bfi-archive

[bfi-archive]

CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE - MIGUEL OHARA

//idk why this took so long to post, it was already done when i revisited it. edit: nvm its cause i kinda missed some of the request//

Pairing: dad!miguel x GN!reader

Word Count: 1,801

Summary (request): hii, this is platonic request! can you do a fic where miguel comforts a reader ( gender neutral if possible ) who's turned 18 recently and is super anxious because their parents are pressuring them to pick a career/collage, decide what they wanna do in the future, etc and it's all making them feel really overwhelmed and restless?

“Hey there, kiddo.” Your dad strided into your room with your mom in tow. “How’s homework?”

“It’s fine.” You answered quizzically. “What’s going on here?” You gestured to the two of them.

“Well, we just came to see if you needed anything.”

“No, I’m okay. Thanks though.”

“Honey.” Your mom offered your dad a look and you could tell there was something else.

“Okay.” You sighed and pushed away from your desk. “What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?” Your dad tried, which earned him a pointed look from you.

“Alright, alright.” He put his hands up in surrender. “Your mother and I-”

“You need to start thinking about your next step.” Your mom cut in.

“Oh… Guys, I’ve still got time.” You tried. “Besides, I’m not sure what I want to major in.”

And that was true. There was so much going on with your vigilantism and latest recruitment into the Spider Society that you hadn’t had time to sit and think about your major, let alone what school you wanted. You knew MIT and Columbia were great options. Harvard was on the table, as were the other Ivys. But what was the point of applying if you didn’t know why you would be there?

“Calendar wise, yes, there’s time. But you know how steep the competition to these higher schools can be. Are you ready for the SATs? Or the ACTs?” Your mom continued, and her high emotions began to grate your own sensitive nerves.

“Mom.” You tried.

“We’ll pay the application fees.” Your dad offered, though your mom was still on her rant.

“No, I don’t need you to.” You told him.

“And your personal essay, what would you write about? Do you have any ideas? Oh goodness, there’s so much to do.”

“Mom.” You said roughly, finally cutting through her own words. “I don’t know, okay? I’ve been busy… I haven’t thought about it.”

“You can’t waste time anymore, Y/N.” Your mom said firmly, pushing your chair back against the desk.

“I’m not wasting time, Mom. Please just relax.”

“Sweetie, maybe Y/N needs to do this at a different pace.” Your dad offered and you gave a thankful expression.

“I don’t care.” She snapped. “My child won’t miss an opportunity because of hesitation.”

She slid your laptop in front of you and then leaned down to meet your eyes. “This is your chance to get somewhere better than this.”

“I like where I come from.” You said honestly.

“That doesn’t mean you have to stay here.”

“How about I take Y/N to the library to do these?” Your dad offered. “Wi-fi’s been acting up today.”

“Yeah, and maybe I’ll find inspiration.” You added on. “I can look through some books and see if anything feels right… I get what you’re saying, Mom, but I don’t want to rush into something I shouldn’t.”

She blew out a sigh and stood straight. “Fine.” She conceeded. “But please, get at least two done today.”

“Yeah, okay.” You nodded, figuring you could at least do that much, even if just to please your mom.

After all, she had given you everything she could growing up. Her and your dad gave up a lot so you would have what you needed and what you wanted. You didn’t have everything under the sun but you had more than enough. And that dedication was what inspired your actions as a spider-person. Your parents looked out for you in ways no one else ever would. They put everything on the line for a payout that didn’t always go in their favor, but in yours.

And being able to give that back to the community you grew up in, the community that supported you and welcomed you. That was what you wanted your adult life to be, something so giving and so genuine that it could inspire someone else to do the same.

But what kind of career or schooling could give that to you?

When your dad dropped you off, he gave you his credit card and said your mom would be checking the account to see the pending charge so you had to keep your end of the deal. You offered a laugh and thanked him for getting you out of the house.

“Kid, I know she’s a bit overbearing but she wants what’s best for you.” Your dad said honestly.

“I know, Dad.” You nodded. “I’m just a little bit caught in the middle right now. Can’t look too far ahead.”

“Can’t look back, either… Remember where you come from, of course, but don’t let it hold you back. Okay?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Call when you’re done.”

You offered a lazy sluate before skipping up the library steps. Once your dad’s car was out of view, you ducked around the side of the building to the library’s alley. You pulled your watch from your backpack before tucking it behind the usual pile of boxes and fit the device into place. You weren’t even in your suit but you’d wandered HQ in your pajamas before, so coming in your school clothes wouldn’t be a big deal.

Once you stepped through your portal, various spider-people greeted you in the halls. You offered nods or waves but didn’t stop for much conversation, not until you reached the head honcho’s office.

“What are you doing here?” He asked without turning to face you. Surprisingly, his platform was actually ground level today, meaning no one had annoyed him enough to raise it. “Don’t you have something else you should be doing?”

“No.” You shrugged. “It’s still daylight back home and the weirdos don’t start till dusk, at least so…”

“Not what I meant.”

“Then what?”

“Those college applications you promised your mom.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah, oh.”

“Why are you spying on me anyway?” You asked, hoping to change the subject.

“Because you, insectito, are the biggest pain the ass here… So what’s the problem then?”

“I don’t know what I wanna do with my life.” You said honestly, scooting some of his papers over so you could sit on the desk. “Mom wants me to just throw my name in the pot everywhere to see what happens and Dad just wants to make Mom happy.”

“Mmm.. And what do you want?”

You shrugged. “I dunno.”

“What do you like to do? Any classes in school get you excited?”

“Not really.. Bio is cool sometimes but..”

“That’s a start.” He glanced over with a small, almost proud smile that lasted half a second. “Biology major is broad enough to start picking schools.”

“I guess but-”

“What about bio do you like?”

“Miguel, can you just-”

“People, plants, or animals?”

You groaned and flopped backwards on the desk, throwing your arms over your eyes. You thought coming to Miguel would be a good time to rant and not be given advice, because half of the time he seemed to drown out your voice anyways. But of course the one time you just needed him to ignore your words, he had to do the exact opposite of what you wanted.

“You’re the worst.” You muttered, to which you felt a kick to your foot. “Hey!”

“Y/N, your parents are right.” He started and you groaned again. “You’re a smart kid but you have to find some sort of direction.”

“I’m just caught up in the middle, trying to keep going.. But it’s just not that simple.” You complained and when you got no answer, you kept talking. “But I have to keep going or they’ll call me a quitter.”

“Who will?”

“Everyone.” You shrugged. “I don’t know, probably no one.”

Miguel turned fully and took hold of your arms to haul you upright. You let out a loud sound of complaint as he did so and you didn’t bother to fight it, not that you’d have much of a chance to do so anyway. You dramatically let your head fall back so you could see his expression and he looked down at you with a small smile. You huffed a sigh and raised your brows expectantly as you waited for him to say something.

“What about a geneticist?” He offered and you were taken aback, no doubt your face showing it because he gave a quick chuckle. “I’m serious.”

“Yeah, you usually are but what the hell are you talking about?” You said in bewilderment.

He shrugged slightly before turning back to his work and you couldn’t help but follow him.

“You’re always lurking around to see what I’m doing.” He explained. “You ask questions about what I do and how all of my stuff works.”

“Like that injection you refuse to talk about.” You agreed and peaked up with a questioning expression. Without looking at you, he pushed your face away.

“Exactly.” He agreed with a nod. “And then you could study your own DNA and see if you can find anything cool.”

“I could give myself fangs!” You yelled with excitement before camping a hand over your mouth when you realized how loud you were.

“Yeah, and then you give yourself a lisp.” He rolled his eyes slightly. “What I’m saying is that maybe some sort of higher level biology career is where you’re heading… You’re one of the smarter spiders around here anyways. Might as well do something other than engineering.”

“Don’t you think science in general is a bit stereotypical for a spider? … Oh, shit. Is it our canon?”

“No.” He laughed a little. “There’s a Peter Parker around here that’s a photographer for a newspaper.”

“Oh.. That’s fun?” You tried.

“He takes fake candids of Spiderman and sells them to his Daily Bugle.” Miguel deadpanned and you laughed. “Not every spider leads a strenuous academic life.”

“But you think I could?”

“I think you should. Y/N, you’re always challenging yourself physically. Maybe it’s time to do it academically.” He shrugged. “But what do I know?”

You pursed your lips in thought as you considered his words. Maybe not genetics, but a STEM field could be fun. And with your current academic status, you’d be able to swing one of the better programs with better labs and better opportunities. You could try your hand at different branches and see what stuck. Even if you didn’t find one, you’d have a better direction for a graduate school at the very least.

“Thanks.” You said honestly with a small smile. “That actually helped… You always do.”

He put a hand on your head and gave you a small shake that made you laugh.

You went home after that and headed straight into the library after you fished out your backpack. You ended up doing four applications and got a text from your mom after each one. With every submission, you felt a little less stuck.

[bfi-archive]

DONT BE A FOOL - MATT MURDOCK

Pairing: matt x wife!reader

Word Count: 2, 156

Summary: After a very tense argument about a misused name, your apologetic husband ends up getting looped in by your students.

//follow-up to three empty words but can probably be read on its own//

The next morning, you refused to dilly dally your morning routine. Your shower was quick, your hair and makeup remained simple. Even your outfit was more or less the first thing you grabbed from your closet. You gathered all of your papers - which you hadn’t gotten around to grading the night before - and your laptop before Matt’s alarm had even gone off.

You skipped making breakfast, deciding to stop at a coffee shop on the way to work instead, and hustled out the door. You ignored the still sleeping figure of Elektra on your couch even though your brain wanted to soak her with cold water and kick her out. You did slam the door on your way out but that was just to satisfy your own anger.

You walked into your classroom and let out a loud sigh as you dropped into your deskchair. You were thankful to be out of the house, in your own space for the time being. As you began grading the papers and piling them according to the hours, your mind wandered back to the night before. You wondered if Elektra would be out of your apartment when you got back. You wondered if Matt would tell Foggy and Karen that you two got into a fight last night. You then found yourself wondering if Matt was actually going to go to work that morning.

You realized you were staring blankly at the student’s worksheet in front of you so you shook the thoughts and focused on the daunting stacks before you.

Most of the hours were business as usual. Your normal rowdy students were a bit extra, but that might’ve been due to your already grated nerves more than their own behaviors. It wasn’t until the hour before lunch that you found some of your students more huddled and secretive than usual.

“What are you doing in the corner?” You called, peaking over your computer at the small group. “There’s, what, five minutes till the bell?”

“Mrs. Murdock, what’s your husband’s name?” One of the girls, Liv, asked with an innocent expression. The same one she gave you when she explained her lacking assignments.

“Matthew.” You titled down your screen to see them better. “Why?”

“What does he do again?”

“Lawyer. Why?”

“Is he handsome?” Another girl, Nicole, asked with wiggling eyebrows.

You had to refrain from rolling your eyes at your middle schoolers.

“Yes, very.” You smiled slightly. “I wouldn’t have married him if he wasn’t.”

“And if he’s a lawyer, he’s gotta be smart, right?”

“Again, very. He went to Columbia.”

“So like… Is he why you’re so sad today?” Blake, the only boy in the group, chimed in with a nonchalant shrug.

“Guys.” You frowned slightly. “I’m not sure what you’re doing, but I’m not sad. Me and Mr. Murdock are fine. We’re happily married. And you should be worried about your own relationship drama, not mine.”

“So you admit there’s drama?” Nicole countered quickly.

“Between Blake and Emmy? Yes.” You nodded and Emmy’s jaw dropped while her friends poked her teasingly. “Between me and Mr. Murdock, no.”

“Mhmm.. So why is the photo face down?”

“What?”

“The photo by your computer.” She came across the room and lifted the frame near your laptop that was in fact, face down. “You told us on the first day that this was one your favorite photos and you have it on it’s face… There’s drama, Mrs. Murdock.”

“You’re very observant, Nicole. Thank you.” You said flatly as you took the frame from her hands and set it in it’s rightful position. “I must’ve knocked it over when I was trying to find you and Liv’s missing portfolio project.” “You can’t deflect, Mrs. M.” Liv added from across the room. “It’s all over your face.”

“Y’know what.” You announced, standing from your desk. “The bell rings in less than two minutes. You guys can all go to lunch early.”

A chorus of questions arose while you heard the door being pushed open.

“They can’t write you all up.” You shrugged and dropped back in your chair while the meddling group made their way into the hall.

The girls continued to whisper to themselves and glanced back at you, to which you shooed them away. When you were finally alone in your classroom, you let out a heavy sigh and rubbed a hand over your eyes.

Usually, you adored having open communication with your students because that meant they trusted you. But at the same time, that meant they felt entitled to know your life story whether you like it or not. The bell echoed in your ears so you spun your chair to the small fridge under your desk that held your lunch.

You clicked play on a playlist from your laptop and began eating your lunch, typing away to enter in grades. You knew you should just do nothing, scroll mindlessly on your social medias instead or maybe even call Foggy to ensure Matt made it to work, but the busy work for your eyes, head, and hands felt better. Plus, you weren’t exactly sure what you would’ve said that could’ve gotten your question answered without being a dead giveaway. So you kept working instead.

“MRS. MURDOCK!” Liv nearly yelled as she burst through your door, maybe halfway through the lunch hour. “OHMYGODYOULLNEVERBELIEVE-”

“Liv!” You said in shock, nearly dropping your water bottle. “What is going on? Is everything okay?”

“Look at this!” She hurried across and showed you her phone screen. Oddly enough, it was a photo of the back of a man exiting a taxi. What stood out to you was the white cane in his hand.

“It’s a guy getting out a cab.” You tried to reason, gently pushing her phone away. “That’s what you ran in here to tell me?”

“But he’s blind!”

“So it seems.”

“Don’t you know what this means?” She insisted with a small stomp.

You simply shrugged and raised your brows.

“It’s Mr. Murdock! He came to apologize!”

“Liv, I appreciate your concern for my marriage but we’re fine, okay? It’s not like he and I are heading towards a divorce. We’re just in a bit of an argument. It’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure? Because I’ve never seen you so…” She gestured vaguely to you.

“Yes, I’m sure. Now go back to your lunch, please. I have to finish these.”

“But-”

“No.”

“Mrs. M, just-”

“Liv, boundaries, please.”

“Just listen!”

“No.” You said firmly. “Go back to your lunch.”

She huffed slightly but retreated to the door. As she was heading out, she nearly ran into one of the monitors.

“Sorry to intrude, Y/N.” The monitor said as she popped her head in. “I have a visitor for you.”

“Another one of my kids being a problem?” You sighed and wheeled yourself a bit further from your desk. “Send ‘em in. They can sit in the corner till next class.”

“Actually, I think you’ll be glad to see this one.” She smiled knowingly and reached for something outside the doorframe.

Before you could voice another question, she ushered Matt through the door. He said his usual thanks for being guided and the monitor gave you an approving nod and thumbs up. She mouthed a very not subtle ‘He’s very handsome’. You smiled awkwardly in agreement but once the door closed, you rolled your eyes and went back to your gradebook.

“Could’ve called.” You said simply.

“I didn’t think you would answer.” Matt replied honestly.

“Probably wouldn’t have… Shouldn’t you be at work?”

“I couldn’t focus.”

You heard the clicks of him folding his cane as he wandered around your classroom. You peaked up to watch him manueaver the desks with such ease that for a split second, you forgot he was blind. You watched him run his fingers along the bulletin board you had on one wall, leading into the standards and other required signage you had up.

“Did she leave?” You asked and returned to your prior task. You knew if you watched him for too long, he’d know and he’d show you that stupid lopsided smirk that he did.

“She was still pretty weak when I left.” He said and there was a slight sadness in his voice. Though if someone asked if it was for Elektra or your argument, you wouldn’t have been able to say. “But I did ask Stick to find somewhere else to take her to recover if she can’t leave on her own by the time someone gets home.”

“Chivalrous.” You made a face behind your computer screen. “You didn’t have to come all the way here to tell me that.”

He sighed slightly and you mumbled a short complaint to yourself before scooting away from your desk and spinning in your chair to face him, just as he appeared at your side. You folded your hands over your stomach and leaned back in your chair, giving an exaggerated sigh and nod for him to talk.

“Y/N, last night, I said something I shouldn’t have.” He began carefully, as if he was following a carefully rehearsed speech. For all you knew, he had rehearsed it with Foggy that morning before he showed up. “I let Stick push me and I just said the first thing that came to mind.”

“But she shouldn’t be the first thing, right?” You said softly with a small shrug. “Stick shouldn’t be able to push you into saying that, whether you meant it or not.”

“You’re right.” He admitted and your brows went up slightly. “I shouldn’t have said that. You are the only woman that I want to be with. I married you, without any hesitation. I never had second thoughts or second thoughts or anything. You, Y/N Murdock, have my heart.”

You nodded slowly but said nothing as you stood. You crossed your arms and looked up at him, him offering a hopeful expression in return. You broke into a small smile and nudged him with your shoulder before moving past him. He followed you almost instantly and you took him to the wall on the other side of your desk near the window.

“The kids started calling this the Sweetheart’s Spotlight.” You said quietly with a small smile. “They keep a polaroid camera in one of the cubbies and every Friday, they rearrange the couples in order of their favorites… They made me put a photo of us on here, too.”

“Where do we rank?” He smiled slightly.

“We’ve been number one since it started.” You laughed. “They tell me that you’re the best by default since I’m their favorite teacher.”

“Lucky me.”

“You know I’m still upset, right?” You said carefully when the air was too light between you two.

“I know.” He nodded. “I can hear it in your voice.”

“But I also don’t want to hold onto this fight. So here’s an idea. Elektra’s out of the apartment today. You two finish whatever crusade you’re on. You make sure you don’t get yourself killed. She leaves New York and it’s all put to bed.”

“Consider it done.” He nodded. “And I know better than to get myself killed. I’ve got it too good to die.”

“Yeah because then I’m a widow and there’s not much life insurance to cash in on.” You joked as the lunch bell rang.

“I should get going.” He nodded before gently taking your hand. “I love you. So much.”

“I love you too.” You said softly as your students started filing in.

“OHMYGOD.” One of your students yelled and you closed your eyes tightly, quietly groaning in embarrassment. “IS THAT WHO I THINK IT IS?”

“Yes, Luna.” You said, feeling the blush across your cheeks. “This is Mr. Murdock and he’s leaving.”

You pulled Matt towards the door as he laughed. Your kids yelled questions that you tried to ignore until Matt stopped, pulling you to stop with him.

“It’s career week!” One of the boys yelled. More so a demand.

“I’m aware, Jack.” You nodded. “What does that have to do with this?”

“He’s not here to talk to us about lawyers?” The boy’s head cocked as he asked his question.

“That’s exactly why I’m here.” Matt grinned and you groaned again. “Let’s give Mrs. Murdock a break, right?”

“You’re so dead.” You threatened quietly with a laugh before heading back to your chair. 

“Okay, kids.” You announced. “He’s blind and can’t write. I’m not getting up. Take your own notes and keep your questions relevant to his career, okay?”

“Yes, Mrs. Murdock.” They all answered.

“All yours, Mr. Murdock.” You gestured before returning to grading and the personal questions started flying.

“How did you guys meet?!”

“What’s her favorite color?!”

“Did you see the wall?!” “He can’t see!”

“Are they always this rowdy?” He asked you with a slight laugh.

“You’re new and exciting.” You shrugged. “Take it as a compliment.”

[bfi-archive]

BABY SAID - MATT MURDOCK

Pairing: matt x reader

Word Count: 1,976

Summary (request): Hey, may I make a Matt x Reader request. Foggy wants to meet Matt's new girlfriend. Foggy and Karen are supposed to meet you at Josie's. (You and Matt have a little plan to annoy Foggy.) You arrive later than the others and walk past the trio, foggy notices you and flirts with you. The idea came to me with the quote // Matt Murdock : How would I even know she's a beautiful woman? Foggy Nelson : I don't know. It's kinda spooky, actually. But if there's a stunning woman with questionable character in the room, Matt Murdock's gonna find her, and Foggy Nelson is gonna suffer.

“Are you sure?” You asked from the car, phone to your ear as you leaned on your steering wheel. “What if they hate me?”

“They won’t hate you.” He laughed. “I’ll make sure they know it was my idea.”

“Yeah, what a great first impression. I look like that girl and you look like a two timer.. You really think they’ll believe you’re a cheater?”

“It’s not gonna be like that.” He laughed again. “I haven’t told them we’re together together. They think it’s just one dates here and there.”

“And you’re positive they’ll think it’s funny?”

“Yeah, probably.”

“Probably? Matt!” You whined.

“Sweetheart, I promise, it’ll be okay.”

“Fine.” You huffed and turned the key to shut off the car. “I’ll be in in a minute.”

You dropped your phone to your lap and pulled down your visor to check yourself in the mirror. You seemed put together enough. Hair looked good, makeup fresh. You sighed and slammed the visor up before grabbing your purse and exiting your vehicle. You chirped the alarm and dropped the keys in your purse as you headed into Josie’s.

You scanned the place and found Matt with who you assumed were his friends back at the pool table. You were meeting Matt’s friend for the first time and he had the brilliant idea that morning to pretend that you weren’t his girlfriend. He wanted you to come up and flirt with him to get a reaction from his friends before he would tell them anything. It sounded fun enough earlier, but as you sat at the bar, your stomach twisted into tight knots.

You were absolutely terrified that his friends wouldn’t find it funny. What if they thought you were a homewrecker? What if they didn’t want anything to do with you after that? Your anxious thoughts and tapping on the bar top came to a screeching halt when someone sat next to you.

“Hey.” He said kindly. You jumped slightly and turned your head so quick you thought you’d given yourself whiplash. You recognized him as Matt’s friend, Foggy.

“Hi.” You said carefully. “Any chance you know how to get a drink in this place? Bartender hasn’t even looked this way.” You tried with a nervous smile.

“Oh, yeah!” He grinned, happy to help. “What were you looking to get?”

“Something with bourbon.” You glanced around to find Matt turned towards you with a small smirk. “Probably a double.”

“Easy.” Foggy nodded before successfully waving down the bartender and ordering for you. “I’m Foggy, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you.” You smiled kindly as your drink came out. “You seem to know your way around here.”

“Me and my buddies come here all the time.. I'd introduce you but…”

“But?” Your brows raised in interest while you dipped your drink.

“You see that guy over there?” He pointed over your shoulder and you swiveled in your seat to see him point at Matt. “That’s Matt.”

“Why the glasses?” You feigned ignorance.

“He’s blind.”

“Is that why you won’t introduce me?”

“No.” He laughed awkwardly. “No, not at all. See, he has this thing where he just knows when a beautiful woman is around.”

“Ah.” You nodded and turned back to Foggy. “And you think that’d be a problem?”

“Yeah.” He laughed with a nod. “Definitely.”

“Oh c’mon.” You tried with a mischievous smile, the knots in your stomach now loosening due to the liquor. “I think it’d be fun.”

Foggy sighed slightly and ran a hand over his face. You pursed your lips slightly and gave a small lift to your brows to make your eyes a little bigger to silently plead for Foggy to let you. His head dropped as he muttered to himself before he excused himself with the promise of returning.

“This just got interesting.” You mumbled into your glass as you watched Foggy talk to Matt and Karen. He gestured over to you and you sent a small wave in return. When the conversation dragged on, you grabbed your drink and headed over to join them which caused them to aggressively shush each other.

“Please.” You smiled. “Don’t stop on my account.”

“Hi. I’m Karen.” Karen smiled and offered you a hand from the other side of the pool table.

“Nice to meet you.” You grinned and shook her hand. “How do you know these guys?”

“We work together.”

“Cool. What do they do?”

“Lawyers.” Matt spoke up and the smoothness of his voice made your stomach flip. “We actually have our own firm, Nelson and Murdock.”

“Oh, I think I’ve heard of you guys.” You said quickly, as if a sudden realization. “You do a lot of local work, right That’s pretty cool.”

“You think so?” Matt’s brows raised as he gave you a small smirk.

“Yeah, I always thought being a lawyer would be cool but I can’t argue without crying.” You shrugged. “Instead, I just do hobbies and be an EMT.”

“Like a paramedic?” Karen asked.

“On the way.” You nodded. “Few more courses and tests, probably about a year's worth of work, give or take.”

“That’s so cool!”

“Thanks. Are you a lawyer too?”

“Office manager.” She nodded.

“But she does some really great research and investigating.” Foggy chimed in proudly, pointing a finger at his friend. “Don’t sell yourself short, Page.”

She put her hands up in surrender and you both laughed.

“So Ms. EMT, gotta be pretty good with your hands then.” Matt teased and you pushed your tongue against your cheek to block the smile. “For dressing wounds and giving care. That kind of stuff.”

“Y’know, I’ve yet to have a complaint so I gotta be doing something right.” Your head tilted and he grinned. “And you? You a hot shot lawyer or does your friend do it better?”

Matt chuckled slightly and wagged a finger at you before turning away to get his drink from the table. You blew out a small breath of relief before leaning against the pool table, sipping your own drink again. Foggy came up beside you in the meantime.

“Sorry about him.” He said nervously and you saw Matt turn back with an offended expression. You used your free hand to cover your mouth in an effort to hide your smile. “Told you, sixth sense.”

“I’ll take it as a compliment… I think?” You joked and Foggy laughed. “It’s really okay. He seems nice.”

“That’s how it starts.” Foggy sighed. “Next thing you know, he’s smooth taking you back to his apartment.”

“I’ll be careful.” You nodded. “Are you as smooth as him?”

“Lucky for you, I taught him everything he knows.” Foggy grinned. “He’s like my padawan and I’m his Yoda.”

“Jedis.” Your brows raised in interest and Foggy laughed. “I would’ve guessed that one was a sith.” You whispered as if a secret.

“Well he’s Catholic so..”

“Ah.” You nodded. “A vanilla jedi then.”

Foggy laughed and you took a glance at Matt, who was trying to keep his smirk back while crossing his arms over his chest. You tipped your drink towards him as a toast and you saw the way his body language shifted, accepting the challenge you unintentionally laid out.

“Hey, can I steal her for a second?” Karen said, suddenly at your side. “It’s just, there’s some makeup on the collar of her shirt.”

“Oh shit. Really?” You jumped up quickly and set down your drink, tugging your shirt to try and see what she meant.

“Don’t worry, it happens to me all the time. I can help.”

“Thank you.” You sighed and let her pull you into the restroom.

You leaned into the mirror but couldn’t find anything on your shirt. You turned back to Karen in confusion but she was wringing her hands.

“Everything okay?” You asked carefully. “I get the feeling the makeup thing was just a clever excuse.”

“Yeah, no, you’re fine. You look great.” She smiled quickly.

“Thanks… So what’s wrong?”

“Well… I think Matt has a girlfriend.”

“Oh..”

“He hasn’t said anything officially but he’s been on a few dates with her and just has this look after he talks to her on the phone, y’know. Anyways, um, I just… He’s charming, sure, but…”

“Right.” You nodded. “I totally understand. I didn’t mean to overstep. I was just going off what he was doing… Thanks for telling me.”

She nodded quickly before following you back to the boys. You liked that Karen stood up for your unconfirmed relationship. It really showed you could trust her. 

“… Matt Murdock’s gonna find her. And Foggy Nelson’s gonna suffer.” Foggy ranted, not noticing you two had returned. “Besides, what about that girl you’re always calling?”

“Sounds like someone’s committed.” You announced, getting both boys’ attention. “If that’s how you talk to me, I can only imagine how you talk to your special lady friend.”

“I bet you’ll have fun with that thought.” Matt countered smoothly and you flattened your palms against the side of the pool table. His brows raised and he mimicked your stance.

“What would she have to say about that?”

“You’d be surprised.”

“Okay, guys, maybe we-“ Karen tried before looking to Foggy for help while trying to pull you back.

“Dude!” Foggy urged and smacked his friend’s arm. “What are you doing?”

“I’d tone it down, Murdock.” You warned as you reached across for your drink before you straightened. “You’re not being a very good Catholic. Isn’t adultery a sin?”

“Dear God.” Matt mumbled and stood tall, backing away a few steps.

“So, Foggy.” You said when the silence got thick. “How’d you two meet?”

“We met in college. He was my roommate.” Foggy explained, patting his friend on the back. “It’s like we were soulmates.”

“Sounds like your girl’s got some competition.” You laughed. “Does she know how deep this bromance goes?”

“I’d hope so.” Foggy nodded with a small shrug. “But we won’t know till he makes a move.”

“She’s a lucky girl.” You said honestly. “With a guy like that and new friends like you two… What else could a girl want?”

“Y’know, you’re more than welcome to keep joining us.” Foggy offered.

“Yeah, I’d love to be friends.” You grinned and Matt smiled proudly.

After a little while of conversation, the boys were drinking more than you and Karen were. You laughed as Foggy stumbled to the jukebox and sent up five songs that he “just had to dance to”. He grabbed Karen’s hand, which left Matt to come and get yours.

“You like dancing?” He said quietly in your ear as he pulled you against his chest.

“With the right partner.” You answered with the same tone. “I like your friends. Karen’s a real girl’s girl and Foggy’s real nice.”

“Yeah, I think they like you too.”

“And I like how they seem to already know that you’re taken without you saying it.” You smiled and he blushed slightly.  “Are you gonna say it?”

