met your soft face, brushing away the tears that hadn’t quite stopped falling.

“let me see,” he said, grabbing a hold of your hands and wrists.

he inspected them, raw and bloody from the restraints.

he tutted. “what did they do to you?” he spoke more to himself than to you.

he brought you to edge of the sink, lifting you with ease onto the counter. he examined your knees while he had you sat up there. bloody with bits of gravel, he knew that cleaning those cuts wouldn’t be fun.

“i’ll take care of you, y/n. i got you,” he assured again, and all you could do was lean your tired head against his shoulder.

taglist:

@oliviajdjarin

#frank castle #frank castle x reader #frank castle imagine #frank castle fic #frank castle angst #the punisher #punisher #daredevil #daredevil s2 #matt murdock #the devil of hell's kitchen #karen page #foggy nelson #castle #kastle #mcu #david lieberman

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