“That you’re my girlfriend?” His brows raised and you hummed in agreement. “I’d scream it from the rooftops if you wanted me to.”

“You would not.” You giggled.

“Mhmm. And if someone asked why, I’d tell them because my baby said so.”

“Your baby?” Foggy asked loudly and his sudden appearance made you jump. “This is the girl?” He nearly yelled.

“Hi.” You waved awkwardly.

“So wait.” Karen laughed slightly. “All that flirting was on purpose?”

“Yeah… But I appreciate you pulling me aside before.” You said honestly.

“Ohmygod?” Foggy continued. “I almost flirted with your girlfriend.” He whispered loudly to Matt.

“Almost?” You questioned with a laugh.

“Here to break it to you, buddy.” Matt deadpanned before breaking into a laugh. “It’s fine. We planned for that.”

“WHAT!?” Foggy yelled and you laughed again.

You were fully confident that you had a good group around you now. 

[bfi-archive]

NEVER FELT SO ALONE - MARC SPECTOR

Pairing: Marc x Reader

Word Count: 2,579

Summary (Request): hey!! i just finished moon knight and was wondering if can request a marc spector x reader fic or basically all of the moon knight boys where marc cheats on the reader so she doesnt get hurt and by cheating on her there would be no questions or suspicions coming from the reader n all. (basically same way how marc tries to divorce layla but she ended up finding out the truth in d end) angst with happy ending pls <33

//i don’t like cheating tropes so i didn’t actually have marc cheat and also… marc spector brainrot. love it. him and matty have permanent spaces in my brain//

marc spector fic where marc cheats on the reader so she doesnt get hurt and by cheating on her there would be no questions or suspicions coming from the reader n all. (basically same way how marc tries to divorce layla but she ended up finding out the truth in d end) angst with happy ending pls <33 

“He’s been gone too long.” You paced your living room with your phone in your hand.

You were speaking to yourself, of course, given that your boyfriend was out on the town yet again doing God knew what. You knew he kept secrets, he always had. Just getting him to talk about what music he liked or what movies he liked was like pulling teeth. But of course, it wasn’t always like that. There were more goods than bads so you were willing to put up with his distance and fight and poke and prode to get him to tell you something of substance because he knew you.

He loved to hear you talk about your life. Your childhood, family and friends, work. He liked to hear you talk about your favorite shows and books, ranting about what stupid things your beloved fictional characters were doing and how you knew they were smarter than that. He asked you about school and sometimes brought food to your campus if he had time before he disappeared on some job. He’d leave a few hidden notes before he left too - usually under your pillow, in your wallet, and under your favorite bowl. You once found a note between pages of your book, his own anticipation of how far you’d get while he was gone.

Problem this time around was that there were no notes this time. There was no text or voicemail. There was no explanation. Admittedly, it happened sometimes. Sometimes it was so sudden he didn’t have time to let you know anything, but even then, he was never gone that long.

This time around, before he left, you noticed some odd things. You noticed more hushed conversations, hidden phone messages, darting glances, looking over his shoulder. He spoke even less than usual, as if he was building a wall between you two. Looking to put distance. You noticed his phone was being turned off when he left the house and a few times during his absence, you could’ve sworn you’d seen him running into the local museum.

Usually you could shrug off his odd behavior because, overall, Marc Spector was an odd man. You knew his life had been challenging and naturally, it closed him off in some regards. But shutting you out completely, going radio silence at the drop of a hat, that just wasn’t like him.

So you did some digging.

Given his phone was off, you couldn’t track any sort of locations from there. You didn’t know who he worked with when he left, save for one woman named Layla who was often as off grid as he was, so you couldn’t ask anyone. He hardly talked about family and you weren’t even sure he had friends other than you so that was a dead end. The only real starting point you had was that museum.

When your last class ended, you hopped on the crowded bus and headed over. You were welcomed by the man at the front security booth and wandered the vast space. You had to squeeze past tour groups and couples on dates, kids running around with novelty swords and replica headpieces. You squeezed between people until you found a bench that allowed you to breathe, despite the heavy crowd. You hadn’t expected it to be quite as busy and you were so tired. Just as you were about to give up, you saw him.

The spitting image of the man you loved. Only his clothes were different, baggier and plainer. His curls fell across his forehead more and he seemed to hold hismelf shorter than Marc. Maybe it wasn’t him after all.

You sighed to yourself and headed towards the exit, catching a small snippet of his voice. It was softer, tinted with an almost fake accent, with more inflictions than Marc had. You shook your head slightly as you headed out, trying to clear the idea of the doppleganger from your head but the notion seemed to keep you around the museum. You found yourself sitting on the steps outside, near a streetlight so you could try some of the assignment you needed to finish. You hadn’t even realized how long you had been there until your headphones beeped in your ears that their battery was low.

As you were putting the headphones into your bag, you noticed Marc’s doppelganger heading to the nearby bus stop. He noticed you at the same time and made his way over to you, which made your body run hot for a moment.

“Hello.” He smiled slightly. “I, uh- I saw you inside. Can I ask why you’re still out here?”

“Yeah, it looks a little weird, huh?” You laughed, trying to contain the whirlwind of thoughts set off by the man’s voice. It was so strange to hear such a soft, relatively hesitant tone coming from a face that you knew to be much more confident. “I just thought I saw someone I’ve been looking for… Turns out it wasn’t him.”

“Old friend?”

“Boyfriend, actually.”

“Oh…” He nervously wrung his hands and you almost laughed at how out of character that movement seemed. “Wait, why are you looking for your boyfriend?”

“No reason.” You shrugged. “Just thought I saw him.”

“Right… Well, are you alright to get home? It’s not like a… “we’re in a fight and he kicked me out” situation?”

At that, you did laugh.

“I’m alright, thanks.” You shook your head with a smile. “But if you hear about a guy named Marc coming around, tell him Y/N needs to talk to him, yeah?”

“Marc? Uh.. Alright, yeah. Yeah, okay. You said Y/N?”

“Mhmm…”

“Have we…”

Your brows raised while the gears turned in his head. His eyes darted around your face, down to your clothes and back to your eyes while he tried to put the pieces together. He opened his mouth to say something before he shook his head, seemingly confusing himself in the process. 

“You okay over there?” You asked carefully, leaning in slightly for your own examination.

“Yeah, just… I don’t know. Deja vu maybe.”

“Hmm.” You nodded and leaned away. “What’s your name, anyway?”

“Steven.” He tapped the pocket of his jacket and you saw a little pinsized hole for where you assumed his nametag usually sat. “Steven Grant.”

“Cool.” You said simply. But you recognized that name as one of the characters that Marc told you about, from one of the things he used to watch with his brother that turned into their own little roleplaying game. And maybe it was a coincidence but something was strange. “See you around, Steven.”

“Bye, Y/N.”

A few days went by before you saw him again. You had tried going by the museum but he wasn’t there. You even asked the man who watched the cameras and he said that Steven - though he called him by some unrelated name - hadn’t been in since the night you met him. You were at another dead end.

You wandered the streets when you got a vague text with an address. It was an unknown number and the relatively common text style gave you no clues. Automatically you assumed it was Marc from a burner phone. Who else would it have been? With as much of a hurry as you could without drawing extra attention, you made your way to the apartment.

You gave a quick knock to the door and it popped open, seemingly on its own since no one was on the other side to greet you. You wandered the cramped space, finding a bed in the center of a sand circle, books stacked on books on every table, a small trashcan overflowing with crumpled balls of tape, A vast fishtank stood in the middle of the room and you leaned in to see the fish, a small thing missing a fin, and caught glimpse of the man watching you from the other side. His near sudden appearance made you jump and bump your head against the glass.

You mumbled an apology to the fish as he scurried to another corner of the tank and you stood straighter.

“You’re the one who texted me?” You asked simply, not wanting to take a guess if it was Marc or Steven that stood before you.

“Yeah.” He said in the same plain tone and you didn’t catch any accent. It was definitely Marc. “Heard you were looking for me.”

“Wouldn’t have to look if you would’ve told me where you were going or that you were alive, at least.”

“”Yeah... I never meant to worry you.”

“Clearly.” Your brows raised quickly. “Nice place.”

“It’s not mine.”

You made a small noise in your throat before wandering the space a bit more. You peaked through some of the books, finding a book of French poems by a woman who you knew Marc didn’t read. But someone Marc knew and worked with did.

“This Layla’s place?” You asked simply, swallowing the rising bile in your throat.

“Layla?” He asked, arms crossing over his chest but not moving from his spot. “What makes you say that?”

“The French poems.” You said honestly. “Not to mention all the Egyptian stuff, you having a fake accent and working at the museum in the Egypt wing… It’s a lot to do just to be a good partner.”

“Right… Look, about all of that..”

“You didn’t answer my question.” You cut in firmly.

“I’m trying to.”

“No you’re not. You’re avoiding. You’re choosing a piece of what I said rather than the actual important part.”

“This isn’t Layla’s place, okay?” He rolled his eyes slightly.

“So this is your place?”

“Sort of.”

“Sort of.” You repeated with a scoff. “Right. So, what, it belongs to that fake persona I talked to a few nights ago.”

“Fake?”

“Steven. Come on, that accent? And he’s named after that thing you told me from you and your brother… Did you think I was stupid?”

“What do you think is going on?” His brows furrowed.

“Well, I have a couple working theories.” You said with a shrug as you dropped to sit on the edge of the bed. “One is that you’ve been cloned. You know the American government, doing experiments with soldiers and not telling them.”

That one made Marc chuckle.

“Not a clone, baby.” He smirked. “But keep going.”

“Okay, good to know.” You nodded. “Second is that you’re just working.”

“That all?”

“Well there’s the idea that you’re cheating on me but…”

“But what?”

“But if that was true then I’d have to leave your ass and I don’t really want to do that. Which is why you’re gonna tell me right now if that’s the case or not.”

“And who would this mystery woman be?”

“Layla.” You shrugged.

“Layla?” His brows raised incredulously, almost insulted that you would say that.

“You have her favorite poet on your desk, Marc. You two constantly go off on little excavations and jobs. She’s cute, fiery, not afraid of challenge, just your type really. Not to mention, you’ve been pretty close since you met.”

“You know why we met.”

“Yeah but did you ever tell her? I bet she wouldn’t fuck you if she knew you killed her dad.”

“Wow.” His eyes went wide. “You had that one ready, didn’t you?”

“Well you’ve been gone for a while. I had some time to come up with some good ones.”

“Y’know what…” He pushed his tongue against his cheek with a small scoff, as if something just came to him. “Yeah.. Yeah, I’ve been sleeping with Layla. Every time I ‘go to work’ I’m just meeting with her.”

“Hmm, funny.” You offered a sarcastic expression. “Just tell me what’s really going on.”

“I just did.”

“And I don’t believe you.”

“Course you don’t.” He mumbled and ran a hand down his face.

“Wanna say that again?” You challenged sharply, daring to close the distance between you two. You glared up at him, ignoring the fact that the height difference made you less intimidating than you were aiming for, but you stuck to your guns. “Or do you want to say something else?”

“I love you.” He put his hands on your shoulders and turned you around. “But there’s the door.”

“You son of a bitch.” You twisted out of his grip and spun again to face him. “You don’t get to kick me out after you tell me you’re cheating.”

“You’re the one that said you’d walk out.” He shrugged.

“If you two shack up here, then I'm sure she has some clothes here. Bathroom products, maybe. Toothbrush? Hair brush? She’s gotta have some underwear here at least, right?” You kept pushing as you stepped deeper into the small apartment in an effort to mate Marc couldn’t throw you out.

“Y/N.” He sighed and followed after you.

“Just tell me the truth.” You stopped and spun quickly to face him, almost colliding with his chest as he was coming up behind you. “Because I’ve never felt so alone. These few weeks without you have been like my world is falling apart. It’s gut-wrenching to wake up without you. No calls, no texts, no little notes around my place…”

His heart twisted when he realized how much he had been hurting you.

“You’re right… I’m not cheating on you.” He admitted with a sigh as his eyes fell to the ground.

You breathed a small sigh of relief and reached out to take his hands in yours. His thumbs ran back and forth along the backs of your hands. You gave them a small squeeze and he managed to meet your eyes again.

“I… Jesus, this is gonna sound nuts.” He sighed.

“I'm listening, Marc.” You said softly.

“You won’t believe me.” He shook his head.

“I believe you love me. And I love you. I believe you thought you were being noble and protecting me, but I always feel safer and more protected when you’re with me. Just be honest and we can work it out.”

“I serve Khonshu.” He said suddenly, as if it was his only chance to get the words out. “He saved my life before I met you and my servitude is how I repay that debt.”

“Khonshu…” You repeated, an expression of uncertainty on your face. “Is that the Egyptian moon god that looks like a bird version of Jack Skelingtion?”

At that, he chuckled and it brought a small smile out of you.

“Pretty much.” He laughed and nodded.

“And Steven?”

“That’s a longer story.”

“So let’s go home. I’ll make some food and we can talk about it.”

“You sure?” He gave your interlocked hand a small pull so you were chest to chest. He guided your hands to rest on his shoulders while his found their place at your waist. “You’re about to find out how much of a trainwreck I really am.”

You shrugged slightly. “Good thing I’m in it for the long run. I’m gunning for your last name eventually so I better buckle up, huh?”

“God, I love you.” He grinned.

[bfi-archive]

SO LONG LONDON - STEVEN GRANT

Pairing: steven x reader (established) (and then marc shows up)

Word Count: 2,489

Summary: Dating Steven was always a bit of a gamble. So when a beautiful woman comes to town claiming your boyfriend as her husband, you find a whole new side to the man you love.

//honestly idk what happened here, just go with it//

It made no sense.

You two were scheduled together all the time. Donna claimed it was the only way to make sure Steven actually showed up to his shifts. And for the most part, it worked. Occasionally, you two would have a day or two different and he wouldn’t show or would be ridiculously late. But you were usually able to explain it away to your manager so Steven wouldn’t get in trouble.

But now, it has been three straight days of Steven pulling no-calls-no-shows. Even when you tried to call him, it went straight to voicemail. Like his phone wasn’t even on.

You were walking around the city that day after work. You picked up some lunch and were looking at your phone, contemplating whether or not you wanted to try calling out texting him again, but the sharp whizz of a woman on a moped cut you off.

You stopped so suddenly in your tracks that your phone fell from your hands as you scrambled to catch your food.

“I’m so sorry!” The woman said quickly, suddenly in front of you with your phone in hand. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it.” You shrugged it off and held a hand out for your phone. She went to pass it back to you but her eyes lingered on your screen where Steven’s contact photo was waiting.

“It was my fault for not looking.” You tried while she quietly stared at the screen. Your fingers hooked on your device and with a slight tug, you got it back.

“I’m Layla, by the way.” She said when you had moved to leave.

“Y/N.” You nodded. “Nice to meet you.” You tried to leave again but she spoke up.

“Boyfriend?”

“What?”

“The guy on your phone.” She gestured to your hand where your phone still sat. As subtle as possible, your thumb hit the lock button to hide the photo that was still waiting. “Is that your boyfriend?”

“Yeah.” You nodded. “He’s M.I.A. right now so I’m starting to worry. Normal girlfriend things, y’know? He’s a bit of a sleepwalker so…” You finished awkwardly.

“Would you…” She began and your brows raised. “Would you wanna get some coffee maybe? I think we should talk some more.”

“Oh, well.. Thank you but I should get home. I’m like three missed calls away from a missing persons report.” You tried to joke.

“It’s just that your boyfriend looks an awful lot like my husband.”

“What?” Your heart sunk.

“Yeah, uh..” She hurried to pull her phone from her bag. “My husband, Marc Spector. Maybe you’ve heard his name? He comes and goes for work but then I got a call and now I’m here trying to find him.”

“Oh!” You sighed in relief. “Okay, it’s probably a coincidence because my boyfriend’s name is.. Steven… Gra…”

Your sentence trailed off as Layla showed you her screen and a photo of her and someone who looked exactly like Steven faced you. His posture was different and you assumed his aura was as well. His hair was styled differently and he even wore different clothes than Steven would. Too similar to ignore but too different to convince you.

“Wow, um, that resemblance really is… Y’know what, maybe we should get some coffee.” You agreed.

After a while of you two talking, neither of you were convinced the other person was talking about the same person. Layla’s ‘Marc’ seemed to have a completely different personality than Steven. He seemed rougher, insufferable even. To be able to completely abandon your wife with no explanation was borderline appalling, and Steven would never. He hardly even went to run errands without giving you a full list of everywhere he intended to go.

As far as you could tell, the only similarity was their looks.

You offered to bring her to Steven’s apartment to show her that he was a different person with a different life. But when you knocked, your usual habit just in case he was home, he actually answered the door.

“Hello, Love.” He smiled at you, though the expression quickly faded when he saw yours. “Something wrong?”

“Steven, this is Layla. Layla, Steven.” You introduced before she had pushed past you both and into the apartment.

Steven looked at you in confusion but you smiled in apology with a small shrug. He stepped aside and gestured for you to come in so you did. Layla was investigating the small space and Steven was staying close to your side. You could feel his fingers tapping the back of your hand, his silent request to interlock your fingers together, but you put your hands in your jacket pocket instead.

“This is your flat, Marc?” She asked and you were thankful someone finally spoke to break the tension.

“I’m Steven, actually.” He answered.

“And you live here with her?” She gestured to you.

“No.” You answered for yourself. “I stay a few blocks over.”

“It’s my mum’s flat, actually.” Steven defended.

“You guys are talking again?” She asked as she found one of the poetry books on his shelves.

They exchanged remarks about the French poet and the hieroglyphics on Steven’s desk. You watched quietly and were finding nothing that could indicate Steven was Marc. But then again, the one French poet he knew just so happened to be Layla’s favorite. And his explanation of hieroglyphs was the same as hers.

Was it possible?

While the two turned to argue about divorce papers and Steven’s identity, you were distracted by the unusual gym bag on the table. You glanced and saw them take their conversation to another side of the room so you went over to the bag. You were thankful it was already unzipped so you pulled the sides apart and were dumbfounded by what you saw.

Stacks of money, a gun, a golden bug, and a passport.

You were drawn to the document so you pulled it out quietly and opened it, seeing a different name printed on the page.

“Marc Spector.” You read to yourself and your heart came to a screeching halt in your chest.

“Who’s Marc?” You asked suddenly, drawing attention to yourself. You held up the passport expectantly.

“Oh, jeez, uh…” Steven rushed over, crumbling the divorce papers under his arm as he reached for the passport.

“No.” You held it further away. “Who are you?”

“C’mon, love. You know me.” He tried, almost desperate for you to be on his side.

“I don’t think I do.” You said sadly. “Who’s Marc? Is he your twin brother or something?”

“I don’t know.” He answered quickly.

“He is Marc and he needs to tell me if we’re getting this divorce or not.” Layla spoke up and snatched the papers from under Steven’s arm.

“You seem lovely, Layla, truly. But I’m not Marc Spector.” He insisted and you so badly wanted to believe him. “I’m Steven Grant and I work at a gift shop. Well, I used to work at a gift shop. I just want my life back.”

“Doesn’t seem like you know which life that is, do you?” You slammed the passport against his chest.

“Y/N, please wait.” He reached for your hand but you backed away.

You nearly ran down the hall to the elevator. You needed to get away. From Layla. From Steven or Marc or whoever the hell he was.

It felt like you didn’t know him anymore. A different name you could live with. A secret job, sure, you could get over that. But a wife? An entirely opposite personality? That shook your entire world, the very foundation of your relationship. You could justify the rest but the idea of him loving someone else so wholly and being someone else so entirely, it had you questioning everything you knew.

About him. About life and love. Even about yourself.

It made you wonder if you could walk away from it all. Say so long to the quiet london boy that stole your heart.

You were back in your apartment before you knew it and you leaned against the closed door for a moment once you were inside. Your head was spinning with the new situation and you decided you didn’t want to think about it. You pushed yourself up and headed to your fridge, picking out one of the cans you usually reserved for after dinner or nights you had friends over for drinks and movies. You took it into your room and got changed before dropping onto your couch.

You put your can on the side table and picked up the remote, flipping through channels until a familiar movie played. You let it run as background noise while you read your book and slipped your drink. But despite your best efforts, Steven was still present in your mind. When you were picturing the main male character, all you could picture was your boyfriend. One of the female characters started to look like Layla. It drove you insane.

You threw the book to the coffee table and dropped to your back across the cushions. You didn’t know how long you had been staring at your ceiling when someone knocked on your door. The first time the noise came, you didn’t move. Surely whoever it was would leave. But after a few seconds the knocking came again, with more authority than the first time. so you hauled yourself up and shuffled over. 

Opening the door, you were greeted by the ghost of your boyfriend. For the most part, it was the same man. Same clothes and same facial features. But his dark curls were pushed out of his face. His posture stood taller and his shoulders pulled back.

It didn’t take long for you to recognize you weren’t looking at Steven.

You moved to close the door when his hand shot out to stop you. You tried leaning some of your body weight against the door but it hardly budged. You muttered a small complaint to yourself before stepping back and opening the door fully.

You stared at the imposter expectantly.

“Not gonna let me in?” He asked, gesturing slightly towards your apartment.

Even his voice was different. Missing the accent, deeper and fuller than Steven’s. Seeing the more mature sound come from your boyfriend’s face sent goosebumps across your skin.

“Why would I? I don’t know you.” You shrugged.

“C’mon, Y/N.” He groaned and ran a hand down his face. “You really wanna have this conversation in the hall?”

You sighed heavily and as if on cue, your nosy neighbor was leaving her apartment. You grabbed Marc’s jacket and pulled him in, giving the woman a quick wave and a tight smile. You heard her question who he was but you shut the door before having to answer. You stared at the door for a second to collect yourself before turning to face Marc, who had already made himself comfortable on your couch.

“Little early in the day for drinks, don’t you think?” He tried to joke and shook the empty can but you didn’t laugh.

“Well when I find out my boyfriend is married and absolutely not who I thought he was, I’m entitled to a spiked lemonade… Just be glad it isn’t the bottle of vodka in my freezer.” You countered, the words spilling faster than you could control them. “So who the hell are you this time?”

“My name’s Marc.” He began and you rolled your eyes. “Steven and I are…”

“Twins?” You tried your earlier guess. You just desperately wanted something simple for an explanation. A case of mistaken identity among twins was simple enough.

“No, not exactly.”

“But you are the one married to that girl, Layla, right?” You pressed.

“Yeah.” He nodded and a small smile crossed his lips. “Steven’s never met her till today.”

“Well…” You said awkwardly, coming a few steps closer. “She’s very pretty.”

He smiled a little wider for a second before he seemed to remember why he was there.

“Listen, I came here because I wanted to try and explain what I could to you.” He began carefully.

“Is Layla right then, Steven’s just an act?” You cut in sharply. “A fake name so you can lead a life away from her? Because it seems to me that that woman loves you. Why she would is baffling to me and why you would divorce her is even more ludacris.”

“He’s not an act and he’s not fake.” He seemed to flinch at the last word. “Maybe he’s not all that real, either. It’s…” He blew out a heavy sigh. “It’s complicated, Y/N/N.”

“Don’t you dare.” You said tightly, closing the distance to put yourself in front of Marc. “You’ve existed to me for all of ten minutes. You have no right to call me that.”

“You’re right.” His hands went up in surrender. “I’m sorry.”

“How do you know about that anyway?”

“I know pretty much everything about Steven’s life.” He shrugged innocently. “You, the gift shop, his really shitty boss. I know what bus he takes, that goddamn fish. Jesus, I even know what underwear brand he wears.”

“How? Why? I just-“ You groaned and pushed your hands into your hair. “What the hell is going on, Marc?”

“Sometimes…” He spoke carefully, as if he was treading around land mines. “There were a few nights when you would come to Steven’s, or walking back to his place after work, it wouldn’t be him… He wouldn’t take over in time and it would be me. Kinda got to know you through that.”

“Oh my god.” You said quietly, your hand covering your mouth as you sunk into the chair beside you. “When he would be super quiet and just nodding or making little humming noises…”

“Yeah…” He hesitantly agreed, clearly embarrassed. “I tried to kind of push him forward but- I don’t know how this shit works, Y/N. I’m just living with it at this point.”

“So… You’re Marc and he’s Steven, but you’re also the same?” You questioned as the information tried to sink in. “Like you two are-“ You interlocked your fingers together.

“Same body, different people.” He nodded. “I know it’s a lot but don’t.. Don’t leave him over this.”

“Leave him?” Your brows furrowed and you almost laughed. “I’m not gonna leave him over this.”

“Really?” His brows raised quizzically. “Cause it didn’t seem that way when you walked out.”

“I can handle personalities, I think. It’s the marriage that’s a problem.”

“To be fair, it’s my marriage.” He offered. “Like I said, he never knew her.”

“I just need a day or two to let it process.” You confessed. “And I think you need a day or two to figure out things with Layla.”

“Yeah, probably right.”

“And if you two work it out, me and Layla are gonna have to figure out an arrangement.”

[bfi-archive]

BIGGER PERSON - BILLY RUSSO

Pairing: billy x castle!reader (established relationship)

Word Count: 1,741

Summary: When Frank’s sister finds out that a) her brother’s alive and b) her boyfriend is supposed to kill him, the conversation quickly turns bad.

Your brother, Frank Castle.

Months had passed and his death still didn’t feel real. You had seen the headstone, found a church that was willing to give the infamous Punisher his last rites. Even though Frank didn’t really care for religion towards the end of his life, your parents would’ve wanted it done so you made sure of it. You sent them the blessed crucifix from the private ritual.

You were frozen in place as the news story played out on your TV. The job Billy was working for the senator, the one he claimed was to protect from the unknown bomber, was also intended to protect him from Frank. Frank, the alleged accomplice to the bomber, was being framed - yet again - as public enemy number one.

You paused the screen when the channel was playing video from a cop car that very clearly showed your brother’s face and pulled your phone to text Billy. But as your finger was finding the conversation, you realized he would very likely lie to you again. He lied about the job to begin with, so why would he owe you an honest answer now.

So instead, you paced your living room until he finally made it home.

When you heard the door open, your grip tightened on the remote and you felt the urge to throw it. Either at Billy or close to it, you didn’t care, but you refrained from either. He walked in and said his usual greeting, moving in to kiss your cheek but you shoved him off.

“Tell me you didn’t know.” You said tightly, hoping the anger in your stare was enough to burn him.

“What do you mean?” He asked, a slight nervous chuckle pairing with the words.

“The bombings. All of it is being blamed on Frank.” You continued.

“Frank?” His brows furrowed and you had the urge to shove him again.

“Don’t talk to me like I’m stupid.”

“No, I- I’m not.” His hands went up in surrender. “I want to finish this discussion, really. But honestly, baby, I’m too damn tired. Can it wait till later?”

“So my brother is alive and I find out by chance from some news story and you want to talk about it later?” You said angrily, gesturing to the paused screen that still displayed the photo captured from a police car’s dash cam.

“Can we not do this, Y/N?” Billy sighed and dropped on the couch, covering his eyes.

“No, I think we should.” You snapped. “That is my brother, Billy. If there was even a rumor that he was still alive, you should’ve told me!”

“It was just a rumor.” He enunciated, still not looking at you. “I hadn’t heard from him so how was I supposed to know it was true?”

“You still should’ve told me!”

“I’m sorry!” He shouted, standing suddenly and. pausing you to take a small step back. “What am I supposed to do about it now? What- What- What do you want from me?”

“Jesus.” You sighed and put your hands up in surrender. “Nevermind. It’s just my brother, right? Who cares? Not like I had a right to know but hey.”

You stormed off to the bedroom and ignored Billy’s muttering as you left. You didn’t even need Billy to confess that he knew or that he was helping Frank hide. All you wanted was an honest apology, but he couldn’t even do that.

The days went on and you still said very little to Billy. You still did your usual routine, breakfast and coffee ready before he went to work. Dinner either on the way or finishing on the stove when he got home. But outside of that, or answering a direct question he asked, you were busy with a book or a new TV show. Anything really that meant you didn’t have to say anything to him.

It was right before his TV interview about the attack on Senator Ori at the hotel, which they were attributing to Frank. He had came out and asked if his tie looked okay and you said “Sure, it’s fine” without facing him.

“Jesus, Y/N/N. How long you gonna act like this?” He complained.

“I shouldn’t have to be the bigger person.” You spat back, still keeping your back to him. “I shouldn’t have to bend to keep us on track. Let me ask you this, Bill. That guy with the- the eye thing. He having you go after Frankie?”

“Y/N…”

“I swear to God I will walk out that door.” You threatened and turned to face him. You watched his eyes dart between yours as he took in your expression. “Everything you’ve been doing lately, was it all about Frank?”

“Yeah...”

“Catching him?”

“Yeah…”

“Killing him?”

You didn’t even know how you managed to get that question out but you did. It felt as if your throat had tightened and the three short syllables were rung out of your voice box like water out of a towel.

“Yeah…” He answered, voice barely above a whisper.

Your heart grew heavy in your chest and it nearly felt

like it had stopped beating.

“And you wonder why I’m pissed off.” You said flatly, pushing past  and leaving him behind you.

“Baby, it's just business, alright? Nothing personal.”

“It should be personal!” You turned and shouted. “That’s my goddamn brother!”

“You want me to apologize for doing my job?” He asked sharply.

“Yes!” You threw your arms forward. “Apologize for trying to kill my brother!”

“It’s my job!”

“Well excuse me for thinking you cared about me more than a fucking paycheck.” You put hands up in surrender and turned away, back into the kitchen.

“C’mon, babe.” He sighed, hurrying after you. “It’s not like that.”

“It’s always up to me, even when it shouldn’t be.” You complained. “You want me to take the blame for a fight and I do. I do because I love you and I always think it’ll be the last time.”

“Y/N…” He said your name softly, confused even. As if he had barely realized what the routine with you had become.

Argue about something, sometimes petty and sometimes not. Then you’ll make up when you apologize, but nothing changes. It was a vicious cycle that Billy was completely oblivious to, until now.

“I think that maybe next time you’ll be the bigger person cause I’m sick and tired of carrying the burden of every argument.” You shrugged, tears forming in your eyes that you ignored. “Keep moving my boundaries so you don’t cross lines, keep quiet when you yell. All cause I thought I had to to make it last between us.”

“I… I didn’t realize.”

“Yeah, I know.”

He took a moment to think over his next words. It felt like a very defining moment for your relationship. He never meant to make you feel that way, and knowing he had was arguably the worst pain he’d ever felt. How did he not notice? How could he do that to you?

“Tell me how to make this right.” He said softly, gently reaching to take your hand. You looked up at him while you let your hand sit in his. He looked at you with wide, soft eyes that were begging for forgiveness. “I’ll do anything.”

“You think it’s that easy?” You countered with a small challenge. “Billy, you’ve been hunting down my brother for a man who doesn’t care about you. That guy will throw you under the bus as soon as he needs to, just like everyone else. But my brother? You know damn well Frank would’ve done anything to protect you. He never would’ve don’t this to you.”

“No… He would’ve.”

“Why?” 

He looked towards the ceiling and sighed heavily. Your stomach felt tight and your blood ran warm with anticipation while you took a step back, taking your hand away from his.

“What did you do?” You urged.

“The carousel.” He began and that knot in your stomach grew tighter.

“You were there?”

“No.” He looked back to you, a silent plea in his expression. To hear him out, to believe him, to forgive him. “No, I wasn’t, I swear.”

“You didn’t shoot him? Or Maria? Or the kids?”

“No, I wouldn’t do it.” He shook his head and you could’ve sworn you saw tears in his eyes. “I said no.”

You were quiet as things began to click and you knew it reflected in your eyes as Billy’s expression changed.

“But you knew… You knew they were coming after my brother and that’s why we went out instead of me going with them.” You realized and the thick weight of betrayal slammed into your chest so hard you thought the bones would break. “How fucking dare you stand in front of me.”

“No, Y/N, please. Let me-“

“Let you what?” You cut in sharply and your hands tightened into fists at your side. “Let you explain? What is there to explain when you just admitted to knowing that your worthless fucking friends were gonna kill my family and you did nothing?” Your voice grew to a scream as you rambled.

His eyes shot to your hands and he took a step back from you.

“My niece and nephew, Billy!” You shouted. “They were kids! And Maria, she loved you. And you just let it happen.”

“I couldn’t do anything.” He spoke quietly.

“You’re kidding, right?” You laughed in disbelief. “You could’ve warned him!”

“He wouldn’t have believed me!” He reasoned.

“Y’know what.” You took a deep breath. “Just get out.”

“Y/N..”

“Aren’t you late for your interview?”

He opened his mouth to speak but the glare you gave him kept him quiet. Instead, he collected his things and went to leave.

“I didn’t want all this.” He called from the door. “It wasn’t supposed to end up this way.”

“Yeah, you worked so hard to keep it from me.” You countered. “Good luck when Frank finds out.”

The door closed soon after and you found your phone. You scrolled your contacts until Karen’s name popped up. You had met the woman when her friends were defending Frank in court and you two had stayed decent friends. You texted and said you had seen the news about Frank and asked if she could help you get in touch with him.

karen (lawyer): just put flowers in the window

[bfi-archive]

world class sinner - frank castle (masterlist)

season 2

pairings: billy russo x reader , frank castle x reader , punisher x exodus

summary: with daredevil dead, exodus returns from Quantico unsure of who she should be. fighting nightmares and deja vu, small sparks threaten to revive something saved for matt murdock before a shocking betrayal rattles New York’s two most dangerous vigilantes.

(1) - deja vu : Being back in the Kitchen almost immediately pulls her back into a fight. But without Matt, what has she become?

(2) if he had been with me: Further and further her humanity goes as Y/N commits herself to Frank Castle's crusade. Small moments threaten to bring her back, but how can she when there's nothing worth it... Or is there.

(3) haunted: Can’t breathe, can’t turn back. Y/N continues to walk the fragile line of her morality while finding an uneasy comfort in the presence of Billy Russo, despite being haunted by Matt Murdock’s memory. But reuniting with Frank Castle makes it little less miserable.

(4) aftermath: A quick run nearly turns disastrous when a bold move goes wrong. An attempted reconciliation between friends turns nasty, all because the aftermath of Midland Circle still lingers in Y/N’s actions.

(5) build god then we'll talk: Temporary alliances form on one side before fighting off an ambush from the other. All the while, dots are connecting for more than one player as the game grows more and more dangerous.

(6) so what now? : Limits are pushed and more secrets pile up as she continues to pretend on both sides. When they creep closer to one another, can she maintain all of her lies and save face or will she be forced to pick what relationship matters most?

(7) so it goes… : All eyes on her, a skilled illusionist. Playing the field for information gets what she needed but could threaten the relationship keeping her afloat.

(8) beautiful liar : A breaking point, new alliances, and seeds of mutual trust show Y/N who is and who isn’t on her side.

(9) bad omens: Lingering omens finally register and truths are revealed through blood, bullets, and betrayals.

(10) is it over now?: A long time coming, one fight comes to a bloody conclusion. Another lurks in the near future, and the connection between two friends and two lover is severed.

(11) sinner: It all comes down to one final night, where’s it all began. One who thinks he’s a god versus the one who once scared the Devil and the Punisher. The Devil wasn’t wrong after all to fear the evil she delivers.

(epilogue) i know it won’t work: After a couple weeks, Y/N decides to open Frank’s letter.

[bfi-archive]

quick design of y/n stark’s Sin Miedo finale suit

SM Masterlist

[bfi-archive]

WORLD CLASS SINNER - FRANK CASTLE

epilogue : i know it won’t work

tags: n/a // one // finale // masterlist // season two //

Pairing: frank x reader

Word Count: 582

Summary: After a couple weeks, Y/N decides to open Frank’s letter.

You were seated back on your rooftop. You had stayed out there the night prior, while the moon was at her peak. You had taken up the routine of talking to the moon in the late hours of the night, hoping Matt was on the other side and he was talking back despite knowing he wasn’t.

Dex had left for work after having stayed the night. You had physical therapy later that day, one of four sessions every week. You were also required to do traditional therapy to ensure there was no lingering trauma, but you were able to use Curtis’ support group for that requirement.

Karen tried calling ever since you were discharged but you hardly answered. Usually it was just a run in with her every few days when she felt the urge to come check for Matt’s suit. You grew more and more irritated with her intrusions since you knew he wasn’t coming back. Yet she still came, still pried that wound open again.

You felt suffocated, like all of your pain - both physical and emotional - were massive waves that crashed into you and knocked you down everytime you thought you could stand.

There was no relief, no healing. You were broken. You were tempted to even slide off your rooftop and let Matt’s God decide for you. But you didn’t. You didn’t because… Well you didn’t quite know why, but something about death didn’t seem so appealing anymore.

Instead, you opened Frank’s letter.

“hey princess.

when i left this with you i hoped you wouldn’t need to open it but here you are. if you are reading this then that means youve hit your limit. im sorry im not there with you right now but its for the best. thats what they said at least.

i want to tell you that you arent defined by any persons inability to choose you. dont abandon who you cause russo did. dont neglect or question yourself alright? cause i know damn well murdock never did. that guy saw you for you y/n. he knew exactly who you were and he probably knew it before you did.

what i know is that not everyone has a heart like yours. most people don't know how to give the way you do. they just take yknow? carrying a heart big as yours gotta be exhausting. but you got this light and its really a gift but i know youre starting to feel like a curse.

as cheesy as this is gonna sound you gotta keep pushing. life for me and you isnt easy and youre too damn stubborn to let anything take you down. jesus y/n the stories i would hear about you in the costume had me convinced you werent human.

i want to leave you an address to write to but i dont even know where imma end up. its real shitty that i had to leave you like that but i wouldn’t have if i didnt think you had it in you to pull through.

murdock saw your light. i saw it. karen and nelson see it. pretty sure russo saw it too before everything. and no one can take from you unless you let them. i know youre going through hell right now but keep going. how are you gonna see it get better if you quit now?

i love you y/n. stay alive till i made a trip back alright?

ps: forgive yourself for everything.

-f “

[bfi-archive]

WORLD CLASS SINNER - FRANK CASTLE

finale - sinner

tags: n/a // ten // epilogue // masterlist

Pairing: frank x reader, billy x reader

Word Count: 10,008

Summary: It all comes down to one final night, where it all began. One who thinks he’s a god versus the one who once scared the Devil and the Punisher. The Devil wasn’t wrong after all to fear the evil she delivers.

David helped you get Frank into Dinah’s car. You were so out of it by then that you didn’t even know when the gun at the back of your head disappeared or what Dinah told her team for them to leave you all alone.

You sat with him in the backseat, letting yourself absorb his pain to keep him calm and give him a better chance. The drive seemed to go by in a blur given the fact that your body was still reeling with the effects the adrenaline shot. You three managed to get Frank into Dinah’s parents’ apartment and her dad helped to take care of Frank.

Your head was still pounding even though the gash had long since stopped bleeding. Your chest ached and your hand was clutching that familiarly cracked rib while your heart pounded viciously. Every breath felt ragged and your balance was uneven. Before you could say anything or catch yourself, you collapsed to the floor.

You were unconscious for hours. You woke up with your mask and suit off. Your torso was wrapped tightly and your head was carefully bandaged. You sat up and felt the uncomfortable shift of your ribs, though the pain was significantly less. You looked around and saw your bloodied mask and Bites on the nightstand. Your suit was tossed over a nearby chair and you were wearing the hoodie and sweats you had been wearing before the meeting with Billy.

Billy…

You rubbed a hand across your eyes and when you pulled it back, you noticed there were thin red lines around your wrist. Looking at it fully, you noticed the other wrist had the same marks. From the zip ties, you figured.

Dinah came in soon after and was the first to notice you were awake. She gave a tight smile and placed a folded outfit at the edge of the bed before she turned to Frank.

“Hey, Princess.” Frank said softy, reaching over to take your hand.

“Hey.” You replied and your voice was raspier than you anticipated. “It done?”

“Not yet.” Dinah answered with a sigh. “You should take Lieberman’s little gift and disappear, fast.”

“Gift?” Your brows furrowed before an envelope landed beside you on the bed. You looked at the source and David gave you a small nod. You opened it carefully and saw it was packed with hundred dollar bills while Dinah kept talking.

“I’d say the same goes for you, Y/L/N, but given the fact that no one there knows it was you, your secret’s safe for now.”

“My secret…” You repeated. “Funny you say that when my mask is across the room.”

“The only people that have seen your face are the people in this room. And my parents but they don’t know your name.”

“If I ever see you again after you walk out of this door, then all bets are off.” Dinah warned as Frank stood to leave. “I will take you in or I will shoot you down.”

“Wait.” You threw the covers back and jumped to your feet. As soon as you landed, your knees buckled and you nearly collapsed. Pushing through it, you chased after Frank and ignored the voices calling you back. “You can’t leave me.”

“You’re gonna be alright.” He said gently. “You don’t need me around, Y/N/N.”

“I don’t wanna be alone again.” Your eyes burned with the threatening tears. “I can’t take being alone again.”

“You’re not alone, okay? Call your friends, yeah? I’ll see you around.”

“Frank...”

“I know.” He practically whispered. “But you gotta trust me. Just… Please, trust me. I'm gonna take care of it.”

“I don’t need you to protect me from this.” You countered firmly.

“Alright.” He scoffed. “Look at yourself, Y/N. That rib’s been busted almost as long as I’ve known you. Your head gets split open once a month. You’re probably living with a concussion, God knows what else. You keep going like this, this thing is gonna crush you.”

“I don’t care. I need to see this to the end.”

“It’s not your fight, Princess. You steer clear of this and I know that even if he kills me, he’ll leave you alone.”

“I can fight for myself. And you wanna talk about what’s happened to me, you’re no better off.”

“Doesn’t matter.” He shrugged.  “You’re one of the few things left worth fighting for, alright? So that’s what I’m gonna do.”

“And I’m not helpless. I can go through this and not die.”

“Yeah? I bet Red thought the same thing and look where he ended up.”

Without hesitation, you brought your hand up and slapped him across the face. You hadn’t even realized you had done it until the sound seemed to echo throughout the room. Your eyes went wide in mild shock at your own action, but at the same time, it didn’t surprise you to react that way.

No one got to talk about Matt and his death, especially someone who wasn’t there.

He pushed past you after that, upset that you had hit him but also relieved that you were passed at him. Using your powers for a brief moment, you understood he wanted you to be mad at him so you’d stay away. So you’d leave him to die if it came to it.

He didn’t seem to realize just how stubborn you could be.

You went back into the bedroom and collected your gear. You tucked it under your sweatshirt and thanked Dinah for her help again. You asked her to thank her dad and wished David best of luck with his family before you left. Dinah was saying something about her seeing it through and that you or Frank didn’t have a monopoly on payback. Truthfully, you let it go in one ear and out the other.

Billy Russo was going to pay. You spared him too many times. In turn, he spared you but the tit-for-tat system was getting you nothing. Nothing but physical pain and injury and for what? For him to win?

You got into your apartment and once again found Karen inside, the chest that hid Daredevil open at her feet. She apologized and said she tried to call. Her explanation shifted to questions when she saw the bandages on your forehead while you pulled your bloodied alias from under your hoodie. You simply threw the pile into the closet and kept moving past her, towards your bedroom. You paused at the small box you had kicked out of your way before so you picked it up and brought it with you.

You sat on the edge of your bed and unfolded the small piece of paper that was tucked under the edge of the lid.

-sorry about everything, billy-

You made a face to yourself before tossing the paper and opening the box.

It wasn’t until you heard your front door close did you pull your phone. You called the familiar number, knowing it’d be the last time. It had to be.

“And here I was thinking you didn’t want anything to do with me. To what do I owe the pleasure?” He said when he answered and to your surprise, there was no malice in his words.

“Can’t I just call to check in?” You answered.

“I didn’t think you’d want to, given the fact that you, yknow, shot me.”

“And you slammed my head into a pole till I went unconscious so I’d say it balances out.”

“Why are you calling, Y/N?”

“Why’d you answer, Billy?”

“General curiosity.” He said simply. “Your turn.”

“The watch.” You spun it in your hand and your fingers felt a difference in texture. Glancing down, you almost laughed. “Was it one of yours?”

“No, picked it out just for you.”

“So what’s with the BR on the inside of the strap?”

He chuckled as if he was caught and the mundaneness of the conversation felt so out of place.

“I saw that ring your Matt got you, the one with his name in it. Thought if we could smooth things over, you’d have something with mine but…”

“At least it’ll get a good chunk from the pawn shop.” You shrugged.

“Ouch. I know it doesn’t match your little costume, which I gotta say, makes you look great.”

“C’mon, Billy. You’re gonna tell me you don’t understand that all this is on you? Your choices led us here.”

“You made a choice too. But you don’t see me throwing that back at you.”

“Difference is I made a good one. You’ve done yourself no favors.”

“I still don’t get what’s so special about Frank.”

“That man was damn near dead and he was worried about me. He’s always taken my side and looked out for me. You say that you’d never hurt me but I know he wouldn’t. He’s the closest to family that I have in New York. You don’t get to take that from me.”

“As much as I love our little chats, Beautiful, I’ve got things to take care of.”

“If you manage to get through Frank and it comes down to you and me, you’re dead.” You warned.

“Can’t wait.”

The line went dead and you dropped the phone in your lap. You rubbed your aching eyes and took a few deep breaths, as deep as the tight bandages would allow.

You were running through scenarios as to what Billy would be up to. Hiding at Anvil was an option, but unlikely. You figured Homeland would’ve raided the place by now, or at the very least be in the process of raiding. Same could be said about his place. His bridge with you and Dinah was burned so he wouldn’t be on his way to either place.

All that really could leave would be Curtis.

Curtis.

You jumped up quickly and hurried to change. You dressed in a hurry before practically running to the closet. You shoved a gun into the waistband of your pants and snatched your bag before you left. You were nearly

sprinting to your car to get to Curtis’ place.

You thought to call Frank but how could you? You doubted he had any sort of burner, not one you had the number of at least. Besides, he was more than willing to do it without you. Dinah wouldn’t be the help you needed. So you were on your own.

You banged on the door and waited for an answer, though you were met with silence. You banged on it again, harder than before, and still got no response. You muttered to yourself about Curtis sleeping like the dead before you knelt and reached under your shirt for one of the metal fasteners on the bandages. You bent it back and forth until it snapped into two pieces and you used the pieces to pick the lock.

You drew your gun and carefully opened the door, seeing a phone slide across the floor. You moved in slowly and saw Billy on the other end of the room, ducked below the windowsill. Your eyes scanned the room and it was easy to see the bullet holes. You nodded towards the window in question and Billy gave you a small nod before he lifted the phone to his ear.

You saw Curtis peak around from the floor of the kitchen and your focus immediately changed. You hurried over and dropped the gun at your side before examining the wound. You gently pulled the collar of his shirt aside to see the bloodied injury. You clicked your tongue, knowing there wasn’t much you could do at the moment, and applied pressure.

“Finish this where it all started.” You heard Billy say.

You gave no outward reaction but you knew what he meant.

Midnight at the carousel.

He left after that but you stayed at Curtis’ for a while longer. You two talked about what Billy was doing there while you waited for the ambulance. You were glad it was only the one gunshot and the shot itself wasn’t lethal. Whatever Billy’s plan there was, it wasn’t about killing Curtis, and you were thankful for that.

You went back home once the ambulance took him away. You had washed your hands at his place, but they still felt wet. Dripping with the blood of everyone you’d met. Everyone you’d hurt. Everyone you’d killed.

You had to shake the thought as you got to your apartment. You knew what you had to do, only it wasn’t a job for Y/N. It was set up for Exodus to finish.

Kill Billy Russo. Save Frank, save yourself.

It seemed so simple when you thought of it that way and maybe it was that easy. You were in the closet under the stairs gathering your equipment in a duffel bag. A clean suit, your new vest, Bites, gloves, mask with intact lenses, staffs, and a fully loaded belt. You fit the retractable blade to your wrist and tossed two handguns on your couch before going to your bedroom to change.

Dark fitted pants, dark red fitted long sleeve, your usual vigilante boots. You fit your FBI issued vest over it for the time being and threw a loose zip up over it. You sent a quick text to Dex before you threw your phone to your bed.

central park carousel 1230

Your phone landed beside the watch and you found yourself wanting to break it, stomp your heel on it and hear the glass break. Pull the straps apart and drive a knife through the rest. But you didn’t. You’d bury it with him. Dead, just like your feelings for him.

You pulled your hair back and looked at the long gash on your forehead, opposite the side of your mask scars. It buried itself in your hairline and was nearly healed, the slightest discoloration in your skin. You blew out a sigh and stared at your face as a whole.

She looked like you, close enough at least. Half alive compared to what you looked like when you first came to town. Twice as weak. More vulnerable than you ever intended, more willing to let people in. For that, you blamed Matt. It was easier to decide it was his fault

but you still looked for him in any other man.

But it seemed like every person you let in was another scar, another injury, more blood loss. You were always the loser, but as you stared into your ghosted eyes, you decided you’d get through the fight.

And if it killed you, then at least you tried. You had lived a life worth more than anything you would’ve had in the Red Room.

Despite all the sentiment, you couldn’t afford the vulnerability. The weakness. So you watched as the light Frank saw not too long ago fade from your eyes, locking away the weakness behind Exodus’ strength. What filled the light’s absence was almost as hollow, almost as empty. It was the look of a killer, of someone who has courted death.

It was the look of someone who truly was half alive. Someone that once brought out fear in the Devil of Hell’s kitchen, that decimated the Russians, uprooted Fisk’s empire, crushed the Yakuza. A trained killer, raised on the bitter taste of blood and changing the history of man. Someone who you tried to get away from but what’s good was that?

She was your shadow, and to be rid of that would be to lose a piece of yourself.

So be it.

You went back into your living room and placed your guns at your back, tucked into your belt. You stopped in at the closet one more time to add a knife inside your boot before you grabbed your bag. You slung it over your shoulder and bounded down the stairs to your car, throwing the bag into your backseat.

You drove over to the park, leaving your car a block away. You were going to survey the area and see if you could get a better vantage point, somewhere you could see it all but Billy wouldn’t see you. Before you left your car, you grabbed your Bites and shoved them in your jacket pockets.

You were wandering the emptying area, offering polite smiles to the kids who made eye contact with you while they laughed wildly. Their parents apologized but you assured them it was fine as you kept going. You had circled the small novelty feature and found nothing interesting until there was a small clatter inside the snack bar. You thought nothing of it at first but you moved closer to make sure.

Their voices were muffled, deeper into the room than you initially anticipated. You fitted your Bites into place and tugged your sleeve down to cover as you snuck into the room. You didn't need your mask to see that it was Billy, especially when their fear began to burn your tongue.

Your hand flexed and your Bite activated as you gave yourself a clear shot.

“Let them go, Bill.” You said flatly and you noticed your accent tinting your words. The girl yelped from the other room and Billy turned to face you calmly. You lifted your hand and aimed your weapon with the same sense of control. “They don’t have anything to do with this.”

“You wanna take their place?” His brows raised.

“Sure.” You shrugged. “If it’s to get to Frank, he’s gonna care more about me anyway.”

He tilted his head in acknowledgement before gesturing for the kids to leave. They squeezed past him and practically ran out, stammering a rushed ‘thank you’ as they passed, but you didn’t take your eyes off Billy.

“No suit this time?” He asked, leaning against the wall behind him. He crossed his arms and you noticed his gun was still in play, poking out from between his forearm and bicep. “But the accent’s kinda hot. Where’s that been this whole time?”

“Funny.” You rolled your eyes.

“Lighten up.” He tried with a smile but your expression didn’t change. “Jesus, Y/N, will you put that down?”

“No.”

“Alright, well then.” He sighed and moved quickly.

He fired his gun, hardly even moving it. The bullet hit the inside of your raised wrist and you cried out, arm falling down almost immediately. You examined the joint and were thankful it didn’t get through the Bite. However, your relief was short lived when the sharp electricity shot through your arm. Looking closer, the bullet cracked your weapon and now it was shorting out, releasing unregulated bursts.

You were reaching to take the device off when Billy’s touch stole your attention. Your head snapped up and as soon as your eyes met, he backhanded you with his pistol and you fell to the floor.

The sudden lights and movement pulled you back. Your eyes fluttered open and your arm still twitched from the electricity. Your arms were above your head, bound to the pole of the carousel horse that you could feel along the length of your spine.

You blinked through the lights and pulled on your restraints, which only sent another shock through your arm and you felt the zipties dig deeper into the tender skin. Why he didn’t take the Bites off, you didn’t know. Maybe the faulty one shocked him when he touched it. You shifted your body and felt both guns still against your back and shaking your foot, you felt the knife handle in your boot. Yet your jacket was gone.

You figured he left them because if you were restrained, it didn’t matter what weapons you had on your person.

“Billy?” You tried but opening your mouth allowed for a new pain to begin thumping at your jaw.

You rolled your eyes to yourself when you realized it was from when he hit you. You were going to get him back for that.

You had a feeling you were alone, or at least that he wanted to feel that way. As you spun on the stupid horse, you scanned the area. You knew he had to be somewhere. You felt the pride bouncing off the mirrors around you but the source wasn’t visible.

“Billy!” You yelled and pulled the restraints again, this time breaking skin on one side. “Goddammit…”

Your implant pinged in your head so you adjusted your head to bump your shoulder until it answered.

“The hell you doing here, Princess?” Frank asked tightly. Anger was in his voice but it didn’t feel directed at you, not completely at least. The concern between the syllables was.

“Not much at the moment.” You answered, shifting in the horse to sit sideways and get a better view of the restraints. You winced loudly as another shock ran up your arm and it made you wonder how much more juice was in that damn thing. “Could use some help.”

“Didn’t I tell you to stay out of it?” He argued instead and you had to roll your eyes.

“Sorry, I missed the part where I was supposed to listen to you.” You answered sarcastically. “Besides, it’s not like I planned to be stuck to a stupid horse.”

“You think you’ll be alright for a few minutes till I can get to you?”

“Sure.” You said before pulling on your wrists to get them further down the pole. “If my arm doesn’t lock up.. Dying would be one hell of an adventure, don’t you think?”

“What?”

“Nothing, nevermind.”

“You see him?”

“No.”

“Alright. I’m coming.”

You nudged your shoulder to shut it off and turned your focus back to your restraints. You tried twisting your wrists in opposite directions but it just dug the plastic deeper until the other side broke skin. Your next thought was the knife in your boot, but you’d fall off the horse trying to get it out. Next thought was the knife at your wrist. You were adjusting your hands to ensure the blade didn’t knick you when the explosions sounded.

Three loud, bright collisions that made you jump and nearly fall off the stupid animal. You craned your neck to look but that ridiculous spin put you on the other side while the gunfire sounded.

You slammed your foot against the closet horse in annoyance and Billy came into your field of vision, keeping low to likely keep visual on Frank.

“C’mon, Billy.” You commented, taking a deep breath and readjusting to sit back up on the horse. “Here I was thinking you were gonna play fair.”

“Shut up.” He sneered, still not looking at you.

“I’m just saying.” You shrugged, looking up at your hands again. You tried to flick the blade out but the tight constricts kept you from being able to fully move it. You groaned in annoyance and turned your attention back to Billy.

Manipulation it was.

“Billy, baby, c’mon.” You tried instead, drawing on that need he had to be wanted. “You don’t wanna do this. Not to me.”

“Shut. Up.”

“Let me outta these, yeah?” You kept pushing and found the slightest piece of admiration for you. He tried to hide it, to ignore it so killing you wouldn’t hurt him. But you found it. The slightest hint of an attachment. “We can… We can fix us. That’s what you want, right? You and me, clean slate.”

At that, he turned his head. The colored neon showed just enough of his expression that you saw the wide eyes he gave you. Disbelief, but want so clear on his face. If you had seen that expression hours before, maybe it would’ve changed your mind.

“C’mon, Bill. You don’t wanna hurt me, right?” You urged, nearing your own desperation as your arm was hit again and the jolt made your whole body react. “Please.”

The skin beneath the damaged Bite was burning, likely being worn through by the constant assault. The muscles in your arm were victim to constant spasms, soaked through with the remnants of electricity. It was almost enough to make you scream.

Billy drew closer but didn’t put his rifle down. He kept looking between you and the scene behind you, keeping an eye out for Frank no doubt. If Frank got close enough, you knew you could count on him to get you out, but at the time, that wasn’t an option.

So instead of screaming, you let yourself cry. You would’ve used some old pain or trauma of your own, but there was enough coming from Frank that you didn’t need to.

“Billy..” You said in a small voice, hoping to appear helpless and pathetic as the tears fell down your cheeks. “Please, I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, just…”

He had just taken a hand of his gun to reach for a knife when he must’ve seen Frank. He was quick to raise his gun again as shots came in from the other side. You tried to duck and a bullet hit the center of the zipties wrapped around the pole. Your arms fell quickly and you reached to grab Billy’s rifle.

Once your hands were on it, you spun your legs and went off the opposite side of the house to force his gunfire towards the middle of the carousel. He released the trigger after a bullet bounced back and caught him in the cheek, causing him to fall to the ground yelling in pain.

You smiled slightly as he spit out the bullet. You knelt down, ensuring your foot was on the rifle, and grabbed Billy by his face. Your fingertip pressed on the new wound and fresh blood bubbled out and over your fingers. The sight drew another sadistic smile.

“What happens when you’re dead, hmm?” You asked, an innocent tone in your voice that didn’t match the scene at all. “Who’ll mourn you?… Look at you now, pretty boy. Какая пустая трата этого красивого лица.” (What a waste of this pretty face.)

He shoved your hand off and grabbed you by your throat. You let him back you against the center of the carousel and laughed to yourself when he pulled a handgun. You snuck your hand behind your back and grabbed one of your own, carefully wrapping your fingers around the cold metal as his came to your forehead.

“Count of three?” You asked with a smile.

He added more pressure to his grip and you coughed slightly at the restriction of air.

“You come out where I can see you, Frank, or I kill her right now!” Billy yelled, looking in either direction for Frank before looking back at you. “You beg.”

“No.” You said flatly.

“You beg Frank to come out and save your life, right now!”

“Fuck you!”

“Beg!”

“You know I’d never hurt you right?” You mocked him loudly, though it wasn’t much of a yell with his hand around your throat. “I never loved you, y’know.”

“What?”

“I was just passing the time.” You shrugged, a sadistically out of place smirk finding your lips. “I bet you loved me though. Cause I knew how to lie.”

“I’m gonna enjoy this.” He sneered but the venom in his tone did nothing to hide the blue fog that seemed to shape his words.

“I doubt it. And as far as Frankie’s concerned, yeah, he doesn’t care about me either.” You laughed. “Go ahead and pull the trigger. I dare you.”

“Let her go, Bill.” Frank said from a few feet away but your eyes didn’t leave Billy.

“Doesn’t care, huh?” Billy taunted before turning back to Frank, instructing him to ditch his gun.

You heard the clatter of his gun and soon after, his knife.

“Идиот.” You said to yourself, which caused Billy to pull you a few inches forward and slam you back. The impact triggered another shock from your busted device and you cried out sharply. (Idiot.)

“Shut up or I put a bullet in you right now!” He screamed in your face.

“Давай.” You sneered through gritted teeth. (Go ahead.)

“Bill, let her go.” Frank tried, desperation spewing from him like a busted pipe. “Let her go.”

“Attachments are a weakness, Frank.” Billy said, his voice dripping with condescension. He let you go to take a few steps closer to Frank and you collapsed, one side of your body still tingling with the electricity of your Bite. “I never had anybody.”

“Don’t.” You tried to get to your feet but Billy ignored you.

“You had us, Bill.” Frank answered and Billy shot him.

You flinched at the sound and looked up, surprised to see Dinah kneeling in front of you. Suddenly, you were the one starting to panic.

“What are you doing here?” You asked quietly as she helped you to your feet. “How did you know where we would be?”

“You okay?” She asked in the same hushed tone instead.

“I’ve got cuts around both wrists and I’m pretty sure I’ve burnt some of the nerves in my wrist and hand. What do you think?” You gave a sarcastic expression. “Listen, he’s lost it, alright? You need to-“

Before you could finish your sentence, a gunshot sounded and Dinah went down. Her finger on the trigger went off as she did and the bullet from her gun nicked the underside of your jaw, skirting along the bone. You teetered back against the mirrored center and the commotion started between the boys. You opened and closed your mouth to break up the burn from the bullet and peered down at the fallen agent, blood pooling from the new hole in her skull.

Your previous panic was burned out, replaced by a familiar heat of anger. A heat you used to curse but were thankful for. Your anger came with the red tint, the manic bloodlust that had come to worry you. Only now you reveled in it, welcomed it. You counted on it. You would thrive with it.

Billy was too focused on fighting Frank to realize you were coming up behind him. You ran up and used the pole closest to him as leverage. You gripped it with both hands and threw your feet forward to hit his back and send him to the floor.

He spun to his back as you were landing and he kicked one of your feet out, dropping you to your knees. You began to reach behind you when a bullet hit your wrist. It went in through the bottom and came out the other side. You cried out and clutched the bleeding joint. You yanked the broken Bite off and the shattered device left chunks of material behind in the opening. Blood bubbled and filled the now empty space and your hand trembled while a thick stream leaked down your arm.

You reached into your boot for your knife to cut your sleeve off. Using your teeth, you pulled some of the fabric away from your arm and pierced it with the knife. You yanked it down your arm before trying it haphazardly around your wrist. You tried to flex that hand, ensure there was enough blood getting to your digits, but the muscles were already tight from the electricity.

You had no idea if you’d bleed out by the time the night ended. It was a sharp slap in the face to realize that you really could die that night, to something as stupid as blood loss.

Matt’s voice came into your head at that point.

C’mon, Sweetheart. You’re not giving up yet.

You shook the thought and focused back on the scene in front of you. Billy had just thrown Frank to the ground so you grabbed your knife again and went after him.

You reached around from behind and out the blade to his neck. Before you could pull it and slice him open, he grabbed your arm and flipped you over his shoulder. Your back hit hard and he began turning the blade to point at you.

One of his hands wrapped around yours to keep the knife in your hand and the other pushed on your arm. You threw your free arm up to block it and flicked out the short blade at your wrist. You swung it quickly and blindly, but you felt it connect. Where it hit, you didn’t know but it was enough for him to let you go.

Frank got to your side and helped get you to your feet. You gripped your knife tighter and it shifted against your bloody palm before you put it away.

You wanted to do it with your bare hands.

Billy’s foot connected Frank’s chest and he fell back against one of the horses. 

You waited until you saw Frank up on his hands and knees before you moved. You vaulted over Frank, planting your hands on his back for stability as you kicked your feet forward. Your legs wrapped around Billy’s waist and you hauled yourself upright. The momentum of your upper body was enough to throw him into the nearest pole. One hand locked around the strap of his bulletproof vest from the underside while the other threw sharp punches.

You felt his hands on your waist and before you could react, he was driving forward with the intent of slamming you into something. You released his vest and pulled your hand back quickly, slicing a shallow gash from the middle of his jaw to his temple. You brought both arms up and slammed your elbows down against his spine, just as the middle of your back hit hard against the carriage-shaped seat and knocked the air out of you before you collapsed to your knees, wheezing in a poor effort to refill your lungs.

Again, Matt’s voice but this time he said a phrase you had never said around him. Something you learned from your aunt.

You can’t breathe, you can’t fight.

That was when you knew you were losing it. He shouldn’t have known that saying, yet you heard his voice as clear as the music around you. If you went down, you truly understood, you wouldn’t get back up. And for once in your life, that actually scared you.

You moved back at him quickly, swinging your blade at Billy. He ducked it easily and you wondered for a moment if it was due to the blood you lost. You buried the thought and moved in again, aiming a sharp jab at the bottom of his bulletproof. He jumped away from your attack and you dropped to your knees to knock his feet from under him.

As he fell, you pulled your blade back out. You flipped it over the back of your hand and tried to slam it down, aimed right at the soft spot at the base of his throat. His hand shot up and caught your hand, desperately trying to keep the tip of your knife away.

You threw your leg over him so you were straddling his chest with hopes of leaning enough of your weight forward to get the knife to pierce. After a few more seconds of no progress, you groaned loudly and pulled your hand back. You lifted the knife high and held it in both hands.

You screamed loudly in frustration as you drove it down again. Billy was quick to throw you off, your knife getting lost in the process. You two kept rolling until he was able to get on top of you and pinned your arms above your head.

You thrashed under his weight but to no avail. Every movement seemed to drain more strength than usual so out of desperation, you slammed your forehead against his. He fell off you and you were quick to shift and kick your feet hard, one heel catching him in the cheek in the same spot your knife slashed earlier.

You got to your feet and took a deep breath as Billy got up, only a few feet away from you. You two locked eyes a moment and from the taste in your mouth, you knew you weren’t the woman he was used to seeing. Now bloodied, chest heaving with heavy breaths, eyes empty save for the thought of murder. You were what the rumors said Exodus to be, especially when you smiled.

You rushed him again and threw an acrobatic kick that made him stagger backwards. When you landed, you swung the blade at your wrist. You made sure to keep your bloodied wrist out of the way for the most part, relying on the short knife on your wrist. You managed to catch him with small gashes, just able to slice his shoulder or his arm.

The tip of Billy’s wrist blade came at you and caused you to change your stance, resulting in a shallow stab to your stomach and exposure of your injury as you swung a heavy hook to counter. He caught your wrist and held tightly but you refused to make a sound. Instead, you used the other hand to grab his shirt and hooked a foot around his. You threw your body weight and flipped you two over again so you slammed into the ground. You landed on your side, aggravating your long standing rib injury, and you groaned to yourself as you uneasily got up to your feet.

Before you even register Billy’s location, he grabbed the back of your neck instead and you shot a foot out to keep him from slamming your head again. You added the other foot and kicked off, throwing your body against his.

He hit the horse behind him and you hit him, but both of you went down.

Frank took over at that point, pinning him down and beating on him while you used one of the horses to haul yourself up. Your hands slipped from the blood and your own legs threatened to go out from under you. You glanced down and saw the makeshift dressing was already soaked through and dripping. You groaned to yourself and wondered how much longer until it was half past midnight and Dex would show up.

Matt’s voice came again.

If you can’t stand, you can’t fight… Get up and fight. Back. Don’t let him win.

You wobbled on your feet and you were turning back at the fight when Frank slammed into your side. Your ribs knocked into the horse and felt the crack echo through. You groaned loudly before pushing yourself up, just in time for Billy to grab you by your hair.

Before he could do anything, you jumped over the horse and heard the thud of him hitting it behind you. You spun to face him before you pulled his arm over the top of the horse and you slammed your elbow down. The snap was loud and he cried out, signaling it broke. You smiled viciously before you fired from your Bite, a shot that caught him on the shoulder. He reeled away and you fired again, hitting almost the same spot. You followed after him and slammed the blade at your wrist into his shoulder before you grabbed his shirtfront. You yanked hard while throwing yourself back, pulling you both to the ground.

Your bloodied hand reached behind you and pulled one of the guns. You leaned back and the blade pulled back with you while you aimed. Before you could fire, he knocked the gun out of your hand. He changed your positions and you were on your back with his knee on your bulleted wrist.

As if on cue, Frank tackled Billy off.

“Никогда не заканчивается, не так ли…” You said to yourself, holding your fragile hand to your chest. (Never ends, does it…)

You had practically no feeling left in it and your fingertips were growing cold to the touch. You could move the digits but just barely. For a second, you thought they’d have to amputate your hand.

You forced the thought away and made your way back to Frank who had Billy against the mirrors. As you got closer, you saw the blood dripping from Billy’s stomach. You got there just in time for Frank to drag Billy’s face down the shattered mirror and you smiled genuinely. Frank backed off for a second to check on you and Billy tried to use the moment to his advantage.

You caught the punch he threw and shoved your short blade through his forearm, seeing the tip of the blade come out the other side. He screamed out and you forced him arm down, pressing your other at the base of his shoulder before you dragged him in a circle and shoved him face first into the jagged mirror. The action pulled the blade off your wrist but the blade was still lodged in his arm.

Frank held Billy by his hair and put a piece of the broken mirror against his throat. You stood beside your friend and pulled out your other gun, pressing it to Billy’s temple.

“Everyone I know will know your name.” You said lowly. “И все они будут презирать тебя за то, что ты сделал.” (And they’ll despise you for what you’ve done.)

You two met eyes in the shattered mirror while Billy mumbled something you weren’t listening to.

Your hearing had muffled itself by then. The edges of your vision were blurring and you felt unsteady on your feet but you pushed as the adrenaline faded from your blood. You persisted because you needed to see it through.

You came too far.

The two boys exchanged words before Frank put his weapon away. You hesitantly did the same but before you could attempt to speak, Frank kicked Billy into the glass again.

He slammed Billy into it a few more times while saying something you didn’t register. He offered you a turn and instead of slamming his head, you kicked your foot forward and your heel hit his face. You heard the crunch as the shards dug in deeper and while Frank finished his monologue, you remembered Dinah.

You made your way over and practically collapsed at her side. She was alive, at least. By the time Frank got to you, you were on the brink of passing out. Frank tried talking to you but you hardly processed any of it.  Instead, you forced the other Bite off and shoved it into his hand.

He practically threw the device before he sat beside you and carefully dragged you into his lap. One arm was behind you to keep you upright while the other reached for the bullet wound. You were fighting to keep your eyes open when you felt a sudden cold.

You weren’t sure if it was your own body temperature or Frank but when you got your eyes to focus, if only for a second, you couldn’t miss the blue haze across Frank’s eyes.

“I’m sorry.” You managed weakly. 

“You’re okay…” You couldn’t hear his words but you could read his lips. “It’s gonna be- gonna be okay. Just stay with me.”

Your head fell to the side and you saw a figure running up to you. He practically fell to his knees in front of you and his hands carefully cupped your cheeks.

————————————

You were no longer cold or in pain. You were no longer dripping blood and in agony. Everything was calm, quiet. Everything felt peaceful.

You felt at peace for the first time.

The scene around you had changed from the carousel to a vast, empty space. There seemed to be a spotlight on you and Matt, while everything else was drowned out in a heavy darkness.

“You’re safe, baby.” Matt promised. “You can stay here, with me.”

“I love you.” You said quietly.

“I love you, too.” He smiled.

—“C’mon, Princess. Not here.”—

“Did you hear that?” You asked, glancing around the shadows before Matt pulled you against him.

“Hear what?” His brows furrowed as he led you in a small box step. “It’s okay, Y/N/N. They can’t hurt you anymore.”

—“Y/L/N? Can you hear me?”—

“No, someone else is…” You shook your head as you understood something. Looking at Matt, you realized he was looking at you in return.

Looking at you, meaning he could see you.

—“I can’t find a pulse. We’re losing her!”

If Matt could see you, if Matt was there with you, then you weren’t at the carousel. Not consciously, at least. You were on the true brink of death.

“I’m dying.” You realized.

“Stay with me.” Matt tried, holding you a bit tighter as if he knew you had to choose.

“I can’t…” You whispered. “I can’t die like this, Matty.”

“Please.”

“My beautiful baby.” A female voice said.

Your attention turned quickly and you saw a woman standing a few feet away. She had tears in her eyes and her hands covered her mouth, but the crinkle at her eyes showed you she was smiling. You dared to take a step closer and you realized the woman had the same eyes you did.

“Mom?” You asked quietly, your stomach sinking.

“Hi, sweet girl.” She answered sweetly. “You grew up so beautiful.”

“Mom…”

“Hi, Y/N.”

Y/N… No, that wasn’t right. Your mother should’ve used the name she had given you. The name Dreykov took away.

“This isn’t right.” You said to yourself.

—“Goddamit, Y/N. You don’t get to die here, too… I told you to stay outta this.”—

“It’s okay.” Matt offered. “You don’t have to fight anymore. Isn’t that what you wanted? Peace.”

“Yeah… But not like this. Not if it hurts them.”

“It’s not about them.” Your mother’s voice - what you imagined her voice to be at least - came again. “It’s about you and your peace. Why should you go back for them?”

—“Dammit, Y/L/N, come on!”—

“I can’t leave them.” You understood. “Not like this.”

“Sweetheart?” Matt tried.

“I love you, Matt, so much. Every beat of my heart will be yours until it stops. I'm just not ready to die.”

“I love you too, Y/N/N.” He smiled softly, a sight that was nearly enough for you to stay with him.

“I will never love another, not like I loved you. I just don't have the love for it again… And I’m sorry I let you down.”

“You never let me down.” He gave you a small smile. “You’re exactly who you’re supposed to be.”

————————————

Your eyes opened to a hospital setting. You felt the throb of your pulse at your tightly wrapped wrists. Your entire body was stiff, taped and wrapped and bandaged in various places. You tried moving to adjust on the bed but the pain in your ribs reignited and you froze.

But the explosions were gone. The heat in your veins extinguished. The eternal hole swallowing whatever was left of your soul was erased. Being that close to death seemed to reset your emotional alignment.

“Just relax.” A familiar voice said from your side. Looking over, you saw Dex beside you and you felt some relief in the familiar face.

“How long has it been?” You asked, though you could barely hear your own voice.

“Four days.”

“You’ve been here the whole time?”

“Yeah.” He breathed in relief. “Pretty much, yeah. I had to make sure you pulled through, y’know”

“Guess that’s why you look like shit.” You joked.

“You’re one to talk.” He laughed lightly.

“Four days…” You repeated thoughtfully. “Does that mean Russo’s dead?”

“Uh, no. No, he’s not. Eleven hours under the knife and they’re still not sure if he’ll regain any significant brain function. Some of the nurses were saying he may not even remember the name if he ever wakes up.”

“What about Castle? Madani?” The incessant beeping from the corner of the room, likely the machine tracking your vitals, began to sound quicker. “Dex, don’t tell me this was all for nothing.”

“They’re alright.” He spoke quickly but his eyes stayed on the beeping machine. “They’re fine. Madani woke up earlier from what I hear. Looks like you took the real brunt of it.”

“Okay, good.” You sighed in relief and you lifted your more heavily bandaged hand to examine the wrapping. “Speaking of, just how bad?”

As if on cue, the doctor came in and gave you a quick rundown. Burned nerves in your hand. Shattered bones in your wrist. Deep cuts around both wrists. Severely broken rib. Concussion. Various bruises and cuts, including a stab wound near your belly button and a bullet nick under your jaw.

She suggested pins to repair the rib and said you’d need some physical therapy for your hand, along with a brace to absorb impacts from work even though they weren’t sure if the pain would ever go away. Some dexterity would be lost but you had expected that. She also explained that they utilized the bullet’s entry and exit to do most of the bone repair so there wouldn’t be additional scarring, as if that small cosmetic detail would make you feel better.

It didn’t.

You denied the pins and before she could try to convince you, your SAC walked in.

“You’re insane, you know that?” She said flatly once the doctor left.

“Yeah, so I’ve been told.” You agreed. “I’m guessing I’m fired?”

“No… Agent Madani explained why Russo was such a target for you two and it’s enough to piss off and interest both bureaus. Together, the bureaus will provide you two with all the legal resources we can to get Russo behind bars.”

“Behind bars…” You repeated slowly. “Attempted murder on two feds and manslaughter of another?”

“It’s my understanding that he won’t stand trial for Agent Stein since the operation was falsified.”

“You’re kidding.” You groaned. “Alright, well what about Castle?”

“What about him?” She shrugged. “Officially, he was never there.”

“He saved my life.” You argued firmly.

“The narrative has been… redirected. Lewis Wilson and William Russo are the only suspects anyone needs. Your statement and Agent Madani’s statement will corroborate that. Homeland had worked very hard to give your ‘friend’ his life back. Do you really want to take that from him?”

“Did Madani agree to this?”

“She’s the one who wanted to help Castle.”

“I want to see him.”

“No, we need to take your statement first. Interactions outside of this may influence your memory.”

“Well as of now, my statement includes Frank Castle going toe to toe with Russo to give me every chance to go home.” You said sharply. “It includes every hit he took that was meant for me and how I was used as bait to lure him out while you are trying to influence my memory.”

“Traumatic events can impact your memory of the event in its entirety.” Your SAC countered calmly. “Frank Castle was never there.”

“Your statement needs to match the official report, Y/N/N.” Dex tried, a more gentle tone than Hattley.

“Then maybe I should wait till it comes out for it to jog my memory.” You sneered.

“You’ve lost a lot of blood, agent.” Hattley said instead. “Get some rest and we’ll try again later.”

Once she left, you turned to Dex.

“I wanna talk to Frank.” You said quietly.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea right now.” He answered. There was an attempt at sincerity in his voice.

“If I don’t, then he’s gonna be sent away and he won’t know that I’m okay… Please, Dex. He’s my friend.”

“Alright.” He sighed. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Once he left, the bedside phone rang.

“Hello?” You answered cautiously.

“Hey there, sugar cube.” A familiar voice said on the other side, one that drew an almost immediate smile.

“That’s a nickname from a children’s show.” You laughed.

“A fantastic children’s show that you just refuse to watch.”

“If you say so, Wade.” You shrugged with a laugh. “How’d you know I was here?”

“Oh, I know everything about you.” He reasoned. “But what I don’t know is what the hell are you out here dying for?”

“Nothing.” You said innocently.

“Right, and I’m a fluffy pink unicorn that can crap diamonds and barf glitter… Come on. Spill. What made you go rogue?”

“The guy lied and wanted to kill my friend.”

“And where was Ye Olde Devil Friend?”

“Dead.”

He gasped dramatically and you chuckled a bit. “I’m sososososo sorry! You okay?”

“I’m working through it.” You said honestly. “In between caring too much and not caring at all.”

“I’ve gotta run because your guy friend’s coming back - which you need to explain that. I can see what you’re into but he also seems like he’s a chicken nugget short of a happy meal if you know what I’m saying… But call me if you need anything, alright? To talk, to cry, to run around town and stab some sickos, make friendship bracelets, vandalize someone’s car. Whatever it is, I’m there for you. Okay, pookie bear?”

“Never call me that again.” You laughed. “Thanks, Wade.. Hang on. How do you knew Dex is-“

“Okay, byyyyeeee!!”

The phone call ended and you sat in quiet shock for a moment. You shrugged it off as part of Wade’s usual antics and replaced the phone. You shifted to get comfortable on the bed when your rib reignited, sending a fresh burn of pain through your side.

“Может быть, булавки были бы хорошей идеей.” You muttered to yourself. (Maybe the pins would’ve been a good idea.)

“Hey, Princess.” Frank’s voice stole your attention.

You smiled widely as he came and sat on the edge of the bed. The action pulled on your busted lip and scraped jaw but you ignored the openings. “Look like hell.”

“Yeah.” You agreed with a small laugh. “Yeah, he sure didn’t take it easy on me.”

“Bet you wish you had listened to me now, huh?” He gently lifted your shot wrist. “How bad’s this?”

“Permanent nerve damage and shattered small bones. Doctor says I’ll need a brace and it could hurt for the rest of my life.”

He set your hand down carefully and kept a gentle hold on your fingers instead. You returned the hold as best you could, despite the pain that shot ups from the small movement.

“Just like that rib, huh?” He tried to joke.

“Had to make it a pair, y’know?” You joked in return.

“They fill you in on Russo yet?”

“Yeah, that he’s basically a vegetable right now and may or may not be worth anything ever again... I want him to remember. I want him to see me and now that I helped do that to him. And I want him to know he deserved it.”

“You really do got a mean streak.” He chuckled.

“They also told me about your help being omitted from the final narrative.”

He hummed in agreement.

“You know where you’re gonna go?”

“Anywhere, I guess.” He shrugged. “But I didn’t wanna go anywhere till I knew you’d be alright.”

“Honestly, Frank, I don’t think I’ll ever really be alright again… Not even physically but mentally. Losing Matt messed with my head and when I was right on that cusp of dying, I saw him. He practically begged me to go with him.”

“Y/N, you did die for about a minute.” Frank said gently.

“I did?”

“Yeah, your heart stopped. Blood loss, they said. Your partner was able to get you started again but it was one of the worst minutes of my life, y’know. You’re family, like a sister. And if I… If I had lost you at that carousel, Jesus, I would’ve…”

“I’m sorry.” You said honestly. “I didn’t think about it that way until it was almost too late.”

“Yeah, I could hear it in your voice that you weren’t thinking or caring.”

“I just couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t want to live with that anymore.”

“So why’d you decide you wanted to live?”

“I heard you.” You shrugged. “You and Dex, begging me to stay… Reminded me I’ve still got something here, I guess.”

“Good thing is that part of your heart that Murdock got to is still there.”

“Yeah, I guess.” You nodded. “Doesn’t make anything easier, though.”

“Nah. You and me don’t get easy. Easy gets boring.”

At that you laughed, which made your side hurt, but you didn’t quite care at the moment.

“I’ll get you when you’re released and take you home, alright? Get some rest. You need it.” Frank said kindly.

“Yeah, I feel like I got hit by a bus.” You agreed as he stood.

He reached forward and gently put a hand on top of your head. You smiled slightly as you understood what the gesture meant. He was grateful you were alive. He was grateful you were in his life to begin with, on his side and willing to fight right next to him. But there was also a hint of regret, like he wished you didn’t have to.

Three days later, you were able to go home. During those last few days, you gave your official statement to your bureau and your deposition regarding David’s involvement.

You went with Frank to bring David home. He asked you both to come in but you politely declined. Though as you two were pulling away, Leo came running out. She came straight to your window and knocked on it till you rolled it down. She put the familiar hourglass back in your hand, insisting you keep it for the next person you need to help. She then lifted the cuff of her sleeve to show the red drawing on the top of her wrist while she proudly said she had her own now.

You encouraged her strength and she smiled brightly, waving vigorously as you two left. It was a good thing you did, because you were tearing up at that point as you thought of how you had actually helped her.

Frank stuck around with you at Curtis’ meeting that night. He spoke about the uncertainty of what comes after war and how the silence after the gunfire was hard to live in. You understood that. Fighting beside Daredevil was your own war and once he was gone, it was quiet. Too quiet.

Frank drove you home that night and opened your car door. When you got out, you hugged him tightly. He returned the gesture, though he was more careful of your still lingering injuries.

“You’re gonna be alright, Y/N/N.” He said gently.

“I know.” You sniffled. “I’m just not looking forward to doing it alone.”

“You’re not alone. You got Karen, Nelson, Curtis, that church Murdock went to. People out here, they care about you, right? And you still got me. Anytime you need me, you call me, okay? And I will get my ass over here. I don’t give a damn what Madani or Homeland have to say about it. You got it?”

“Yeah.” You smiled slightly and stepped back. “Thanks, Frank. I know we probably won’t talk much while you’re gone but if you get yourself in trouble, you can call me, too.”

“I know.” He returned the smile. “And here.”

He handed you an envelope.

“You’re giving me money, too?” You joked and he scoffed slightly.

“Cause you need it, right?”

“I do. Rent’s not cheap, even with the billboard… Really, what is it?”

“It’s a letter, smartass. I know it’s hard, losing that one person who meant everything. And it’s not the same but for when you’re down in the dumps and are gonna go off the rails again, read it first.”

“Aw.” You gave a teasing pout. “Punisher’s gone soft.” You poked his stomach a few times while he chuckled.

“Yeah, run of the mill teddy bear over here.” He snorted a laugh. “Take care of yourself, alright? You promise me that?”

“Yeah.” You nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

[bfi-archive]

WORLD CLASS SINNER - FRANK CASTLE

ten - is it over now?

tags: n/a // nine // finale // masterlist

Pairing: frank x reader, billy x reader

Word Count: 11, 189

Summary: A long time coming, one fight comes to a bloody conclusion. Another lurks in the near future, and the connection between two friends and two lover is severed.

You weren’t supposed to be in the room, so you weren’t. You weren’t supposed to linger by the door and eavesdrop, so you didn’t. You were involved in the situation after all.

Highly involved.

And not just as FBI, protecting a civilian reporter from a terrorist during an active investigation, but as an agent that let Frank Castle get away.  That sided with Frank Castle.

You may not have been in the room, but you heard it all. You managed to get a surveillance piece onto Brett’s jacket so once you flipped your implant, it was as good as being in the room with them.

They talked about Lewis’ attempt at Anvil, Billy’s denial and your consultation. You almost cursed at the connection, but at least you weren’t on the payroll for Anvil anymore. It did show that you and Billy had a relationship outside of the company, but should he and Anvil go down for Sam Stein, you wouldn’t be connected to him. Only connected to Dinah.

The word negligence was thrown around and you almost laughed. It reminded you of how Billy shoved his own team into your line of fire to save himself. A pathetic excuse of a man, cloaked by his confidence and good looks. You were glad you saw who he truly was but that didn’t make it sting any less. Not hurt, per say, just sting.

Brett interviewed Ori and then Karen, and you pretty much knew how those interviews would go so you didn’t care to listen. Dinah next, and you last.

“Best for last, huh?” You joked as you sat on the couch, running hands over your pant leg. There was no blood beside the dried remnants from the prior chaos, but they still felt soaked. Dripping, ready to stain whatever you touched. 

“Who’s story you hoping I corroborate?”

“None.” He shrugged. “I just wanna know yours.”

“Castle wasn’t working with Lewis.” You said plainly. “Everyone’s throwing the allegation but it’s not true. Lewis was a guy who was misguided by a fraud to the point that he radicalized the Punsiher’s ideology.”

“Seemed pretty radical on its own.”

“Consequence?” You brows raised. “Castle didn’t hurt random people. It was intentful. It was specified. He killed drug dealers and rapists and murderers.”

“Guess after defending him in court you’re bound to take his side.”

“You’re saying I have a bias.” You pointed out. “I was here at my bureau’s direction. Nothing was about Castle from my end.”

“So the FBI doesn’t want Castle?”

“I wasn’t dispatched for Castle. My team and I were sent to apprehend Lewis.”

“So why do my officers tell me you and Billy Russo were pointing guns at each other?”

“He shot at me first.” You shrugged. The shot was meant for Frank in all actuality, but at that point, it was all the same. “Interfering with a federal investigation. Attempted assault of a federal agent. Aggravated assault against Castle. Should I go on?”

“You’re making me wish I was dealing with Murdock again.” He huffed. “Even Nelson and the cigars he would buy my mom.”

“Yeah, they’re a lot nicer.” You agreed.

“Not even that… Just less combative.”

You shrugged. It was all the same at that point.

“You fired your weapon, Y/N.” He sighed.

“Yeah.”

“Then took off with Castle.”

“Mhmm.”

“Why?”

“Cause he was helping me get to Karen.” You said honestly. “We saw Lewis take her and I knew Frank wasn’t going to hurt me. Wouldn’t let anyone else hurt me either.”

“Why are you so convinced he’s innocent? You want me to see a bigger picture here. Paint it for me.”

“You worked the Castle case first time around. You, on some level, know him. You don’t think he’s a terrorist anymore than I do, but the question now Brett, is whether anyone is going give someone a chance to prove that before they put a bullet in him?”

“You’re insane, you know that?”

“Yeah.” You laughed a little before you turned to leave. “So I’ve been told.”

“We’re not done.” He said, though there was no effort to stop you.

“I’ve got my own team to catch up with and an SAC to debrief. You know where to find me.”

You found Dinah and Karen talking down the hall so you walked up to them with a small smile for greeting.

“You two have a connection, I know that.” Dinah looked over at you. “So do you… If you know where he is or how to contact him, please.”

“Micro reached out to you, didn’t he?” You said quietly as you realized something. “You said a name in the stairwell.”

She nodded slightly before facing Karen again.

“I’m the best chance he’s got.” She urged.

“I’d beg to differ.” Karen looked at you and you gave a small nod before she took Dinah’s card. “He’s not what they say he is… Saved my life, again.”

You excused yourself at that point because Dex had made his way up, along with the other two from your team. They were in rough shape but definitely better than you. You could feel the bruises across your torso growing but EMS had removed the shrapnel. Your forehead was cleaned and bandaged, you having refused the stitches. 

Your SAC thoroughly chewed you out at debrief. She scolded you for abandoning your team, disabling comms, and ultimately going rogue. She said you should’ve eliminated Lewis at the beginning, before the hostage situation, then taken Castle into custody. She yelled that Billy Russo never should’ve been a player in the game. When you tried to reason that Billy had his fair part in it, she didn’t want to hear it.

You didn’t care enough to manipulate her either so you just let her talk.

Dex stepped in and backed you on siding with Castle. He said that since you knew Castle, you knew whether or not he was an asset or a threat in that situation. He even said that more people would’ve died if you tried to fight Castle.

“Wanna tell me what your plan is?” Dex asked once you two were out of your SAC’s office.

“Partner with Madani from Homeland.” You began. “Find Castle. Go after Russo.”

“What’s your deal with Russo anyway?”

“He killed a Homeland agent and a military colonel, both that I witnessed. He shot at me, obstructed a federal operation. I want to go after him, Dex.”

“So it’s personal. You’re gonna risk your career on a vendetta?”

“Exactly, my career.” You agreed. “You’re not gonna talk me out of it.”

“Alright.” He nodded. “How do we do it then?”

“We don’t do anything.” You shook your head. “Madani and I will build a case and I’ll let her bureau do the rest.”

“C’mon, Y/N/N. That’s it?”

“He killed one of theirs.” You shrugged. “What else am I supposed to do?”

“If you need my help with any of this, you call me. Got it?”

You nodded with a grateful smile before you hurried out the building. You practically ran to your car and shouted across town to the compound, thanking Matt’s God for every green light.

When you got in, you found both men in the poorly lit bathroom. Shrapnel bits were littered in the sink and Frank’s shirt was torn in pieces on the floor. Lieberman moved to try and stitch the gunshot line on Frank’s temple but he jerked away. You went over and took the supplies from Lieberman’s hands, easily switching places. Lieberman wished you luck, said Frank won’t talk, and patted your back before he left.

You said nothing as you cleaned up the blood on the side of Frank’s head. A million questions lingered in the air yet neither of you dared to voice them. Saying it out loud made it real, and despite you both seeing it with your own eyes, some part wanted to deny it.

“I’m sorry.” You finally said, focusing on your stitching instead of Frank’s stare reflecting off the shattered mirror. “About Billy.”

“You knew he was dirty?” He said lowly, angrily. “That was you were trynna tell me, hmm?”

“I knew he was working with Rawlins, yeah. I wanted proof but I was holding out, hoping he was doing what I was doing. Playing both sides, looking out for you, y’know? … I was wrong.”

“How long have you known?”

“I never trusted his involvement to begin with. But I didn’t know until after he started airing the radio call. We went to that CIA safe house you found Rawlins at. I met the guy and pretty much called him out.”

You dared to look at his expression and saw a blank canvas.

“It was just before Bennett. He was there, part of my way in was being on his team, and he didn’t stop me from helping you so I guess I figured…” You shrugged, sighing heavily before you broke the thread. “It’s my fault this happened.”

“What?” He turned to you. “What are you talking about?”

“This.” You gestured to the gunshot. “I let my feelings intervene again and someone else got hurt.”

“Feelings? Y/N, what do you mean, feelings? You think you having a crush on Russo changed anything?”

You were quiet.

“You said he was dirty the whole time, so you sleeping with him or going out with him, it wouldn’t have changed anything! No, Bill… He made his choice, okay? And it’s got nothing, nothing, to do with you.”

“I should’ve led him away.” You said instead. “I should’ve smokescreened and left him in the dark like Dinah was.”

He scoffed at her name.

“I know he went behind your back going to Dinah, but he just wants to get back to his family.” You tried to defend. “Cut him some slack… I was probably gonna slip Dinah some information to get her on Rawlins’ tail soon anyway.”

“What are you gonna do now?” He asked instead.

“After cleaning you up?” You tried to joke while you moved his arm to see the gashes left from the shrapnel. “Partner with Dinah. Pretend to look for you. Go after Russo.” You rattled off the items on your mental list.

“What about the FBI?”

You shrugged. “My partner knows what I want. He’s got my back if I need him.”

“Sure you can trust this one?”

“Nope… But I’ve taken bigger gambles before. No one believed I should’ve defended the Punisher in court and he turned out to be a good guy.”

He snorted slightly.

“Madani’s gonna wanna do it the right way.” He commented, an off-handed remark that was meant as a question.

“I know.” You answered honestly.

“Do you?”

“I'm not looking for revenge. I’m looking to win. As long as he goes down, for now I don’t care how.”

You two didn’t talk about it after that. You cleaned and dressed the rest of his wounds. He offered to return the favor for your forehead but you assured him your body was already taking care of it, utilizing the heat that lived under your skin to weld yourself back together. You didn’t stay much longer either.

After you got home. Dinah called and asked for you to come to her office the next day. She assured you she had a plan and she would explain in person. Since you had no ideas on where to start, you agreed.

“Did you see the news?” She asked when you shut her office door behind yourself.

“About the hotel?”

“Billy’s interview.” She clarified.

“Oh… Not much.”

“He doesn’t get to pretend he’s a hero here.”

“Okay. So what’s the plan?”

“Well, you and I both know he killed Stein.” She began, a haunted look in her eyes.

“During a blacked-out sting attempt.” You specified. “Aren’t you worried about that at all?”

“Rafi already knows.”

You made a face at the name since you weren’t exactly sure who that was but said nothing as she continued.

“What you and I need is to get him to admit it. Or even admit just being there.”

“How do we do that? Billy’s gonna be expecting both of us to come after him.”

“Not together.”

“Probably together. He knew I’ve been talking to you about everything lately. Both of us had guns on him at the hotel. It’d be more surprising if we didn’t team up.”

“It doesn’t matter.” She said tightly, a controlled outburst. “Are you going to help me or not?”

“That’s why I’m here.” You nodded. “Even if he admits it, how do we-“

Your question was cut short when another agent stepped in and said “He’s on his way up.”

“Who’s he, Dinah?” You asked, moderately annoyed since you already knew the answer.

She simply gathered her paperwork and gestured for you to follow her. You let out a long, silent sigh as you obliged. As you went down the hall, you could feel it coming up the elevator.

Confidence, bordering on arrogance.

Billy.

“When this inevitably goes sideways, step aside and let me handle it.” You said once you two were alone in the conference room, seconds ticking down till Billy’s arrival.

“Listen, just because you have some undisclosed skills doesn’t give you any authority here. You are in my department.”

“I know.” You nodded.

“This is my investigation. You don’t get to tell me how it’ll go.”

“That’s not what that was.” You shrugged. “But this is. He’s gonna come in here and it’ll seem like you’re in control until he flips it on you and suddenly, you’re playing his game. At that point, there’s three choices. One, you walk away with your tail between your legs and he thinks he’s won, which he would have. Two, you miraculously keep your composure and work your way through it. Or three, the most likely, I take over and worst case scenario, it’s a stalemate.”

“You don’t ge-“

“You came to me for help.” You cut in as light knocks sounded. “Remember that.”

Billy was ushered in and his eyes met yours first. It was as if he was looking for you. You simply gestured to the other side of the table while Dinah opened with pleasantries and moved to the camera.

“Lawyers are for the guilty.” Billy said, a pointed glance at you.

You rolled your eyes and reached behind Dinah to press the record button.

“Special Agent Y/L/N with the FBI, assisting with today’s interview.” You continued to rattle off the date and time before Dinah did her introduction. “State your name for the record, last name first.”

“Russo, William.” Billy said flatly, not making any effort to hide his annoyance.

“Mr. Russo, laid out before you are several photos from a recent crime scene.” You began as Dinah laid out the pictures. “Please examine them carefully and let us know if anything looks familiar.”

“Are you gonna Mirandaize me, Agent Y/L/N?” He deflected instead, using your name mockingly.

“No need.” Dinah answered. “Unless I decide to arrest you. We’re just talking.”

You didn’t miss the emphasis she put on it being her choice.

“Why am I here, Dinah?”

Dinah placed a photo of Stein on the table. Covered in his own blood, blood that was also on your hands. You rubbed your hands in the side of your legs when they suddenly felt warm and wet.

“Because you’re a murderer who’s gonna pay for the lives you took.”

A faint blue trail followed her fingers, hovered over the photo.

“Agent.” You said in quiet warning to which she shrugged you off.

“The only reason I was there that day was you.” Billy answered after a few seconds of him silently looking at the picture. Whether he was fabricating his story or simply digesting the empty look in Stein’s eyes - eyes you had watched the light fade out of - you couldn’t tell. “I was there to take you home. I remember going back to your place, cleaning you up, holding you all night in the same bed that you and I had repeated sexual encounters.”

“Did you and Frank Castle conduct illegal covert operations in Kandahar?” She asked instead.

“What the hell?” You muttered and dropped your forehead to your hand.

“I’m sure you’ve perused my service record. Does it indicate that I was in Kandahar?” He countered. “Here’s what I think happened. I think you’re pissed that Frank Castle got away from you. Agent Y/L/N made sure of that, didn’t she?”

The mention of your name made you lift your head and he offered your a quick smirk, leaving as fast as it came on.

“But you’re looking to blame me so you sent your guys to come down to pick me up. But now you’re realizing that maybe that wasn’t such a smart move.”

“Make your choice.” You told her quietly, nodding slightly towards Billy to say that it was the moment you had predicted.

“Now if this was official,” Billy continued and you could

practically see the gears turning in Dinah’s head. “You wouldn’t be sitting there alone.”

“She’s not alone, Mr. Russo.” You spoke up, making the decision for her. “I’d like to circle back to something if you don’t mind.”

Billy turned to you with an amused expression and gestured for you to continue.

“You mentioned sexual encounters with Agent Madani.” You began.

“What are you doing?” She asked tightly but you ignored her, refusing to break eye contact with Billy.

There was a challenge in his expression as well as yours. Neither of you would back down.

“Yes. Don’t worry, I was getting to you and I as well.” Billy replied. “And this whole thing.” He made a vague gesture to the table and between you two. “Calling you agent, kinda hot.”

“Do you have some proof of you recently being at either of our residences for any extended periods of time?”

“Meaning?”

“Cell tower pings, location tags, GPS directions. Anything like that.”

“Most likely.”

“Great, and can you provide any specific dates?”

He scoffed lightly.

“Along with that, do you have proof of what occurred during these alleged encounters?”

“Proof?” His brows raised.

“Photos, videos, explicit text messages, audio recordings.”

“You wanna know if I made a tape?” He chuckled in disbelief.

“I want to know if you can back your allegations with evidence, should anything escalate.” You countered firmly. “Can you?”

“I don’t have pictures or videos.” He spat back in annoyance.

“Audio?”

“No.”

“Texts?”

“Doubtful. You’re very careful.”

You hummed slightly and he rolled his eyes, knowing you had beat him on that.

“Then your allegations are baseless and therefore irrelevant.” You smirked with a shrug.

Dinah pushed yourself up and shut off the camera. You sat back in your seat and folded your hands over your stomach, swiveling slightly side to side. Billy was still looking at you, an almost proud expression on his face that you didn’t acknowledge.

“You’re gonna tell me this room isn’t bugged?” Billy asked after a small stint of silence. “Can never be too careful.”

“Funny you mention that.” You offered a sarcastic expression. 

“I’ve got an offer for you, best and final.” Dinah said quickly and you spun in your chair to face her. Your brows were raised with an expectant expression. “I’ll guarantee leniency if you give me the executioners, the tortures, everything. And when I say everything, I need William Rawlins.”

You turned enough to see Billy’s reaction.

“You didn’t know I had Rawlins’ name.” Dinah bragged and again, Billy looked to you.

“Wasn’t me.” You shrugged. “Some NSA ghost story came around.”

“You killed Sam Stein.” Dinah continued. Her rage was filling the room, pushing out the air and threatening

to choke you. It was more than justice for her, though she’d never admit it. 

It was revenge. It was consequence. It was right up your alley, everything Exodus was built off of.

Maybe this was more her fight than Y/N’s. She could do more for Dinah than Y/N could. Avoid the red tape and bring a real conclusion.

“…life won’t be worth the termination-of-parental-rights form your mother scribbled her signature on.” Dinah spat and even you were taken back.

You almost said something about it but then remembered you weren’t with Billy. It was a sharp blow, even for you, but the woman was angry. And hell has no wrath like a woman scorned. You focused back in on the conversation as Dinah’s as vaguely threatening Billy before she left, leaving you and Billy alone in the room.

“Your head’s healing nice. Almost forgot you got hurt in the first place.” He commented instead of the question in his eyes. He didn’t trust the room wasn’t bugged so he didn’t dare to say what he really wanted.

“Yeah, cuts and bruises heal pretty okay for me.” You nodded. “The rib still hurts on deep breaths but that’s never gonna go away.”

“What are you doing, Y/N?” He asked quietly. “Getting mixed up in all this.”

“I’ve always been part of this, just not the way you expected. Started long before I met you, Bill… See you soon.”

You were barely out of the room when his hand was around your arm. You let out a quiet sigh while he pulled you down one of the nearby halls.

“I never wanted to hurt you, Y/N.” He said softly, the grip on your arm loosening while his thumb began to move against the fabric of your shirt. You made sure to put a hand on his chest to keep a fair distance between you two. “If there was another way…”

“Bill, all of this is your choice.” You insisted gently. “You could change it at any point if you let it.”

“I can’t…”

“I tried giving you the benefit of the doubt but you kept

proving me wrong time and time again. You put me in a position where I have to defend you time and time again. I have to bend my conviction again. I have to choose between you and him.”

“Then stop fighting!” He urged as a loud whisper.

“I can’t!” You answered in the same hushed tone. “As much as I like you, I can’t be on your side. You’ve proved that you’re not loyal to me and you’re not loyal to Frank… That man saw you as his brother, his family. How could you do this to him?”

“You like me?” He asked in genuine amazement.

“That’s what you heard?”

You scoffed to yourself and left after that, making your way to Dinah’s office. You walked in on her arguing with someone else that she introduced as Rafi, the man above her. They were yelling about the conflict of interest and you offered they watch the rest of the video but Rafi didn’t want to hear anything from you. You listened to the rest in silence but were told to find Castle and Micro.

You didn’t need to work very hard to do that.

Leaving Dinah’s office, you went straight to Frank and Lieberman. You walked in in a hurry to update them on what was going on. Dinah had gained nothing by bringing in Billy other than pissing the man off, but there was still some underlying desire to have you in his life. He didn’t want to lose you for good and you could manipulate that  but before you could say anything about the spray painted vest you caught a glimpse of, Frank had grabbed your arm.

You opened your mouth for a question but he pulled you against his chest and had his arms around you before you could find your voice. You froze for a second before returning the embrace. Maybe it was an apology for being a jerk the last time you two spoke or maybe it was just his way of saying he was glad you were okay since he hadn’t said anything about it before. Maybe even his way of saying he felt bad you lost someone else you had trusted, that he understood you were betrayed too. In all likelihood, it was all three,

“Love you, Frank.” You muttered against him. “Figured I should say it before whatever happens next.”

“Yeah, love you too, Princess.” He answered and stepped back, patting your cheek before stepping away.

There was tension in the air lingering from an argument that just finished between him and Lieberman. You looked at the former NSA agent and he gave you a look that said he wasn’t going to talk about it. Frank was rushing around, collecting gear and throwing it into the back of the van. You had moved to follow him when something on Lieberman’s monitors caught your attention.

“Guys?” You called as you moved closer to the screens. “What happened here?”

Frank was by your side first. “Go back.”

Lieberman reversed the footage and found a quick scene of two alleged cops taking Sarah and Zach. But you noticed Leo was nowhere to be seen. Lieberman and Frank were going back and forth about what to do, who would be coming, and whether Sarah would give up ‘Pete’. You were more worried about why Leo wasn’t in any of the footage.

You pushed past the bickering men and ran out to your car. You rummaged through the backseat and under your passenger seat, throwing everything out of your way until you found it. The cracked, blood-stained mask. You didn’t care if anyone saw you with it as you ran back into the compound and then began rummaging through Lieberman’s cluttered desktop. You examined different cables and adapters before finding one that matched close enough to the shape of port your mask had.

You were moving to plug both ends in, one to your mask and one to a computer, when you saw a new angle of footage. It showed the driveway and Leo jumping from one of the windows.

“Atta girl.” You said to yourself with a small smile before resuming your task, ignoring Lieberman trying to get you to stop.

“Call her.” You said, simply stating his hands away when he reached for yours.

You were furiously typing, overriding your own security protocols and verifying the use of the new device. You scrolled through the various connections and tracking devices until you found it. It was old, probably had terrible range and reception, but it was usable. With Lieberman’s interconnected network, it just might do it.

SUIT - Y/L/N

The emblem you gave Leo was one of the original trackers before they were embedded in your bodies.

You laughed in slight relief when the screen showed a mask with a small blip of the familiar hourglass shape. You were piecing together where exactly she went when Frank put the call on speaker and leaned over your shoulder to see what you were doing. You pointed to the blinking logo and looked back at him, knowing both hope and worry were reflecting in your eyes.

“Hello?” Her voice came through, panic evident.

“Hey, kiddo.” You said softly. “It’s me and Pete. We’re gonna help you but you can’t talk to anyone about it, okay? Not the cops, not anyone. You remember who I told you I was? I’m gonna handle this.”

“They took Mom and Zach.” She sniffled and your heart broke for her. “I don’t know what to do.”

“I know what they did.” Frank answered. “You have no reason to trust me but I’m right here and we’re the only hope you and your family have.”

“After this call, I need you to take the battery out of the phone.” You instructed calmly. “Throw it as far as you can. Then the SIM card, you do the same thing in the other direction. If those people try to find you, they’re gonna come up empty, okay?”

“You know where the pool in that park is, sweetheart?” Frank said after a whispered exchange between him and Lieberman. “I want you to go there, okay? You wait for us and we will come for you. Okay?”

“Okay… Okay.” 

The call ended after that and you turned to Lieberman.

“You need to go to her.” You said pointedly, pushing past him.

“You just said you two were going.” He reasoned. “She thinks I’m dead. Am I supposed to just go up to her and say ‘Hey, baby. I’ve been living in a basement for a year. I’m not dead. Come let’s-“

“Goddammit, David!” You shouted in frustration. “Your daughter is scared and on her own!”

“Hey..” Frank said quietly, putting his hand on your shoulder. You took a deep breath and nodded, collecting yourself before talking again.

“Go to your little girl, David.” You said in a calmer tone. “I’ve been where she is and when I tell you all I wanted was my dad…”

“Meet us at the Greenpoint Terminal. If we’re not there by midnight, you go to Madani.” Frank instructed.

“Only to Madani.”

“What are you two gonna do?” David asked hesitantly.

“I’ve gotta change.” You shrugged, looking down at your dress shirt. “Then wait for these sons of bitches to show up.”

“Make ‘em tell us where Sarah is. Then we’re gonna kill them all.” Frank finished.

You ran to your car and drove home quickly. You practically ran up the stairs and slammed into the locked closet. You kicked a small box that was left outside your door and figured you’d look at it later. You changed your clothes quickly, the familiar tight fitting material of your suit on your body. Instead of your specialized top from Matt, you wore your newest vest. You fit your Bites into place at your wrists, knives at your thigh and back of your belt, a gun on your hip, shock disks at the front of your belt, retractable at your wrist as well. You threw on a loose pair of sweats and a hoodie for the drive back and sped back to Frank.

You ditched your covers at your car and kept your head down as you went inside. You announced your arrival with a whistle, two quick notes that usually would’ve been answered by a second pair of notes. You arrived just as Frank was finishing his prep, hiding rifles and other gear while you made your way to the bloodied mask. You unplugged it, deleted any trace off David’s computers, and put it over your eyes.

You hauled yourself up into the rafters, tucking your feet to conceal your presence. You and Frank said nothing to each other, only exchanging looks from time to time. It wasn’t until you saw the lights coming from down the hall that you focused up. You tapped your mask and counted the bodies, noting the thermal imaging device your mask detected with one of them. Your presence wouldn’t be secret for long, but it was never intended to be. 

One of the men strayed from the group so you moved carefully from above. You timed your steps to his, careful to shift your weight evenly to avoid any sounds. Once he was completely isolated, you dropped down and landed behind him. You covered his mouth and nose with one hand while flicking out the retractable blade. You dragged the knife along his throat and felt the warm blood spill across your hand.

The familiar metallic smell lingered in the air as his body went limp in your arms. His blood was dripping from your hand and your blade as you tucked it and moved to the next one. A man a few dozen feet away. You clipped the wire between your Bites as you crept up behind him.

In a swift motion, you got the wire around his neck and yanked backwards to throw him to his face and put a knee between his shoulder blades. You pulled the wire tighter and he gasped for breath, clawed at the wire and reached behind to try to grab you. Your hand took hold of either side of his head and twisted, a sick snap echoing in the empty hall.

You met with Frank a few minutes later and made your way into the main room. There was a small team spread out so you and Frank split. You watched one of them begin a phone call so you crept closer and turned your implant to listen in. Your body grew tense when you heard the voice on the other end.

“Конечно.” You muttered in annoyance. (Of course.)

Billy warned that it was a trap but it was too late. A decapitated head came rolling in with an explosive strapped to it and when it went off, you began your next assault. Gunfire rang out on the other side of the room while you took on your targets. The three closest to you.

Panic rose in the trio as you armed your Bites and a threatening red glow emanated from the devices. You quickly fired at one before moving to a second. He raised his rifle but you ducked it and knocked it aside, causing him to fire into one of his teammates’ leg. You grabbed the knife from the back of your belt and dropped to a knee, swiping it along the inside of his knee. He cried out and buckled before you flipped the blade in your hand and drove it down through his foot.

You yanked the other leg out from under him and he fell to his back. You rolled over him and took control of the rifle to fire a quick burst at the first man you had hit with your Bite. You then pressed your device against the second one’s temple and fired, the smell of burnt flesh filling your nostrils quickly. At that point, one target remained.

You grabbed the helmet of the closest body and threw it, slamming the nose of the man limping towards you. You ran at him and took hold of the front of his shirt before flipping over him, pulling him backwards over the desk. You yanked him to the side to get him to face you before slamming your fist against his face. Bloodied punch after bloodied punch until his face was a mangled mess of blood and swollen lumps. At that point, you pulled your pistol and came around to the other side of the table. You held the man by his hair and placed your gun under his chin. He coughed up blood before you fired and he fell limp.

You made your way to Frank again as he was getting hit with heavy fire from three men. You ducked by his side and pulled the discs from your belt. Using the reflection off the blade of your knife, you ricocheted your discs to hit the furthest two. They cried out and doubled over, providing enough of a gap for you to move one way and Frank to go in another.

You went for the two you electrocuted, kicking out at the closest one’s chest to slam him into the wall behind him. You jabbed the heel of your hand into the other one’s throat before he could gather his rifle and he stumbled back, holding the tender flesh. The man behind you grabbed your arm but you quickly breaking free of his hold. You grabbed his forearm instead and forced his arm to extend. You threw your other elbow against the joint and heard the rip tendons. Without releasing his arm, you grabbed his shirtfront and threw him into his teammate.

You pulled a blade and jammed it into the closest one’s stomach, dragging it across until it came out the other side and even more blood spilled over your hands. Using the same knife, you buried it in the last man’s neck. Watching the blood spill from his lips as he choked on it.

You found Frank again in the kitchen, yelling for Russo.

“He’s not here.” You said simply, you accent in your voice as you wiped the blood splatter off your cheek. It wasn’t until then, when the adrenaline was fading out, did you feel the sharp sting on a bullet graze on the outside of your arm.

You heard groaning and turned to see one man crawling away. Or at least trying to. You walked over and pressed a foot against the slices at the back of his legs and he cried out, going limp under your weight.

“Where’s Russo?” Frank asked when he got to your side.

“I… I don’t know, man.” He said through labored, pained breaths.

“The woman. The kid. Where’s they take ‘em?”

“I don’t know, man! That was…” He tried but you shifted your weight to bring a new wave of pain. “That was need to know. I don’t know anything.”

“Fair enough.” Frank said lowly before a quick shot ended the man’s life.

“One of them called Bill when they got here and told him about that.” You stepped off the body and nodded towards the desks that still replayed Zubair’s torture and the countdown. “Check him for the phone.”

Frank patted through the pockets and found it, sitting against one of the pillars before dialing. He put it

on speaker and you sat beside him, rubbing your bloodied hands with a towel.

Sam’s blood.

Elektra’s blood.

“Frank?” Billy said after a short silence.

“The Billy Russo I knew… Oh, he’d have the balls

to come himself, y’know.” Frank said, more to you than Billy.

“The Billy Russo I knew wouldn’t be on the wrong side of this fight.” You added, letting your accent tint your words.

“I’ve got staff for that these days.” He answered calmly. “You know the saying about having a dog and barking yourself?”

“Someday, sometime, this is gonna come down to you and me.”

“What about your little friend? Sounds like she’s pretty involved too.”

“Little friend?” You repeated with a small laugh. “You haven’t figured out who I am yet?”

“You’re a wanted man, Franky Boy.” He chose to ignore you, or at least not admit that you were still a wild card. “They’ll catch up to you eventually, just like last time.”

“Guess we’re both running out of time then, huh, Bill?” Frank answered flatly.

“What’s in those computers, Frank?”

“Woman and the kid. Where are they?”

“They’re with me. Right here. Safe and sound.”

You tapped your mask and gave it a second to find the phone call. It lagged due to the cracked lens but you were able to catch on and begin tracking the call. You needed Billy on the line as long as possible to give your broken mask a chance to do its job.

“It’s everything on you, Billy.” You explained, watching the progress bar fill itself at an agonizingly slow speed. “Listen to me carefully. If anything happens to that family, the whole world will see it. They’ll see you, Bill. After that, you’re done.”

“And Zach and Sarah will be dead.” He countered sharply. “You want that family back? I want Lieberman, and I want you, Frank.”

“Sounds about right… And what about my friend in the mask?”

“The girl?” He paused, thinking it over.

“Not just some girl.” You said plainly, dropping your accent for your next sentence. “I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out, Billy.”

“Y/N…”

“Exodus.” Your accent found you again. You looked to Frank and he gave you a small nod. You sighed to yourself and pushed your mask up. “Set up the exchange.”

“You’re giving up that easy?”

“I’ve got a bigger picture.” You shrugged though it was more trust in whatever plan Frank had. “Last chance.”

“We’ll be in touch.”

You and Frank cleaned yourselves up and headed to meet with David. You called Dinah on the way and gave her the meeting point. You had thrown your sweats and hoodie back on, your mask hanging at your neck under the fabric and Bites hiding under your cuffs.

“How about it, Madani? You gonna pull your weapon on me again?” Frank joked and you smacked his arm.

“Do I have to?” She answered, making you and Frank chuckle.

“Surprised you called her.” David said, nervously looking between you two and Dinah. You looked past him and offered Leo a small wave that she returned.

“You and the princess trust her.” Frank answered and you glared at his use of your nickname. “I guess I do, too.”

“Princess?” She looked at you with a pointed expression.

“Not like that.” You shook your head and began to step away “He says it in a jackass kinda way.”

“No, it’s a ‘she gets everything she wants’ kinda way.”

“Exactly. Jackass.” You laughed.

You went around the van and opened Leo’s door. She was looking at you until Frank had joined you, then her eyes dropped to her lap.

“You did good, kid.” You said honestly. “I’m glad you had it.”

“Had what?” Her brows furrowed and she met your eyes.

“The symbol.” You smiled slightly. “Told you I’d have your back when you got it, didn’t I?”

“You guys knew he was alive this whole time?”

“Sorry about that.” You nodded. “It wasn’t safe.”

“I don’t know what to call you.” She glanced at Frank before dropping her eyes again. “Seems stupid to call you Pete.”

“I’m Frank, Frank Castle.”

“He’s a lot scarier than Pete.”

“Nah, he’s the same.” You offered and nudged Frank with your elbow before leaning closer to Leo to loudly whisper. “Honestly, I like Frank better anyway.”

Next thing you knew, you all went back to Dinah’s office. David and Leo waited in the hall while Dinah interrogated Frank. You hung out in the room, behind the camera. Initially, Dinah was against it but it didn’t take much of your power to change her mind. You knew you didn’t need to be in there but you felt protective of Frank, as both his lawyer and his friend. You simply wanted to make sure Dinah’s questioning didn’t cross a line.

Next was David’s interview, which you also hung around for. He spoke about wanting his family back, about that being his priority.

She tried to convince you to sit in front of the camera but you adamantly denied, saying your word wouldn’t change anything. You were too biased. As Frank’s lawyer and partner, you couldn’t speak on his actions without a conflict of interest. As Billy’s ex, you couldn’t speak on his actions either. As David’s associate, same thing. As Dinah’s freelance partner, nothing you said would be credible. So you erased any confidence in the idea and moved forward, getting ready to meet with Billy for the exchange.

You and the guys arrived just before the meeting time. You had no idea what would happen but you had to trust Frank had a plan, more of a plan than just killing Billy. But just in case, you gave him a hug before you got into position. You ditched your covers again and slid your mask to your face before disappearing into the shadows.

You watched the red van pull up and you pulled your gun from your belt. You felt a rush of relief when Sarah and Zach were revealed unharmed. You gripped your gun tighter when you saw the lit flare and your eyes shot to Frank. He lifted the phone to his ear so you tapped the scar in your hair and listened in, hearing Billy’s voice in your head.

Your mask was already tracing the call so you quietly began to follow the path you were given. You moved carefully, testing out ladders and walkways before putting your full weight onto them. You used the sound of the incoming DHS vehicles to cover your rapid footsteps. You came up behind Billy and grabbed the back of his jacket, pressing the other Bite against his temple.

“Miss me?” You asked, your accent dripping off your words.

“I can still pull the trigger.” He warned before you pressed your device harder.

“On who?” You looked over the scene.

Frank was nowhere to be seen and David was being grabbed. Sarah and Zach were safe behind Dinah but the firefight continued. Moments later, David went down and the scream that left Sarah froze you to your bones. It reminded you of your own scream outside Midland, watching the building go down and take Matt with it.

Billy took advantage of your distraction and as your hand gripped the railing in front of you in an attempt to jump it, he grabbed your arm and yanked to the ground. He pinned an elbow against your back and had your face pressed against one of the poles. You quickly looked down his barrel and saw he was aiming at Dinah.

“Go ahead then.” You spat, struggling under the pressure he was applying. “Kill her, then me. Make your life easier.”

Instead he shot out the front tires of both DHS vehicles and you let out a sigh of relief. You heard the clatter beside you when Billy dropped his rifle and grabbed both of your arms to haul you up with him. You struggled in his grip until he let go of an arm in favor of putting his hand on the side of your head. You had just armed your Bite when he slammed your head down to the railing.

One, two, three times till you fell unconscious.

You woke up on the cold concrete floor. Your head pounded and as you lifted it, you felt the slick feeling of drying blood. Looking over, you were in a small puddle of it. It had soaked into the band of your mask, which miraculously was still in place. Your hands were pinned tightly behind your back with zipties, practically tucked under the Bites still locked around your wrists. Your ankles were secured the same way and as you rolled yourself to your back, you felt nothing at your hip or back.

Your gun and knives were gone.

You managed to sit yourself up and began to glance around, looking for something to break the plastic restraints with.

“…geek friend is no longer with us.” You heard Billy’s voice from across the room.

“You killed him?” Frank asked quietly.

You looked around, craning your neck to see where they were. Across the room, you could only see Billy’s back and the arm of someone in the chair. That had to be Frank. The men continued their back and forth, unaware that you were awake on the other side.

“Did you pull the trigger on my wife?” Frank asked angrily and you felt a surge through your own veins, anticipation for Billy’s answer.

“On my son?”

The ultimate betrayal, more than simply siding with Rawlins. Killing Maria and the kids.

“My baby girl?”

“No.” Billy finally said and you felt some sense of relief. “No, I wasn’t there. If I was, you’d be in the ground because I wouldn’t have missed. But I told them I’d have no part in it.”

Your relief was short lived as you rolled your eyes and scooted down so your fingertips could reach the floor. You began to sweep your hands along, looking for anything. A rock, a loose screw, some debris from the previous fight. As you searched you wondered why Billy would have a part in it now. If he could so easily tell Rawlins and Schoonover no before, why not do it again? Especially when it was just Rawlins.

They continued their conversation as your search came up empty. You realized there was no other option and you closed your eyes and tilted your head against the wall. You clenched your jaw as you wrapped a hand around one of your thumbs. You pulled on the joint, moderating your breathing through your nose until it finally popped. You swallowed the groan as you released the limp digit. You flexed your hand up and got your nails under the edge of the zip tie and began to shimmy it down, over your dislocated thumb. You were silently grateful for your seemingly permanent blood soaked gloves, just as Frank was yelling towards someone else.

Your head snapped up and you tried to see again, but you knew your position was too hidden for him to see. You shrugged it off as your hands were able to separate. You pulled them in front of you and stretched out the ache in your shoulders before you looked at your ankles while popping your thumb back into place with another muffled sound.

You tried to get a finger under but those were done tightly as well. You sighed slightly and looked again, just in case your fingers missed something but you couldn’t miss what was never there. You rested the heels of your hands on your forehead and felt the edge of your mask.

The mask.

You pushed it off your head and turned it over in your hands, looking at the already cracked lens. You didn’t have the means to break it quietly but there was enough chipped off the edge that it was sharp. You tried it on the zip tie around your hand first and with a good tug, you got it to break through. At that point you brought it down to your ankles and began to saw through until it finally popped apart.

You smiled to yourself before you fixed the mask back over your eyes and crept closer to the scene, though you had to ignore the ache in your arms from your escape. Rawlins had come and gone but there was someone typing away at the computer screens, trying to get through to stop the countdown. Your first instinct was to go and help Frank, untie him before drawing Billy away, but the persistent tapping on the keyboards beside you kept plucking the strings of your nerves.

You’d deal with her first.

You crept into the area with the computers and woke one of your Bites. It hummed gently around your wrist while you stayed low to the ground to ensure no one in the next room could see you. You took one steadying breath, calculating the time you’d have between first contact and one of the men coming into the room.

Less than a minute was your best guess.

You kicked out her chair and the wheels scraped aggressively across the floor. She hit the ground with a loud groan so you reached across and covered her mouth with your hand. You aimed the other Bite and fired on her quickly, a sharp yelp coming from her before she fell limp. Small convulsions raked through her body though her eyes were closed. You stayed in your kneeling position and peeked over at the screen, finding comfort in the countdown that was still ticking. Cursor blinking in the box asking for a password

“Who are you protecting, hmm?” Billy asked and you dared to stand fully, relieved to see just him and Frank in the room and neither were looking at you. “Maria? Y/N?”

Your heart jumped at your name, triggering the set of explosions in your chest that you thought would betray you. You watched in quiet interest while Billy wiped some of the blood dripping from Frank’s mouth and nose.

“She’s probably the one person in this city you don’t need to protect.” He chuckled and you saw the faintest of pinks falling from his words. The thought of him loving you, it really made his firm stance against you so confusing, but for all you knew Billy was just as confused.

“Doing all this for Y/N/N isn’t gonna change anything. They’re dead. They’re dead because of you. And I get it. It’s a heavy, heavy burden… Time to put it down.”

“Don’t die on me, Frank.” You said to yourself. “I need a little more time.”

You ignored the words Billy was saying while you went back to the desk, finding the cable you had used when you first connected your mask to find Leo. You tried to move things quietly, given your rummaging was the only sound in the place. After what felt like an eternity, you found it. You pulled your mask around your neck and connected it. You typed carefully, gently pressing the keys to work through the security. When it came to the ocular scan, you were able to use a zoomed image saved in your mask. You had just gotten in when you felt slapped with the despair, the submission, and it left a cold feeling across your skin. You collected whatever would be dispersed when the timer ended and slid them over to be copied to your mask before picking up your head.

“It’s gotta be you.” Frank said and your heart sank immediately. “It’s gotta be clean. Just don’t let him take me, Bill. Don’t let him hurt her.”

“Who?”

“The… The princess. You gotta promise me that.”

How could he be worried about you in a time like that?

“Frank…” You tried to speak but you had no voice. Just a strained whisper of your friend’s name.

No, not your friend.

Your family. Your brother.

You understood then, the reasons you expected Billy to be loyal to Frank were the exact reasons you were, and that’s why it twisted your stomach so tightly. You fought beside Frank by chance, same as Billy. You risked your life at Frank’s side, same as Billy. You stood beside Frank in a storm of blood and bullets, same as Billy. Parched him up, trusted him with your life even when everyone told you not to. But on the other side, you stayed at his side without doubt. Billy left.

“He’s not gonna touch her.” Billy said honestly. “I promise.”

You weren’t exactly sure if you found comfort in that or not. What you did know from that was you had leverage, and you’d need as much of that as you could get.

There was a subtle pinging from your mask so you held it up enough to see that the files were copied. You disconnected the device and fit it back to your face as Billy summoned two men - who you hadn’t noticed and miraculously didn’t notice you either - to bring Frank to the computers.

Billy got into the room first as you were finding a hiding spot. Under the back corner of the desk, behind the leg among the mess of cables underneath. They stepped over the woman’s body and you saw Billy’s steps falter. Your hand hovered at your hip but remembered your gun was gone. You sighed to yourself and rested your hand over your bent knee, forced to depend on your own strength and your Bites. He said nothing and a bit later, the men slammed Frank’s chair down. You watched him draw closer, blocking your hiding spot from view as he spoke. Rawlins had entered as well while Frank was typing.

Soon after, a small alert popped up in the corner of your mask. You carefully tapped your mask and it displayed the live camera feed from David’s systems on the roof above you. You realized quickly that Frank was potentially going to push Rawlins, that way if he died that day, at least it’d be on tape.

That crazy son of a bitch.

The screaming was next, sending a jolt of adrenaline through you. Billy had moved out of your way so you reacted quickly. You kicked out his knees so he fell to the ground and you climbed out of your hiding spot. 

You moved to stand but Billy grabbed your ankle, causing you to stumble and give him enough time to get up. You spun quickly when his grip released, a small growl at the base of your throat as you faced him. He looked at you with slightly widened eyes before you moved at him. You threw sharp combos of punches, alternating hands and targets, switching your feet and ducking his attempts to hit you back. On one swing, he pushed your hand away but the movement was enough to flick out the knife at your wrist. You chuckled in disbelief, having completely forgotten about the discreet weapon, before yanking your arm back and slicing the tip of Billy’s shoulder.

You shoved your shoulder into his chest to knock him back before you hurried to kneel at Frank’s side. He looked at you in complete shock and you ignored the look while you wiggled the tip of the blade under the ziptie. Before you could break it, a heavy boot slammed your side. It knocked the air from your lungs as you fell to the ground. Looking back and clutching your side, Rawlins stood over you with blood dripping down his chest and neck. He was breathing heavily before he slammed his foot into the side of Frank’s head and your friend went limp.

He came closer to you and you saw Billy coming up behind him. You quickly decided you didn’t need or want that man to save you so you helped yourself. You waited until Rawlins was within your reach and you swiped your blade in a wide arc and sliced both of his legs. You then kicked out at the new wounds and the man fell into Billy. You ran after that, just far enough away that you could get into the rafters, though neither man had the audacity to chase you.

You waited a few minutes and just as you were going to sneak back in, your implant was pinging with a phone call. You denied it but it came again. With a silent groan, you climbed down and snuck out the back entrance you usually crept in through.

“What?” You said sharply.

“What did you do to my cameras?” David asked quickly on the other end.

“Your cameras?”

“I’m trying to access them but it says they can’t broadcast. You said you messed with them. What did you do?”

“What are you…” You began before you remembered. “Right, shit. When I first got here and I didn’t know or trust you, I blocked any and all broadcast. Only connected devices can get to the feed.”

“Well unblock it!”

“I can’t.”

“What do you mean you can’t?” Dinah asked, her voice further away than David’s.

“I don’t have that tech with me.” You said honestly. “I might be able to do it through my mask but there’s no guarantee… What do you need the cameras for anyway?”

“These men need to be arrested!” She urged. “We need to see what’s happening.”

“There are no arrests to be made here!” You argued. “Madani, I worked with you because I needed to know what you knew. But this talk of- of trials and arrests, you sound like Daredevil and look where that got him. It ends the way Frank decides it ends…. Жизнь за жизнь.” (A life for a life.)

“Can I undo it from here?” He asked instead.

“Maybe.” You shrugged, not caring to argue. “Can you read Russian?”

“What?”

“It’s a Russian program. If you can read it, the override key is Daredevil, Отчаянный. And the confirmation is Romanoff, Романофф.”

“Why would you do it in Russian?”

“It’s my first language, dude. Look, I gotta go.” You hung up quickly.

You took a deep breath of fresh air and looked back at the door.

You could leave. You didn’t have to stay, didn’t have to fight. You could go home, lick your wounds and take on Billy on your own if Frank didn’t finish it.

But what kind of friend would that make you? What kind of person would that make you?

You’ve gotta see it through, sweetheart.

You could hear Matt’s voice in your head.

You’ll be alright. Save Frank to save yourself.

You weren’t even worried about yourself.

So you went back inside. You snuck in quietly and stayed low, hiding in shadows and behind the clutter David left behind. You watched the scene unfold with a sick feeling in your stomach, enough to make you want to puke. But you swallowed it down, forced it to the bottom of the chasm in your chest.

Every punch Rawlins landed on Frank was paired with an echoing explosion. You were still there, in front of Midland as it went down. And the Matt in your head might’ve been right. To get yourself out of there, to save yourself, you had to save Frank.

“I made him a promise.” You recognized Billy’s voice as you got into the room, shimmying behind some pile

of crates.

“I don’t care about your promise.” Rawlins spat and the anger was hot, even in your hiding spot. “Why don’t you make yourself useful and go find the girl?”

“The girl?” Billy nearly laughed. “You do realize that was Exodus, right? She wiped the Russian syndicate off the map by herself. She cleared Yakuza from the city. Took on Wilson Fisk. She don’t wanna be found, no one’s gonna find her.”

“Oh… I see.” Rawlins nodded and you clicked your mask to watch from the camera. “You’ve gone soft for her.” He mocked. “You think she cares about you, Russo? If she’s so dangerous, then you're only alive to serve her purpose. Once she’s done, she’ll put a bullet in you unless you get to her first.”

“She’s not gonna kill me.” Billy shrugged and your brow quirked at the confidence. “And I’m not gonna kill her. But I am gonna kill him.”

“He does not get to die easy!” Rawlins yelled.

“He’s taken too much from me.”

“Like what?” Billy challenged and in any other scenario, you would’ve thought it to be sort of hot.

You stopped paying attention after that, wondering how you were going to get the men out of the room. You considered going after their hacker again, but you’d already shocked the girl once. Doing it again might just kill her. You could head back into the rafters, call them and lure them away. Throw something down the hall and watch them panic, but that might only get one. You were calculating different options when Frank’s agonizing scream sounded and you nearly exposed yourself.

“This doesn’t serve me!” Billy yelled and you saw two sets of feet moving away. Looking at the small camera image at the corner of your vision, Billy had pulled Rawlins off.

Rawlins calling Billy a gutter rat seemed to strike a chord with you that you didn’t understand, nor did you try to. You stepped out carefully, gently guiding the blade out of its position hidden under your Bite, and crept behind Rawlins. Billy’s eyes darted over and saw you coming but instead of saying anything, he moved to be behind Frank and put his gun to his head.

You reacted quickly in turn, putting an arm around Rawlins’ neck and kicking out his knees to force him to the ground. You pulled back the arm around his throat and pressed the tip of the blade under the man’s chin.

“Nice to know you’ve got good things left to say, Bill” You said simply, your familiar accent rolling off your tongue with ease. “But if you hurt him, I will kill you.”

“Stand down, Lieutenant!” Rawlins shouted, a strained sound.

You heard a faint click, not one of the handgun Billy held but something else. Like plastic breaking. After a second, Billy stood and held his gun up in surrender.

“And you.” You said to Rawlins, pushing the tip enough to break skin. “Beating on a man who cannot fight back. That’s low, even for me. Is it because you’re afraid?”

“I’ll kill you.” He breathed. “After Castle, you’re dead.”

You looked up and saw Billy moving closer, a hand out to you in question. You clenched your jaw and yanked your blade, cutting a long line across the bottom of his chin before you threw him to his face. You reached down and took the gun from his holster, tucking it into yours instead.

“No, I don’t think I am.” You answered. “I took out Russians and Yakuza, remember?”

You let Billy grab both of your arms and put them behind your back. Rawlins had gotten to his feet and reached for something off the table, a blue rod in either hand. You tried to see it better but he shoved the object against your stomach, between the armored plates and you felt a needle pierce your skin.

You gasped in shock and Billy pulled you backwards as Rawlins turned to Frank and laughed. You sudden felt a tingling sensation across your body, as if all of your limbs had fallen asleep and were waking back up. You could feel your heart steadily picking up in your chest, a strange stutter in its rhythm. It made you dizzy, uneasy on your feet and falling into Billy. You watched him stick Frank with the other and he sat upright in his chair.

“Adrenaline…” You muttered, shaking your head to clear the symptoms. You could feel them fading, the heat under your skin burning through the excess hormone, but that didn’t make the physical effects any less.

“Frank…” You tried but got no reaction, not even when Rawlins leaned in with what looked like an ice pick in his hand.

“Frank!” You yelled, using every square inch of air in your lungs as Billy dragged you towards the computers.

You watched as Frank got his revenge, beating on Rawlins before shoving his thumbs into the man’s eye sockets. It was a grotesque scene but well warranted, all things considered.

You fought out of Billy’s hold and stumbled down the short stairs, making your way to Frank’s side. The two exchanged comments as you fell to your hands and knees beside your friend. You were reaching for the gauze at your belt when you heard the Homeland announcement. Your intent shifted to the borrowed gun and you lifted it as Billy aimed his gun at Frank.

You fired without hesitation and grazed his hand. You didn’t pay attention to where he went. Instead you dropped the gun and focused on Frank. David was quick to get to the ground beside you and Dinah stood a few feet away in quiet shock.

“Dammit, Dinah.” You said sharply. “Help me. Help him!” You began shouting. “He did all of this for your goddamn justice and all you can do is stand there!”

“Put your hands up!” An agent yelled but you ignored him, staring daggers at Dinah while you were holding Frank’s hand. You knew you were projecting your desperation, the need for him to survive, but you didn’t know how it came across to him.

“Hands up, now!” He yelled again and you felt the rifle at the base of your skull.

“Jesus Christ, Madani, do something!” David shouted.

“Если нет, ваши люди снова умрут.” You warned lowly. (If not, your men will die, again.)

[bfi-archive]

WORLD CLASS SINNER - FRANK CASTLE

nine - bad omens

tags: n/a // eight // ten // masterlist

Pairing: Billy x Reader , Frank x Reader

Word Count: 9,660

Summary: Lingering omens finally register and truths are revealed through blood, bullets, and betrayals.

You were getting dressed when you heard the knocks at your door. You went over and peaked out the peephole, seeing Billy standing outside your door. You sighed slightly and opened it, turning your back and walking away almost immediately. You focused your attention on tucking in your shirt instead.

You figured something closer to combat ready would be better so you were wearing a fitted dark colored long sleeve, thumbs looped through the holes at the end of the sleeve. It would allow a snug fit of your FBI branded bulletproof and it was a familiar enough fit to the suit you usually wore for your “freelance” work.

“You got plans?” Billy asked as he followed you into your apartment.

“Yeah.” You said simply before glancing over your shoulder. You noticed he was in a dark outfit himself. “So do you, clearly.”

“I could really use your help on this, Gorgeous.” He tried and you shook your head with a small scoff before you headed into your bedroom.

“So long as you're with Rawlins and against Frank, you’re against me too.” You said firmly as you searched for a belt.

“That’s not fair, Y/N.” He argued and came into your room. You two met eyes in a heated glare while you fastened the leather into place.

“No, what’s not fair is coming here and expecting me to be on your side.” You said, heat climbing up your spine. “I don’t owe you anything. I don’t have to help you and I sure as hell don’t have to answer to the same man you do. Coming in here and throwing around a cheap pet name isn’t gonna get you anything.”

“Jeez.” He laughed slightly. “This isn’t about Rawlins, y’know.”

You hummed a sarcastic response. “So who’s paying out 500k a piece to a group that opened fire on civilians? Who’s asking a blacked out search and destroy?”

“Listen, there’s a lot of moving pieces right now.”

“Yeah, well, if you want to answer a man who sees you as a piece of meat, be my fucking guest. But you have no right to bring that to my doorstep.”

“A piece of meat, huh?” He scoffed. “You got no idea what you’re talking about.”

“If you only knew.” You said to yourself. “I guess it doesn’t matter anyway. I’m not going against Frank in any sense.”

“Jesus Christ.” He muttered. “Why are you so loyal to him?” He asked loudly.

“Why aren’t you?” You nearly yelled back, that anger burning your throat as the words left. “Frank sees you as family, Billy. You’re his brother! Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

“What do you care?” He yelled back.

“Because someone has to!” You snapped, feet carrying you across the room before you could think otherwise. “Can you seriously look at me and tell me you don’t care what happens to Frank?”

“I tried to help him.” He said, calmer than before but still with underlying tension. “He blew me off.”

“When?”

He shrugged.

“And if he gets to Rawlins, who are you gonna pick?”

He shrugged again.

“Goddammit, Billy.” You shoved him by his chest and you watched his expression shift. “That shouldn’t be a question! That’s the problem!”

You moved to shove him again but he caught your wrists. He yanked you to him and turned you quickly before backing you against the nearest wall. He pinned your hands near your head and you simply glared up at him. He took half a step away so he could lean down and be eye level with you.

“All that fire…” He said lowly, eyes darting between yours which you knew were reflecting the anger rising beneath your skin. The deep echoing explosions in your chest. “That loyalty…”

“Billy..” You said firmly, shifting to find more space but failing.

He leaned in close, breath mingling with yours. Any other day you would’ve tilted your head to meet his lips, make you both late for your ops. But the thought made a bile rise in your throat instead.

“You care about me like that?”

You said nothing.

“Is it insensitive if I told to get your shit together so I can love you?” He asked before a half smile that quickly faded. “I mean, is it really your grief that keeps you from giving me everything or do you just not want to?”

“Are you really gonna talk about that at a time like this?” You nodded towards your pinned hands.

He made a small noise of agreement before he hesitated at releasing your hands. He let go of one and guided the other to rest against his chest. He pinned it there with his own hand and used the other to carefully grab your chin to look at him. He squeezed your face slightly, not enough to hurt but enough to ensure you wouldn’t be able to pull away.

“I don’t wanna fight you on this.” He said with a mock sentiment that stung your skin wherever it met his. “But I can’t have you getting in the way either.”

“So go then.” You spat, a muffled sound from the way your squished cheeks limited your mouth. “No one’s making you stay.”

He said nothing as you reached up to push his hand off your face. You pushed past him and returned to your prior task of dressing for your assignment. It wasn’t until he spoke again did you acknowledge his presence.

“So that’s it, huh?” He asked but that time the disappointment was real. “Should’ve seen it coming.”

“We’ll go around again and then jump back in bed with each other.” You shrugged. “You’re gonna act like there hasn’t been repeated omens that we’ve both been ignoring?”

“Isn’t that what you do when you love somebody?”

“Somebody else.” You said firmly, eyes catching on that familiar strip of photos from the mall photo booth in college. “I love somebody else.”

He left without a word and you let out a heavy sigh.

it wasn’t over between you and Billy. Not as long as your mission with Frank was live. Once that was finished and Rawlins was in the ground would you truly be able to separate from Billy. Until then, awkward interactions were likely to occur between you two.

So be it.

You met with Dinah right when you were supposed to. She handed you a rifle and rehashed the plan with you and the man you learned to be her partner, Sam Stein. She didn’t introduce you to the rest of her team and you were glad for it.

You body was still frazzled from your conversation with Billy and the explosions seemed to be louder ever since. Your hands felt slick, covered in blood despite the fact that you washed them before you left the apartment. The hole was echoing with every footstep, every sound ricocheting off the deep walls and leaving your bones rattling.

You got quietly into position, taking the closest spot to the entry. You watched as the group passed you, sweeping the area in front of them.

“Eyes on target.” You said quietly into your earpiece, a voice hardly above a whisper. “Five hostile inbound, heavily armed. Proceed with caution.”

You followed from a safe distance, ensuring yourself coverage if needed. You were practically herding them into Dinah’s trap without them even knowing.

A fire fight ensued soon after. Even from your close position, you couldn’t get a clean shot without risking your own safety. Usually you wouldn’t care, but you weren’t gonna let yourself get killed in front of Dinah Madani.

How embarrassing.

“Drop your weapons!” You called out, not revealing yourself. “FBI and Homeland have the building surrounded!”

“Drop your weapons and get down on the ground!” Dinah called out, though no man moved.

The combination of your voice and Dinah’s sent one of the men into a panic. The sudden feeling made you poke your head out and examine the ground. The men all wore ski masks so you couldn’t make out who was who. You stared harder, hoping for something familiar, but you saw nothing. You cursed quietly but then you heard the voice, covered by the gunshots but you heard it.

“Take ‘em down.” Billy instructed.

“Понял, Красавчик.” You said to yourself, habitually reaching for your mask. Your fingertip hit skin instead and you remembered you weren’t there as Exodus. You were there as FBI. (Gotcha, Pretty Boy.)

Dinah called for the team to move so you went in closer. You singled out the closest man and moved in for a kill.

You hurried behind him and slammed your foot into the back of his knee. He buckled almost instantly and he flailed his arms, pulling the rifle’s trigger at the same time. You kicked the gun’s barrel towards the ground before stomping a foot against the man’s wrist. He cried out and you had to duck the incoming shots. You vaguely heard Sam scolding that you were on their side while you were reaching for the man’s pistol.

He jerked his elbow back and it hit your jaw, causing you to wobble enough for him to shove you off and drop the handgun. He scrambled to gather his rifle and you sat flat, kicking out at the center of his chest. He slammed into the pillar behind him with a sick crack that had to be his head, given the blood stain left behind. You shifted quickly and grabbed the front of his vest and turned to slam him against the ground. With a knee on his chest, you reached for the handgun. You aimed, looked up in time to catch Billy’s eyes - those were easy enough to recognize as he stared at you - and pulled the trigger.

Dinah and Sam were moving closer, the three of you alternating in an unspoken rhythm to provide the others with cover while your positions changed. Another went down and then another, leaving only two men standing in opposition. Two men who took off.

You didn’t hesitate to run after them. A shot from behind you took down the man closest to your trio and he fell to the floor. He called out for his partner to come back to help him, but assuming he was yelling for Billy, he was on his own.

The shots sounding from the stairwell answered it for you before you saw it. Dinah hesitated at the entrance and radioed for Sam but you refused to wait. You two went off in different directions judging by the fading sounds of her footsteps.

Billy leading a team against you and Dinah crossed the final line. Granted, it was unbeknownst to Billy when he got his team together and even invited you, but he heard your voices and actively decided to attack you. He chose his side, solidifying his allegiance to Rawlins. Meaning he was choosing to stand against you, to stand in your way.

You wouldn’t let any sort of feelings keep you from finishing your job. Not this time.

The sound of the gunshots only drew you closer. You even ditched the rifle because it was irritating you. Instead, you gripped your borrowed handgun and urged your feet to move faster.

The burn of your legs and lungs was a refreshing sensation compared to the burn of anger you were so used to feeling. Only your legs didn’t move fast enough. Once you were close enough, you saw the glint of the blade at his wrist.

“Don’t!” You shouted but Billy didn’t listen.

One, two, three, four sick squelches as he stabbed Sam.

You fired a warning shot that whizzed right by Billy’s shoulder before he threw Sam’s body to the side. You rushed to the fallen agent and tossed the gun aside, using both hands to put pressure on the gushing wound.

“C’mon, Sam.” You said to him, though the panic in his eyes was clear. “We’ll figure this out, okay?”

You looked up and saw Billy was gone.

“Dinah!” You shouted as the blood started pooling over your fingers. “Dinah!!”

You heard her land on the rooftop and when you looked up, she stood frozen.

“Dammit, Dinah!” You yelled and she snapped from her daze momentarily to register what you were going

to say. “Get EMS!”

Looking back down at Sam, you suddenly weren’t on that rooftop anymore. It wasn’t Sam you were tying to keep from bleeding out. It wasn’t his blood staining your hands, staining the knees of your pants as the puddle grew. It wasn’t his gurgled voice and it wasn’t Dinah getting closer.

It was Elektra. Her blood. Her voice. It was Matt coming closer. His hands reaching for her wounds. Suddenly, your hands were shaking. Your eyes were watering. Your bottom lip quivered as the hopeless feeling began to create a hefty lump in your throat. The metallic smell of blood that never bothered you before was suddenly burning your lungs. The day turned to night. The bulletproof on your torso felt like Exodus’ suit.

You didn’t know how long you were there, kneeling in a stranger’s blood, when EMS finally arrived. Not only EMS, but someone knew to call Dex. He was the one to pull you off Sam and try to ask you what happened. Only

you didn’t have words, just a mumbled repetition of the same starting syllables that ultimately became a jumbled mess.

I’ll get him, Sam. I promise.

Your mind kept going to the night Elektra died. Not at Midland. That wasn’t Elektra. Elektra died at your feet on a rooftop. And you had just lived that moment all over again. Everytime you saw Sam’s blood on your hands, yo lived it again. Dex helped you get Dinah to her apartment, promising to wait for you to get her settled so he could do the same for you.

You kept running your hands against your pants despite both being equally stained. The hot, slick feeling just wouldn’t go. The red just wouldn’t come off.

Почему бы этой чертовой крови не оторваться? (Why wouldn’t the damn blood come off?)

Dinah’s mom helped you get her into the tub before she went off to call someone else to help. You sat on the floor beside her, your back to her but a hand over your shoulder holding hers. You thought of saying something to comfort her but was there to say?

If you told her you knew who killed Sam, she’d ask why you didn’t stop him. If you told her you were sorry, she’d say it wouldn’t change anything. If you told her you’d get whoever did it, she’d wish it was one of you instead. There was no consolation for that, for watching someone you fought beside die at your feet.

A light knock at the bathroom door snapped your thoughts and you saw Billy poke his head in. Your entire body tensed but you bit your tongue, if only for the sake of the catatonic woman in the water behind you. You stood and brushed past him without saying anything. Not until you were outside the bathroom at least.

“How’s she doing?” He asked quietly.

“Catatonic.” You answered, rubbing your hands on your shirt. “She’s alive at least, but completely unresponsive.”

“Shit.” He sighed and you wanted to put a knife in him the same way he did to Sam. Four times, strategic placement so he’d bleed out in minutes. “Are you okay?”

“Huh?”

“You’ve wiped off your hands four times since I got here.”

Four times, four stab wounds.

“No I haven’t.” You lied poorly.

“When you got up was one.” He explained. “When you came out was two. When you answered me was three and just then was four. There’s nothing on your hands, Y/N.”

“Yeah, I know.” You nodded and looked down at your blood stained hands and picked at the dried blood around your nails. “Just feels like it.”

Billy reached for your hands and you took a step back.

“Dex is waiting downstairs so I better go.” You reasoned, wiping off your hands again. “Take care of her.”

“Yeah, I will… And hey, about this morning.” He tried as you were reaching for the doorknob. “I didn’t mean to scare you or anything. You know I’d never hurt you, right?”

“It’s like I said, bad omens. Maybe we shouldn’t ignore them anymore.”

“Wait, so that’s it?”

“I don’t wanna do this here, Billy. Can we talk about this later? Dinah needs someone.”

“Yeah, okay.” He nodded.

You couldn’t tell if he knew you recognized him or if he even cared. Either way, you had to get out of there. Dinah’s mother offered you her bathroom to clean up in or a cup of tea, something to eat, but you politely refused her offer. You ensured you were okay, rubbing a hand on your chest to try and get the blood off.

Sam’s blood.

Elektra’s blood.

Left you to wonder whose blood was next.

Dex was waiting outside the car for you and opened the passenger door when you got close enough. You smiled in thanks and he nodded quietly. It was like he knew you had no words left in you. The silence of the ride to your apartment was filled with the background noise of the radio, muffled noise from the busy streets outside. You were both glad and disappointed that Dex didn’t ask if you were okay. Just a silent presence, reminding you that you weren’t alone.

Only alone in your lingering grief. Alone in the blood puddle.

It was days before you’d hear from anyone again. You didn’t go see Frank and Lieberman, or Sarah and her kids. Karen didn’t call or come by. Dex stopped in on his lunch breaks and after shift, making sure you ate and slept enough. Some nights you got him to stay, to serve the purpose Billy usually did when your emotions thumped uncomfortably in your chest.

Billy hadn’t even called.

You figured he was too busy cuddling up with Dinah, making nice with the woman who’s partner he killed.

You dragged yourself to the church that morning, sat on the same worn bench you always did and folded your legs to get your feet on the edge of the bench. You sighed and wrapped your arms around your knees, chin resting on them.

“It’s been a while.” Sister Maggie said after a few minutes of your quiet loitering. “Was starting to think you flew the coop.”

“Sometimes I wish I did.” You confessed. “Maybe then people would stop dying.”

She sighed in pity before she sat beside you. You could feel her expectant stare.

“I have this feeling that I'm not myself anymore.” You began, refusing to look at the older woman. You had a feeling in your gut that if you did and you saw her kind eyes, you’d break down into a crying fit that may never end. “Like I was on autopilot, and then Matthew came and I came to my senses. Found a family and morality, then karma came along and disassembled me. Next thing I knew, life hurriedly put me back together again and I don’t know who’s left.”

“I can’t give you an answer to that, dear.” She said honestly, a comforting hand landing on the back of your shoulder. You wanted to shrug it away, to make sure she didn’t become stained with the blood you were covered in, but the sincerity in her touch made it hard. Maybe she won’t have minded anyway. “Matthew wouldn’t be able to either.”

“Yeah, I know that.” You nodded and honestly, you did. Matt didn’t hold the answers to who you were. “He just made it easier to figure out, I guess. Y’know, everytime I come here, I feel like he’s here with me… It’s probably crazy.”

“This place was pivotal to who he became.” She agreed. “It was probably his most dearest place, other than by your side.” She nudged you slightly and you broke a small smile.

Before you could voice a response, the ground shook beneath the bench. You stood quickly and glanced around, seeing panicked faces all around you. You took a few steps in the direction you assumed the feeling came from when another heavy explosion rocked the ground. At first you thought it was just in your chest but you saw the smoke clouds rising.

Three clouds.

One in a direction you could’ve sworn was one of the NYPD precincts, another towards one of the courthouses.

“What the hell?” You spoke to yourself, instantly shoving your sadness and uncertainty down the familiar chasm in your chest. You turned back to Maggie and she nodded in silent understanding before she rushed back into the church.

You tapped your scar and shifted the channels up and down, hoping to catch any sort of chatter. At the same time, you pulled your phone and called Dex. Apparently, your SAC was dispatching teams across the city to find anything they could. You, however, were not yet assigned.

After a few hours, you got a call from Karen.

“How soon can you get to the Bulletin?” She asked in a hurried panic.

“What happened?” You said quickly. “Did someone hurt you?”

“No. No, um, not yet at least. The bombings.”

“What?”

“He sent a letter. Ellison went to call the FBI but I figured calling you is the same thing, right?”

“Shit.” You sighed. “Yeah, I’ll just need to get a team. You gotta call him too.”

“Him? Who’s him?”

“Him!” You insisted. “Put the goddamn flowers in the window if you have to.”

You practically ran to your apartment and gathered your FBI gear. Badge at your hip, gun under your arm, FBI branded jacket on your back. You called your SAC on the at to the Bulletin, informing her of your tip. She assured you she got the same call from Ellison and she was sending a team. You argued that you needed to be part of that team and she attempted to refuse. But your powers leaked into your voice and through the phone, forcing her to bend to your will. She said that you couldn’t do the initial evidence collection but you could get in on it right after.

The next day, you put the flowers in the window yourself. You practically ran into the compound and found Frank reading Karen’s response to the bomber. You read it over his shoulder and ignored the way he looked at you in question. You thought about why and realized you were wiping your hands off again.

You stuck around through Karen’s radio interview and heard the voice of the bomber. It was familiar, but the janky quality of Lieberman’s radio made it hard to place.

“I know him…” You said quietly while your brain was trying to match the voice to a face.

“What? How?” Lieberman turned to you, the screwdriver falling from his mouth.

“I don’t know, your radio is shit.” You commented with a sarcastic expression. “Wait. What did he say?”

“Why?” Frank asked as he recognized the tone of your voice. You deadpanned him and he sighed. “Sic semper tyrannis.”

“Sic semper tyrannis.” You repeated. “That’s a military thing, right? What branch?”

“I don’t think it’s specific.” Lieberman shrugged. “Started from a Navy attack sub, USS Virginia…”

“Wait a second, I’ve heard that before too.” Frank agreed

“Yeah, in history class.” Lieberman said with a little more intent, almost insisting you two were looking into a dead end.

“No, it’s…” You shook your head, replaying the phrase. “Shit! From group.” You turned to Frank. “Curtis’ group.”

“The kid.” Frank confirmed. “He said that. Curtis said that kid’s always blaming other people for his problems. He drives a cab and his name-“

“Lewis.” You finished. “He went for a job at Anvil not too long ago. Curtis and I convinced Billy not to take him. He was living in a foxhole in his front yard, almost shot his dad’s head off too.”

“Lewis and he drives a cab. Can you find him on there?” Frank said loudly and pointing at Lieberman’s set up.

“That’s not a lot to go on.” The man answered.

“Lewis, he’s around twenty five. Army vet. Drives a cab at night.” You added, hands rubbing against the sides of your pants. “Wilson, his last name is Wilson.”

“That narrows it down but are you two sure this is the same guy?”

“Yes!” You said loudly. “Goddammit, Lieberman!”

“Alright.” He conceded and you let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you.” You said honestly. “I have to bring it to my team, too. We’ll work it from our end and see who catches him first.”

“But what happens if I find him?”

“The hell you think is gonna happen?” Frank said flatly. “This piece of shit’s going after Karen.”

“What's the deal with those two?” Lieberman asked you in a hushed, gossipy voice.

“The deal is no one goes after her. Not on his watch or mine. There’s not many people that have that kind of protection.” You shrugged. “Imagine if that was Sarah.”

“Sarah’s my wife. She’s my family.”

You rolled your eyes and closed the distance without much thought. You grabbed the front of Lieberman’s shirt and hauled him to his feet before forcing him back against the desk. You gripped the fabric tighter as if it would slip out your blood soaked hands.

“Listen to me.” You said firmly. “Karen is my family. If something happens to her and I don’t try to stop it, it’d be the same as Red and I’m not doing that again.”

His hands went up in surrender so you let him go. You took a couple steps back and Frank grabbed one of your arms to pull you to him. You landed against his chest and his arms wrapped around you and you leaned into the embrace. Your hands were shaking as you put your arms around him, balling up your fists in his shirt.

You were near tears and Frank knew, just by the way you were holding on to him, like you would break as soon as you let go. Maybe he felt the same way.

You stayed in the embrace for only a few seconds until your hands didn’t feel slick with invisible blood. You let go first and wiped your sleeve against your eyes before you left without another word. You had to get to the office and relay the information you had. Once you got to your car, you got a couple texts from Curtis.

He heard the radio and tried Lewis’ house but he wasn’t there. His next thought was O’Connor’s place and he sent you that address. You would add it to the file your team was compiling. And lucky for you, the team was always at the Bulletin.

“And nothing about this was familiar, right? He’s never reached out before?” You asked, a copy of the letter in your hands. You were stalling in telling her the truth, or anyone from your team really, until you knew Frank had something.

“We get a lot of angry letters.” She shrugged and you cracked a small smile. “There might be some in the archives.”

“Yeah, your pieces tend to piss people off.” You joked and motioned for the other agent to go look into it.

As they left, Karen’s phone rang. She took the call in the corner and you read over the letter again. It was almost baffling how someone could fall apart so quickly, but maybe you were just preoccupied to recognize it. At the same time, however, Lewis was not your responsibility.

After about a minute, Karen went and shut her office door. Your brows went up and she put the call on speaker.

“You’re lucky it’s Y/N.” She said and your question remained. “Why am I hearing from you now? What do you know about this?”

“Frank?” You mouthed and she nodded.

“I know you need to stay put until this gets dealt with.” Frank answered. “What do you got on your end, Princess?”

“I haven’t said anything yet.” You said honestly. “Team’s looking to see if he’s written before. Where are you?”

“His house.”

“He might not be there. Curtis gave me an address of one of the guys he idolized, so we should check there too.”

“You know who he is?” Karen spoke up, almost too loud. You clamped a hand over her mouth and offered a stern look. After a second, you carefully removed your hand. “We should deal with this through the FBI. Through your team, Y/N.”

“It’s faster my way.” Frank said casually and you agreed. If you didn’t have to show face, you would’ve been right there with him.

“We should do this the right way. Y/N, c’mon, if you know you should be leading your team there right now.”

“The right way is one he doesn’t walk away from.” You said flatly. “He killed innocent people and he’ll come for you too.”

“Then you’re both no different than him.”

“We are plenty different, Karen, and you know it.” Frank countered. 

“Really?” She scoffed. “You don’t like the way the world works so you just do whatever you like. Do not do this and say that it’s for me.”

“Okay.” You shrugged. “It’s not for you.”

“Just stay put.” Frank said firmly before the line ended.

“You can’t seriously be on board with this.” She scolded you.

“If it keeps you safe, sure.” You shrugged. “I lost Matt already. Not gonna lose you too if I can help it.”

“But killing him? I thought this whole FBI thing was a chance for you to go straight.”

“I gotta get my feet under me. Growing pains.”

“Don’t bullshit me.”

“Fine. I’m choosing to go after this guy, yeah. I’m choosing this because if I can’t take down Bi- If I can’t finish this, then I can’t expect to finish helping Frank and Micro.”

You got a text then. From an unsaved number.

83541 Van Buren

O’Connor’s address.

You practically ran out of the room after that. You hurried to find Dex and told him where you were going. He asked you to wait but you refused, insisting he gather the best from the team since you didn’t know them enough and to meet you there. When you got to your car, you fought out of your jacket and grabbed your bureau-issued bulletproof out of the backseat.

You wiggled it into place as you drove, pulling up right behind Frank. You parked a few houses back and caught up with him on foot.

“We don’t have a lot of time till my team gets here, which means you need to be clear of here by then. Got it?” You said quickly, drawing your gun as you walked.

Frank ignored you.

“Dammit, Frank.” You grabbed his arm so he had to stop.

“I get it, Princess, alright?” He rolled his eyes.

You and Frank went in, finding Curtis tied to a chair and a bomb to his chest. Your heart fell to your feet for a split second before you both went to act. The thick smell from the dead body in the next room was enough to pull you back to focus. Frank ensured Curtis was alive while you holstered your gun. You flicked out the knife at your wrist and carefully cut the gag away. Frank raised a brow at your concealed blade but said nothing. He busied himself at the sink to try and clean up Curtis while you examined the bomb.

“Frank.” You waved for his attention. “Claymore.”

Almost immediately after, Curtis’ phone rang. Frank moved to answer it and he put it on speaker.

“You’re supposed to be dead.” Lewis said, a clear waver in his voice.

Fear.

Your head snapped up and found the yellow terror trail leading across the street. You snapped for Frank to look and when he did, you gestured him away from the window and slid the blade away.

“What the hell, Lewis?” You sighed, shaking your head while looking back at the bomb.

You had no idea how to disarm it.

“They said that you were killed.” Lewis continued and out of pure spite, you gradually began raising his fear. Fear of Frank Castle.

“They say a lot of things, kid.” Frank answered calmly. 

“Too many people were on your side, people like me. People who know that we have to… to take matters into our own hands.”

“That’s what you think he stands for?” You questioned loudly, moving away from Curtis for the moment and closer to the phone. “You think you two are the same?”

New plan to try. Keep him talking till your team showed and they could disarm it.

“Y/N?”

A new wave of fear. Good.

“What does this have to do with Curtis?” You challenged. “Anvil wasn’t his fault, Lewis. It was mine. You wanna blow someone up, should be me.”

“You’ll get yours.” He warned and your brows went up in amusement. “Curtis chose the wrong side.”

“I promise you, Curtis has never been on the wrong side of anything in his life.” Frank countered.

“How did this end, Lewis?” You continued, looking for enough of a crack in his defense that you could weasel in and break it down. “Wait for the cops or the feds and blow them all to hell? Take on the establishment? Spoiler alert, they will find you and kill you before you make a dent.”

“I already made a dent.”

“By killing janitors?” You almost laughed. “C’mon, man. Let us get Curtis out of here. We get him out and you..”

“You turn yourself in, all right? Just do it.” Frank finished, though it wasn’t where your train of thought was going. You were going to say that he could put you in Curtis’ place and then when he got close enough to try it, you put your blade in his neck. One, two, three, four times. “Nobody else needs to get hurt.”

“You fought your war, Frank, and I’m fighting mine.” Lewis reasoned.

“You are nothing like me. The men I put down, I stood in front of them. I looked them in the eye. You’re a goddamn coward, hiding behind these bombs.” Frank insisted and you felt Lewis’ resolve wavering.

You focused in on it and helped to break it, taking an imaginary sledgehammer to his already fragile ideology while Frank kept talking. Every word was another blow to his conviction and it was working until Lewis ended the call.

You knelt in front of the bomb again and wondered how long it would take until Dex got the team there. You gingerly traced wires, carefully replacing them in their positions before you stood and followed them to various planted sources.

“I can’t tell if it’s on an open or closed circuit.” You admitted and Frank came over to look.

“You can tell the difference?” Curtis asked weakly.

“Closed circuit all link to each other, meaning any wire could set it off.” You explained, returning to the wires at the battery. “An open circuit has a trigger wire, meaning you can snip it and cut off the explosive from the detonator. Problem is I can’t tell with this one.”

You continued your investigation of the wires while Frank and Curtis had a conversation. Curtis was giving deathbed confessions, about the darker thoughts he had and death he wished for. Frank tried to console him but that despair, that sinking helplessness, began to soak into you as well. You shuddered after pushing the feeling away from you both and the phone rang again.

“I called the cops.” Lewis said quickly, hoping to scare you and Frank away.

“No need.” You answered, still examining the connections. “FBI team’s a few minutes out. They’ll get here first.”

Frank then went on to convince Lewis to tell him about the right wires. He told the story of Curtis losing his leg and how he froze. Then Lewis called Frank to the window and you reached for his arm to stop him. He turned to you for a second and you shook your head. He took his arm out of your grip and his hand went to the side of your head. He nodded slightly before going and you stood dumbfounded for a second.

You half expected a bullet to come flying through and you wondered if Frank expected the same. You heard Dex’s voice in your ear, telling you they were two minutes out. Lewis made a comment about Karen and you had to force yourself to stay put.

“Frank!” You called and flicked the blade out again before you knelt in front of Curtis. “ETA less than two minutes. I need a wire.”

“Try the white wire.” Lewis said before the call ended again.

You positioned your blade against the wire and Curtis’ fear spiked. You looked up at him and nodded, swallowing hard. You didn’t trust Lewis but what other choice did you have? You felt a hand on your shoulder and looked to see Frank standing beside you. He nodded to you and you looked back at the wire. You closed your eyes tightly, bracing for the explosion to finally leave your chest, and yanked your knife through the wire.

You let out a relieved laugh when nothing happened. At that point you stood and shoved Frank towards the back door. Dex and two other agents burst through the front just as you were hiding your blade again. You pointed to Curtis for the other two and grabbed Dex’s arm, while the others were yelling about whether or not Castle was there.

“Dex is with me!” You shouted. “You two on that bomb! And get forensics for that body!”

You two took off down the same alleys Frank ran. You both shouted for him to stop, that you were FBI and for everyone else to get out of the way. You were blatantly sandbagging while Dex was actively trying to catch up to him. Frank turned and cut across streets, hopping into backyards and over fences until he eventually got enough space to confront a couple of officers. As you and Dex caught up again, he was taking off in a stolen police cruiser.

Dex cursed in frustration while you smirked. Together, you rejoined your team and Curtis was quick to pull you into a thankful embrace. Debrief wouldn’t be easy as you’d have to explain why you let Frank Castle and Lewis get away, but it was part of your mission.

One more box to check.

That much closer to the end.

A few days later, everything went to shit faster than you could stop it.

It was just before 9:30A.M. when you arrived at the hotel, Frank parking the van a block away. You two split about half a block later. He was headed towards the maintenance entrance while you went to the front. Dex had a couple guys waiting for your arrival and while you knew the team was necessary to maintain your job, they were in your way. You told them to blend in and keep comms open while you would take post at Karen’s side.

You met with Karen near the elevator after talking your way around one of Billy’s men. You flashed your badge when he tried to confiscate your gun and he was quick to pull his hand away. Karen handed hers over though and while you felt she was uncomfortable with it, she trusted you to look after her.

The ride up was quick and quiet. There were questions hanging in the air but she didn’t dare to voice them. Maybe she knew better.  Maybe she just couldn’t bring herself to. Either way, it made it that much easier for you.

“Guess it’s time you two had a proper introduction, huh?” You gestured to the man coming down the hall before wiping your hands on the back of your shirt.

One, two, three, four times.

“Billy Russo, Anvil.” He smiled and shook her hand. “Right this way.”

You stayed at Karen’s side rather than Billy’s and the small gesture was something he seemed to notice. He turned his head and when you weren’t there, his steps nearly faltered.

“Little ironic, isn’t it?” Billy tried. “Anti-gun senator being interviewed by a journalist with a concealed carry permit.”

“And she’s seen you without pants yet you’re barely introducing yourself.” You quipped back with an eye roll that got you a small nudge from Karen. “But also the anti-gun senator choosing a military contractor for personal security.”

“Can’t wait to hear what he has to say about that.” Karen agreed, stepping in to take over the conversation she could tell you weren’t interested in.

“Hopefully he’ll say that if you want the best, Anvil is the only choice.” Billy offered you a smile as you all approached the room. “And if he doesn’t, you can quote me on that. Y/N can attest to it, too.”

“Where’d you get your sales smarts from? Wharton?” Karen tried when she noticed you had no intention of saying anything.

“Afghanistan.” He answered, though his eyes lingered on you for a second longer. “Wharton was my safety school.”

“Очаровательно, как всегда.” You said under your breath. “Are you ready, Ms. Page?” (Charming as ever.)

“Yes, thank you, Agent Y/L/N.” She nodded and you gestured to the room.

Before you could follow her in, Billy reached for your arm.

“What’s with the cold shoulder, Gorgeous?” He asked quietly, though you glared up at him.

You wanted to throw what he did to Sam at him but it wasn’t the time.

“I’m working.” You said flatly. “So are you.”

“Yeah, but that’s never stopped you before.”

“When I worked with you, maybe. This is serious. I don’t have time to flirt because if I mess up, my friend could die. You may not care about your friends but I do.”

“Hey.” He tried but you pulled your arm away.

“Also.” You gave a small, insincere chuckle. “If you ever put your hands on me like you did this morning, you’re gonna lose use in at least one of them.”

“Hey.”

“You really think Frankie is a terrorist or is it all just for your ‘image’?” You challenged through gritted teeth. “You gonna kill him to protect your senator?”

“You beat a dog long enough, it goes crazy.” He reasoned.

“What about me, Bill?”

“What about you?” He chuckled slightly in disbelief.

“What happens when there’s two beaten dogs around?” You said lowly, enough venom in your voice to kill. “Держись подальше от меня.” (Stay the hell out of my way.)

“Y/N..” He tried but you ignored him.

The interview was of little interest to you so you were simply a fly on the wall. Two men from Anvil stood near the door and you stayed at the wall behind Karen. The way she went toe to toe with the senator, challenging his assumptions and statements, it was almost enough to remind you of Matt in a courtroom.

The sudden explosion sent you into the end table, your head hitting the edge of the ornate frame of the hanging art on the way. The thick warm liquid leaked quickly from a new split in your eyebrow but you wiped it away with the back of your hand. You coughed roughly as the smoke began to fill the room as you heard the clatter of a canister. You climbed to your feet and hurried to Karen’s side.

She reached blindly and grabbed hold of your sleeve, coughing hard as she laid on her side but you kept her head down as you peered over the arm of the couch. You shifted your position to put your body in front of her while she regained her bearings.

“I need coverage on the stairwells.” You said for your comms line. “Gonna try and lead him down. All eyes up.”

The silencer made you snap your head up. You turned on your knee and put your back to Karen while you quietly rested your hand on your gun. Two of Billy’s men went down and the shooter was quick to come around and find the Senator. At that point, you knew you had to move.

Senator Ori was pleading for his life. He crawled in a panic around to the other side, still screaming for mercy. You grabbed Karen and tried to yank her out of the shooter’s sight but she fought free and put herself in front of Ori.

At that point, you had to get involved. You ran at him quickly and threw your shoulder into him. When he faced you again, you grabbed his gun and twisted his wrist away. You jammed the opposite elbow into his jaw once, twice, three times. You two met eyes for a second and you recognized the face behind the gas mask.

Lewis.

You kicked the inside of Lewis' knee hard, almost hard enough to snap the tendon. He groaned and buckled slightly, enough for you to gain leverage. You released his wrist and put both hands behind his head and slammed your knee upwards to knock him into the wall.

Your first thought was to push him out the window, but the hotel glass wouldn’t break easily. By the time that thought had processed, Lewis was ready to fight back.

He grabbed a fistful of your hair and slammed your head into the wall. The impact added more length to the existing gash and you felt the metal of his silencer at the back of your neck. You planted both hands on the wall and pushed off, slamming your head back at the same time. Your head hit the plastic shield hard and you heard a slight crack, which you weren’t completely sure if it was your skull or the mask.

You saw Frank coming over Lewis’ shoulder so you simply smiled, a small laugh leaving you before you stepped out of the way. Frank made hard contact with Lewis just as you moved, but the impact made Lewis’ trigger finger go off. The bullet hit your stomach in the center of your bulletproof. It didn’t pierce your body, but it knocked the air out of you.

You coughed roughly while Frank distracted Lewis and you had to push Karen and Ori to leave the room. Karen hesitated at your side, a panicked hand on your shoulder. You looked up and nodded, giving her one more push, and you saw her pick up one of the discarded handguns on the way. Except she didn’t make it.

Lewis had given himself enough room to get away from Frank, only to grab Karen as a shield. Instinctively you grabbed your gun and lined a shot for his head. He fired back but his gun was empty.

“Отпусти ее, или я покрашу стену твоим мозгом!” You yelled as Frank got to your side, his gun raised alongside yours. (Let her go or I paint the wall with your brains!)

You hesitated when Lewis unzipped his jacket and you saw the bomb strapped to his torso.

“Goddammit.” You muttered and a cold fear ran through your bones. You swallowed it down, forced it to fill the chasm and muffle the explosions in your chest instead. To soak up the blood on your hands.

By then, you had to shut off your comms. Too much chatter in your ear, too many voices in your head.

“It’s a dead man’s switch!” Lewis announced and your determination to kill him was dampened.

Killing him now killed all of you. You, fine. You were even okay with Billy.

But not Frank.

Not Karen.

“Drop it!” Lewis yelled, bringing you back to the present moment.

Karen’s fear was stronger than yours, maybe the only thing keeping you on task. If she wasn’t caught in the crossfire, you’d have killed him by now. But that bitterness settled on your tongue and threatened to choke you. Under the fear, however, was trust. Trust in you and Frank.

You lowered the angle of your gun but refused to drop it. You even moved your finger off the trigger. Following Frank’s lead, you crept forward as Lewis backed out of the room. He dragged Karen with him and you wanted nothing more than to cut his hand off and let him bleed out.

Instead, you kept your head and tucked your gun into your holster. You put your hands up as you entered the hall and Lewis waved the detonator at you both.

“You want her dead?” He challenged and your steps faltered.

Three more Anvil members came from the other end and you took a few quick steps forward, hands still in the air.

“Stand down!” You yelled, hoping they didn’t recognize the desperation in your words. “He’s wired! Hold your fire!”

They hesitated until they saw the switch in Lewis’ hand.

Frank was by your side then and you reached out for his shoulder. You felt his hand tap your leg and you knew he was feeling the same thing you were.

“You’re gonna regret this.” You said sharply as the elevator doors closed, Lewis safely inside with Laren as his hostage.

Almost instantly the Anvil team tried to shoot at you two. You dropped to your knees while Frank took off in the other direction. You pulled your gun and fired at the first one’s knee to drop him. You swiped your leg as the second one got to your position and you slammed the butt of your gun to their temple. Grabbing one of the Anvil member’s knives, you threw it at the back of the last one’s leg to drop them.

You pushed to your feet and ran down the same hall Frank went down, kicking out at the last Anvil’s head to slam him against the wall and knock him out.

You caught up with Frank in one of the stairwells, having to jump a few railings to actually get to his side. You had no idea what floor you two had to stop on. All you could do was run. Jump a few steps to catch up, breathe. Repeat. You two didn’t stop until Dinah’s voice echoed in the stairwell, causing Frank to freeze and you to run into his back.

“Castle, drop the weapon.” She demanded and you groaned.

You turned and went back up a few steps to be closer to her.

“Dinah, please.” You said quickly.

“What the hell are you doing, Y/L/N?” She urged, looking quickly between you and Frank.

“Lewis has our friend and a dead man’s switch. We need to catch up to him.”

“What are you-“

“I will explain everything later. But you have to let this go…”

“No.” Dinah said firmly. “He’s gonna stand up in court and tell the world about Cerberus, Rawlins, everything. We want the same people, Frank.”

“We gotta go, Princess.” Frank urged and took a few steps, though Dinah stopped him with a shot to the railing.

“I know who killed Stein.” You said quickly, her eyes snapping to yours and at the edge of tears. “I’m guessing Homeland has ID’d the other bodies by now. Any patterns?”

“Yeah, one.” She said carefully.

“And who else do we know that fits the pattern?”

She swallowed hard and you were suddenly pushed aside. Frank stood in front of you now and put his forehead against Dinah’s gun in challenge. You watched quietly while her hands shook.

You shook your head slightly and changed her mind for her. She needed Frank alive so you played on that, pulling that need to the forefront of her mind. That was the only way, you told her. As Frank was backing away, a shot came from the stairs above.

You acted quickly and stepped up, firing at the person without seeing them. You wanted to know who it was first so it wasn’t a kill shot. The bullet hit the right side of their chest, should’ve punctured a lung at least. But when you looked and saw Billy looking down at you, unfazed as he likely had a bulletproof to absorb the impact, any sort of feelings for him disappeared immediately.

“Предатель!” You shouted, changing the aim of your gun to his head. (Traitor!)

Dinah stepped in front of you and you hopped down the stairs to get to Frank’s side. You shoved your gun away and used your sleeve to clear some of the blood. Luckily it was a graze, relatively deep but best case scenario with all things considered. Your anger was burning hot through your body and you had to wipe your hands on your pants.

Sam’s blood. Elektra’s blood. Now Frank’s blood.

“Bill?” Frank muttered to himself, looking at you in question.

“Still with me?” You asked quietly. “We gotta…”

“Y/L/N.” Dinah said firmly and you looked at her, seeing she was already looking at you. “Little help?”

You groaned slightly and went up a few steps, pulling your gun again and aiming at Billy.

“FBI.” You called out. “Drop your weapon, now.”

Billy turned his gun on you.

“You shoot at me, and I have every right to kill you.” You warned, though a smirk found its way to your face.

“No need for you to get hurt either, Y/N… Walk away.” Billy said flatly. 

“So you can shoot me when I turn my back?” You laughed. “Or would you rather use your knife? Four times.”

“You killed Stein.” Dinah realized quietly, her grief and anger coming in new waves.

Before anything else could be said, NYPD burst into the stairwell. You ricocheted a shot off the bannister to hit the pipe behind Billy. The bullet caused the pressure to escape as a thick smoke and you grabbed Frank by the wrist and dragged him with you down the stairs.

The betrayal lingered heavily in the air. Frank never thought Billy would turn on him and you didn’t blame him. You hadn’t expected Natasha to turn on you way back when. But the difference was that you saw Billy’s betrayal coming. You wanted to warn Frank but you knew you needed proof. You were biding time until an opportunity to expose him, but you waited too long. But for the time being, you had to put it on Frank’s back burner.

Stopping Lewis had to be the priority.

Karen’s panic was the only thing that was guiding you. That and the idea of running from Billy’s betrayal.

You and Frank made you way into the kitchen, Frank unarmed and you having emptied your clip into the remaining Anvil team members in your way. You ditched the empty gun and held your hands up at your shoulders to prove you had nothing.

“Maybe you and me, we are the same.” Frank tried and your head snapped towards him. “Maybe this is the way it’s supposed to end, right? You, me, a bomb.”

“Frank, what the hell?” You asked quietly and he simply gestured for you to wait.

“When we were with Curtis, you told me to pull the white wire.” Frank continued, a desperation growing in his chest. “You did the right thing, kid. You could do it again.”

Frank kept talking, keeping Lewis’ attention on him. You watched the scene carefully, noticing Karen’s fingers searching the wires. You quickly understood she was trying to find the white one. You gave small jerks for your head to try and direct her hands and she eventually had a firm hold of the white one, just as Frank was talking about women and their bags.

“I bet Ms. Page can tell us exactly what’s in her bag.” You added when you remembered seeing her shove the handgun in there before everything went to hell. “Can’t you?”

“Yup.” She said firmly, understanding exactly what you both were getting at. Her hand slipped into her bag and your muscles tensed, ready to move.

“Do it!” You yelled as you ran forward, moving to Lewis.

He threw Karen into you and you immediately stopped. Her arms came around you in relief while Frank chased Lewis into the walk-in freezer. Your body relaxed for a second before you let her go and went over to Frank’s side.

You watched for a second as Lewis was replacing the pulled wire into the detonator.

“We should go.” You grabbed Frank’s sleeve, unable to look away from Lewis. “C’mon, Frank. Please..”

“Get outta here, Y/N/N. Take Karen with you.” He said firmly.

“Hell no.” You said with the same tone. “I’m not losing you, too.”

“Y/N!”

“No!”

Just before Lewis let go of the switch, Frank pulled you away from the door. You grabbed Karen on the way and made sure your body was in front of hers when the explosion hit. It echoed through your chest as you hit the ground, seemingly bouncing off the linoleum.

You rubbed the spot where your head hit the floor as you rolled to get your hands and knees beneath you. The air was knocked from your lungs and the smell of burnt flesh and smoke filled the room now. Your right eyes was stinging from the blood leaking into it and everything was spinning around you. Bits of shrapnel were scattered through your arm and leg and you could taste blood from where you bit your cheek.

At least everyone was alive.

You and Frank separated after that. You promised you’d meet him at the compound after debrief and he took off with Karen.

You went out a bit after they did, a hand to your bleeding head and swaying on your feet.

[bfi-archive]

WORLD CLASS SINNER - FRANK CASTLE

eight - beautiful liar

tags: n/a // seven // nine // masterlist

Pairing: billy x reader, frank x reader

Word Count: 6,938

Summary: A breaking point, new alliances, and seeds of mutual trust show Y/N who is and who isn’t on her side.

You and Billy took Morty away after that. It was a quiet car ride for the most part. Morty hardly said anything and Billy kept his focus on the road. He had one hand on the steering wheel, the other resting on your leg and absently tapping to the music on the radio.

You were busy with the swirls dancing between your fingers. The familiar hazy red heat of anger, the chilling wispy blues of sadness, the shaky yellow mist of fear. They weaved between your digits and swirled at your palm, blending out across your skin before reforming into separate entities. They moved like snakes over your knuckles and traced the lines of your palm.

There was something oddly comforting in watching your power in your hand. It was a reminder that you weren’t numb to the world like you so often wanted or claimed. You were human, with human feelings. And you were allowed to have those, to acknowledge them and live with them.

Matt was the one who insisted.

————————————

You were in the library, the folder with the case study open at one end of the small table and your notebook on the other end with a collection of highlighters and colored pens filling the gaps. You were working on an assignment that wasn’t due for at least two more weeks, but you needed something to keep your hands and mind busy. As you were walking to the student center earlier that day, you saw two girls - girls you didn’t even know - who looked just like Nat and Yelena.

Your heart sank and a hefty lump settled in your throat. Ever since then, you’d been jittery. Shaky hands, panicked glances in every corner. There was no way they were there. But your mind kept coming back to the ‘what if’ of it all.

“Foggy said you’d be here.” Matt said, tapping his cane against your foot. His sudden appearance made you jump and knock your notebook over. “Sorry.” He smiled nervously.

“It’s not you.” You sighed and collected your notebook. You condensed your materials and took his hand to guide him to the open chair on the other side. “Just a weird day, I guess… Sometimes I wanna shut it all down and just exist in a bubble for a while.”

“What do you mean?” His brows furrowed with worry behind his glasses.

“I don’t know… I thought a new setting would help but I still feel out of place. It’d be easier if I could just feel nothing.”

And you could. You could block it all out. You didn’t know why you hadn’t done that yet, but the way Matt silently focused in your direction reminded you why. He understood the best in you, despite still being early in your friendship. He seemed to know the truth in you despite the lies you were cloaked in.

“It’s not a bad thing to feel that you’re not happy.” He said after some quiet contemplation. “No one’s happy all the time.”

“Honestly, Matt, I don’t remember the last time I was happy.”

“That’s okay, too… Y/N, feeling those things doesn’t mean anything is wrong with you or you’re never gonna be happy. If you keep people that make you feel better around, pretty soon you won’t remember what this felt like.”

“So I should let myself be sad?”

“Why not?” He shrugged. “Otherwise you’ll never know how to get through it.”

—————————————

You were pulled from your memory when you felt the car stop. You closed your fist quickly and the colors poofed away. Though you knew no one else could see the hazes you did, it still felt that you needed to hide them. Climbing out the car, you saw Billy had driven you all to a nondescript hotel building. You couldn’t even tell if it was in New York or a neighboring city.

“And what’s the deal with you two, huh?” Morty commented as Billy led him through the building, you at his side. You hadn’t even registered Billy had a loose hold on your hand at first. “You order her off a KGB website or what?”

“Он понимает, что я могу убить его сейчас, и никого в этом месте это не волнует, верно? Это сделало бы вам с Фрэнком одолжение.” You said simply, turning to give Morty a sarcastic expression while Billy chuckled. (He does realize I can kill him and no one in this place would care, right? It’d be doing you and Frank a favor.)

“Funny.” He sneered back.

“We used to work together at Anvil.” You said plainly. “I left for a better opportunity.”

“And William let you in on this?” His brows raised as Billy opened the door. “Sleep your way to the top, right?”

You made a move towards him but Billy stepped in front and put an arm around your waist. You glared up at him for a second until you felt it, that confirmation that he had something going. It was smooth confidence, a sense of being in control. You nodded slightly and let out a deep breath to show that you were fine so he backed away, guiding you into the room.

Morty commented on the wallpaper while Billy sat in the chair near the small dining table. He motioned you over and you went, finding yourself trusting whatever plan he had. Likely because you had no real options, unless you were to try to kill them both.

But you’d lose more than you’d gain.

You put your hand on his shoulder again, resting a knee over his leg and leaning into him slightly while his arm hung lazily at your hips.

Though as you were there, you felt something else, something far away. Hope was the best way to describe it.

It was familiar but not too much so. You knew the person, but they were relatively new to your life. But with it came closure, peace almost. And that source you’d know anywhere.

Frank. Which meant the other was Lieberman. Meaning they had something good, something that could end it all. Something you were missing because you were at Billy’s side.

“You never liked me much, did you, Morty?” He said with a certain amusement in his voice.

“Nope.” Morty answered simply. “You special forces types always pissed me off.”

“Probably why he doesn’t like me either.” You joked lowly and Billy chuckled.

“And you had him drinking off the floor like a dog.” Billy continued and you smiled.

Morty wandered the room making some other comment that you ignored.

“You ready?” He said lowly.

“For what?” You asked in the same low tone.

He gently moved your knee and stood, nodding for you to follow. As you two went into the next room with Morty, you saw the dead body on the bed. A woman in tight leather with her throat slashed. You didn’t need to ask to know that was likely the woman Morty had expected. The sight of the uninvolved woman lying dead on sheets stained with her own blood made your chest uncomfortably tight.

You weren’t able to comment on the body because when you turned back to the men, you saw Morty reaching for his gun. As soon as it was in full view, you kicked out at his hand and the gun clattered to the floor. You heard the sound of the blade at Billy’s wrist moments before the squelch of the knife piercing Morty’s abdomen. One. Two. Three times.

He fell to the floor with a thud while Billy collected the discarded gun and cleaned his blade. You moved around the man and put your foot on Morty’s back, flattening him to the floor. You watched the puddle of blood grow thicker and stepped on the man to get to the phone he was crawling to. You yanked the cable out the back and moved away, leaving the man as a bloodied pile on the floor.

As you were getting to Billy’s side, you felt something new. Despite being miles away, you could feel that spark of hope snuff itself out. It was replaced with anger but not a regular pissed-off type of anger. It burned, even from where you were. While Billy was on the phone, you focused in on it a little more and it was easy to understand that whatever Frank had tried had failed. And that felt like a punch to the gut.

The next day, you tried to call Billy so you could talk about the past day or so. You wanted to find out, as definitively as you could, where his loyalty truly was. Obviously, he had some tendency to side with Rawlins given there was some sort of power dynamic or reciprocal relationship between them. But you wondered if there was enough loyalty to Frank that you could wiggle in and separate Billy from Rawlins completely.

Except he didn’t answer.

You checked in with Dex and he said that there was nothing for you and him yet, but you were more than welcome to keep your eyes and ears open for something that he could bring to your SAC.

So with nothing else to do, you went to Lieberman’s.

You knew there would be an earful from Frank the second you walked in, but you opened your mouth and welcomed the argument almost immediately.

“…image from your scope.” Lieberman told Frank and he was the first to acknowledge your appearance. “Hey, Y/N.”

“Hi.” You nodded. “It’s William Rawlins.” You said, gesturing to the man on the screen that you weren’t looking at.

Instead, you were locked in with Frank.

“Uh, yeah… The third.” Lieberman added awkwardly. He must’ve picked up on the tension because he tried to keep the conversation moving forward. “He’s the director of covert operations at the CIA. Takes a guy like this to pull it all together and make it stick.”

“How’d you know that, huh?” Frank asked bitterly.

Sometimes his monotone made it hard to read but that faint red from him was obvious to you.

“I also know that you went after him yesterday and it didn’t work.” You said simply, working to keep your voice level. “It was a CIA safe house, meaning bulletproof glass. No one told you that?”

“I tried to.” Lieberman said from behind Frank.

“Why were you at Bennett’s place, Y/N?” Frank pressed.

“Rawlins hired the team to watch Bennett. One of the guys on the team called me and asked if I was busy. I went because you didn’t like my original idea so I had to improvise.”

“Improvise. Improvise.” Frank repeated and you found yourself feeling slightly intimidated, though you didn’t show it. “What the hell are you up to, hmm? What if Rawlins has you killed cause you did your own thing?”

“He won’t.” You challenged, knowing that Billy - for the moment, at least - wouldn’t let it happen.

“You don’t know that.”

“I do.”

“How? How do you know any of this?”

“Oh please.” You scoffed. “I’ve been doing this shit my whole life. At some point, it gets predictable.”

“Answer the goddamn question.”

“I did. Rawlins hired a team, I got an offer. What’s not connecting?”

“Who called you?”

“Someone I used to work with at Anvil.”

“Anvil? So Russo knew about the team?”

“Rawlins probably tried him, yeah.” You shrugged, ensuring to diminish those suspicions in him. “I guess he helped set up some of Anvil’s early contracts so he thinks Billy owes him something.”

“Jesus Christ.” Frank muttered. “Alright, well what else do you know? Since you wanna go rogue and do whatever the hell you want behind my back.”

“Hey, I had good intel.” You defended. “No one asked you to go take a shot at a goddamn safe house!”

“Okay!” Lieberman yelled suddenly, standing and pushing his way in between you and Frank.

You hadn’t even realized either of you had moved forward to be nearly toe to toe until Lieberman’s elbow was digging into your chest to push you away. The bony pressure snapped you from that suffocating mania and you saw the red at the edge of your vision fading back to the living heat on your skin.

“Frank, you’re the one who said we could trust her.” Lieberman reasoned. “We need her.. She’s good, y’know. She has your back. You need that out there.”

Frank said nothing, only stared at you.

“Y/N.” Lieberman turned towards you. “I know you’re used to doing things your way, but we really need to work together for this to work. Rawlins knows we’re coming for him, which means we need to be clean from here on out.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” You nodded.

“Okay.” He nodded. “No more going behind anyone’s backs. Everything out in the open.”

“Yeah.” Frank agreed.

“Morty Bennett’s dead.” You said flatly. “My guess is to protect you or to just Rawlins cashing in an I.O.U. because Billy did it.”

“Yeah, I saw the piece the Bulletin ran on that.” Lieberman agreed. “Stabbed to death.”

“Good.” Frank nodded.

“Shit.” Lieberman said suddenly, abandoning his post between you two to return to the computer. “What if- Oh, God. What if he’s been waiting for someone to look for him? By searching his file, I’ve just blown us. There could be a team on its way right now.”

“Relax a second.” You tried but the man’s frazzled state vibrated the air in the compound.

“You’ve been on that CIA site all day, right? You seen anything about us? Any chatter at all?” Frank added in a matter-of-fact tone.

“No..” Lieberman said awkwardly.

“No?” You repeated, now baffled by the panic. “CIA’s not coming after us. FBI doesn’t have anything to do with this either. My partner would’ve let me know if this hit my SAC’s desk. Homeland barely has anything on Kentucky and I’m guessing his appearance on base is being masked as a training exercise.”

“I took a shot at this guy and you didn’t read anything about it.” Frank continued. “You’re scared, David, and I get that. But think about how this Rawlins prick feels. I think the three of us, we’re sitting pretty right now.”

“He’s trusting his inner circle to take care of it.” You reasoned. “Whoever from Cerberus he can still get to and any new allies he’s made, he’s gonna send them our way first before anything legit comes at us.”

Within minutes of that conversation ending, Lieberman was sent into a new spiral of panic. The cameras within his home were no longer accessible so he urged you and Frank to go look into it. You two conceded and Frank stopped off to get flowers for Sarah.

When you two arrived, you expected there to be some sort of argument between you all about that missed dinner, but there was none. It wasn’t even mentioned. You shrugged it off as Frank having already made up for it. Instead, she offered you two a glass of wine and conversation.

You had your pocket tech out and came to find out that there was no damage to cameras or connection. It was just that the internet had been unplugged.

As you focused back on the conversation in front of you, you found a lightness in the air. More so than just friendly. You wondered if Sarah was flirting with Frank, at least a little bit.

You went under the end table and reconnected the internet so that buzzing panic gnawing at the back of your head would go away. In the meantime, Sarah poured you two another glass while talking about David.

“You never talk about your wife.” Sarah told Frank before glancing at you. “And you have been awfully quiet. Husband?”

“No, not anymore.” You gave a sad smile. “He is- Or was truly perfect… The kind of feeling that you’ll never get with anyone else. Other guys are different and you think that’s good, till you miss something specific he used to do. You said David would fill your tank, Matt would sit on the roof of our building with me. We’d just kinda exist, in our own space where almost no one could find us.”

Your fingers slipped under the collar of your shirt and you found the chain with the band.

“I’m so sorry.. Was it recent?” Her eyes softened and she placed a comforting hand over yours.

“It’s been a few months.” You nodded. “He was the type that I’ll be getting over for the rest of my life.”

Frank patted your back gently and you smiled slightly in thanks before he started talking about Maria. You realized that the explosions in your chest were less frequent, the heat in your blood less aggressive. The hole in your chest didn’t echo as deep. You were still angry and alone, but maybe it did get better if you let yourself feel it.

It wouldn’t go away on its own but everyday processes it and accepts it a little bit more.

Maybe you could figure out how to get through it after all.

Sarah tried to convince you two to stay longer but you both politely declined. You stated your FBI case and Frank simply said he had ‘things’ to do. She gave you two a small tupperware, leaning in to kiss Frank only moments after. You spun on your heel and hurried out the room while Frank let her down gently.

You laughed about it once you two were in the car and teased Frank the drive back, only to get a ‘yeah, yeah’ and a chuckle.

The next day, you got a call from Dinah. She asked if she could meet you for drinks somewhere you two could talk and you could feel her pride through the phone. She had something good. You agreed and asked her to meet you at Josie’s after she got out of the office.

Not much happened during the day, so around six she called again. You met her outside the building and she was hesitant to go inside. You, however, walked in with a smile on your face and all the regulars celebrated your arrival.

You ordered a drink for you both and told Josie to start you a tab. She joked that you'd better not have the same paying habits as your friends and you insisted you’d close at the end of the night.

“So, you have something good for me?” You asked with a smirk.

“You were right about the bug.” She said quietly, leaning in to keep secrecy.

“You don’t have to whisper.” You said, mocking her with the same tone - which earned you a scowl - before speaking plainly. “No one here gives a shit. One of the perks of doing business here.”

You remembered when you and your friends sat at one of the tables, talking to Grotto. It was the start of what would turn into a long road with Frank Castle and the Punisher.

“How did you know about it?” Her voice snapped you back.

“Doing business here?” You questioned. “The guys at Nelson and Murdock loved coming here, been doing it since college.”

“I meant the bug.”

“There was feedback.” You gestured vaguely to your head. “You figure out who’s on the other end?”

“No, but I have a plan. I’m setting up a fake meet, day after tomorrow, with Jack DeLeon and use Frank Castle’s name as bait.”

“Two names like that means a big risk. I assume you’ve got a solid team?”

“It’s… Standard.”

“So why’d you call me?”

“I was hoping for your freelance help.”

“Mmm.” You hummed with a new smirk. “I’d thought you’d never ask. You think we’re gonna catch whoever’s after Castle?”

“It’s the best chance we have.” She defended.

“And do what with them?”

“Expose them.” She said as if it was obvious. “Put them on trial.”

“Dinah, these men that were chasing, killed two kids and an innocent woman.” You said plainly, jabbing a finger against the tabletop to punctuate your words. “You’re not chasing one ghost, but two. Castle hears you have the guy responsible, he’s gonna come for him. Just like he came for Schoonover. And Bennett. Kitchen Irish, Mexican Cartel, Dogs of Hell. What makes you any different?”

“Once we expose what happened in Kandahar, Castle can have him.”

“I doubt it gets that far.”

“Do you know something? Is that your point?”

“What if I told you I had a theory as to who was at the top of the whole thing?”

“I’d say you’re full of shit.”

“Am I?” You laughed slightly. “Billy usually doesn’t think so.”

Her eyes were suddenly taken over by the green haze of jealousy.

“Don’t forget that he’s not all yours, Dinah.” You taunted.

“I never said he was.” She countered tightly while the haze faded.

“Right… When was the last time he woke up in your bed, then?”

“That’s… not relevant.”

“So this morning then.” You nodded. “Explains why he didn’t call me back last night.”

“What do you know, Y/N?” She said firmly. “Besides how to get on my nerves within twenty minutes.”

“I met this guy recently, CIA head of covert ops. Now he looks like every other run of the mill CIA department head, but the eye… Frank told me how he went in on Orange and his guys had to pull him off. This guy’s eye matches Frank’s story.”

“Who was it?”

“That’s the kicker. Rumor is this guy has old money. I’m talking his family’s been in everything throughout the generations. We can’t go after him without a direct line and solid confirmation.”

“Give me the name, Y/N.”

“Don’t know it.” You shrugged. “All I know is that he’s ’the third’. And I’m in on the sting, by the way. You have a tactical for me?”

She handed you a folder.

“We’ve uploaded a fake one to our servers.” She explained as you looked over the pages.

“Yeah, the bug in your office is probably in your computers too. Let me ask you this… You coming to me right now, is that for me as a federal agent or me as a ghost story? Because those have two completely different operating guidelines.”

“I need results.” She said firmly, though it seemed more to convince herself than you. “But I also believe in the law so… What’s the difference?”

“Blood. And equipment. The ghost story has better toys.”

“Just-“ She groaned. “The federal agent. I need these men alive, okay? One of them gotta talk.”

“Right…” You nodded. “You hear about Morty Bennett?”

“No?”

“Stabbed to death in a motel upstate.” You said. “After an alleged training exercise, but he also was in on the drugs in the KIAs.”

“You think your CIA guy had him killed?”

“It tracks… He had Henderson killed. He wants Castle killed. He has Bennett killed after Frank shows up.”

“It’s scary how fast you can connect dots.” She said with mild awe. “Maybe you were made for the FBI.”

“That is not what I was made for.” You looked to her, holding out your glass for a toast.

“What is it then?” She raised hers.

“You’ll see soon enough.”

You two didn’t talk for much longer. You paid your tab on the way out as promised before returning to Lieberman’s. You had to pause when you walked in to process to seemingly off the wall conversation they were having.

“Do you. Miss sex?” Lieberman said with a drunken slur, to which Frank laughed.

“What do you want me to say?” He said with a shrug and a smile.

Frank noticed you and gestured you over. You dropped on the seat beside him and he passed you the bottle. You glanced at the label before shrugging and taking a drink.

“Because for me, I miss sex.” Lieberman ranted and you made a face to yourself. “You wanna hear something funny?”

“What’s that?” Frank said.

“I’m hung like a moose.” He answered proudly.

“Ты, должно быть, шутишь.” You laughed and passed the bottle back to Frank. (You’ve got to be kidding.)

“Y/N!” Lieberman announced happily. “You miss sex?”

“No.” You shook your head.

“No?” His brows furrowed and he dramatically cocked his head. “A woman like you doesn’t miss sex?”

“Why would I miss it?”

“Wait, do you two…” He trailed off and gestured to you and Frank. You stared expectantly with raised brows while Frank cocked his head in question. “You two hook up?”

“Отвратительно!” You said and laughed. “He’s not exactly my type.” (Gross!)

“Not your type? He’s exactly your type!” Lieberman reasoned.

“No, he’s not.”

“Yeah… Angry, check. Murderous, check. Ruggedly handsome, check.” Lieberman threw his arms widely to the side. “What else do ya need, Y/N?”

“Sounds more like he’s your type.” You joked. “Besides, my last guy was more of an altar boy. Nowadays I tend to go for a man who’s a little more unstable.”

“Oh, what did- What do you guys call him?” He looked over his shoulder while he thought before spinning back to face you two. “Red! Red wasn’t any good then?”

“Red was plenty good.” You defended with a laugh. “But my sex life didn’t die with him.”

“Jesus Christ.” Frank muttered and made a face before drinking from the bottle.

“I can make it worse.” You laughed and shifted to face him.

“Please don’t.”

“Yeah, I usually call Bi-“ You began before Frank leaned forward and pushed you gently by your forehead, making you laugh. You looked over and saw Lieberman drop his pants so you laughed again before covering your eyes.

You dropped your head to Frank’s shoulder as a means to hide while Lieberman made jokes about Frank being an ass man, to which you were still laughing.

You hadn’t realized before, but you had almost forgotten what your honest laugh sounded like.

“It’s good to hear you laugh like that, Princess.” Frank said honestly when Lieberman took a few steps away. “Didn’t think I would till this was all over.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry I’ve been so horrible lately.” You admitted as you straightened. “I don’t know how to feel this or even what I should feel. I’m pretty lost right now.”

Before Frank could offer any other consolation, Lieberman staggered back in. 

“Madani is how we fix this! She wants the same things we do. We don’t need to hide from her. We give it to her and she arrests Rawlins. I go home, boom!” Lieberman ranted quickly and you instantly felt the light air of drunken jokes fall heavy.

“No.” You said flatly while Frank firmly said “Stop that shit.”

“Rawlins dies.” You continued. “You said it yourself, he has hands in everything. That kind of reach can surpass prison.”

“That’s right.” Lieberman said sarcastically. “Everybody dies with you two. Your family’s dead.” He pointed to Frank. “Your husband’s dead.” He pointed to you.

Why did everyone call Matt your husband?

“Anyone that ever look at you sideways, they’re dead.” He continued. “And you just keep on going. You two are psychopaths.”

“I let Wilson Fisk live that night and I’ve regretted it every since. If you want to see this thing to the end, I highly suggest you stop while you have your head..”

You stood quickly with tight fists but Frank reached out for your wrist. Lieberman stormed away in a huff and you felt your nails digging into your palm as your fist got impossibly tighter. Lieberman said something about calling Madani so you pulled yourself free and moved across the room.

You knocked the phone out of his hand and he took a swing at you. You ducked quickly and sidestepped before slamming an elbow against the pressure point of his chest. He wobbled into Frank, who knocked him unconscious.

“Madani has a plan she brought to me.” You said as Frank set up Lieberman on the cot. “She wants to go after Rawlins, but she doesn’t know it’s Rawlins.”

“How’s she gonna do that?” Frank asked, seemingly uninterested.

“Fake sting.” You explained. “She put out a tact plan that says you’re meeting with DeLeon, hopes it’ll draw out his team and she can get info.”

“You gonna do it?”

“Yeah, might as well.”

“Why?”

To find out what side Billy’s on.

“Keep tabs.” You said instead. “There’s rumors stirring that I don’t like.”

“Anything I should know?”

“Nothing you’d believe.” You said honestly.

“So, what, you’re just gonna stroll up with your goggles and little buzzers like nothing?”

At that you laughed.

“No, just me. No mask, no suit, no Bites. Just me and a bulletproof and a pistol.”

“Alright.” Frank nodded. “Don’t get killed, okay?”

“Haven’t failed you yet, right? I’ll be back in one piece.”

You went home to find your door cracked open. You instinctively reached for the gun at your hip but you came up empty. Instead, you checked under your cuff and found the blade. With a silent curse, you crept forward with a sudden feeling of being unwelcome in your own apartment. You went to release the blade but used the other hand to slow it to reduce the sound. The tip threatened to break the skin of your palm as you guided it out.

As you moved into your apartment, you saw a vaguely familiar shape kneeling at the closet under the stairs that led to the roof. You started a little harder and saw the familiar trail of long blonde hair.

“Dammit, Karen.” You said loudly, to which she jumped. “Why are you in my apartment?”

“Sorry, I just…” She said quickly as she pushed the case back and carefully shut the doors. “Still doesn’t feel real is all.”

You sighed slightly and gestured for her to sit while you went back to shut your door. You sat beside her on the couch and removed the blade from around your wrist. You tossed it into the coffee table with a loud clank before you stared at the empty bed that was almost   mocking you from your bedroom.

“Some days I wake up and I still think he’ll be next to me.” You said absently. “And then I realize he’s not and it feels like a knife in my chest.”

“Y/N..” She said gently and her hand came to your arm, snapping you from that heavy melancholy.

“I’m sure you’ve heard but we’re getting closer.” You said instead, pushing to your feet to get space as the tears began to burn your eyes. “We’ve got a name and a face. Just need an opening.”

“Oh.. That’s good, right? The sooner all this is done the better.” She tried and you scoffed.

“Karen, nothing about any of this will get better. Frank’s not gonna come out as an upstanding citizen once this guy is gone. Matt isn’t gonna come back. Nelson and Murdock won’t come back.”

“I didn’t mean-“

“We won’t come back either.”

“I don’t understand…”

“You and I.” You shrugged slightly. “After I told you about Exodus but before Grotto came to us, we were becoming pretty decent friends.”

“I’m still your friend, Y/N. Foggy is still your friend.” She said with gentle insistence as she stood to face you. “I know that nothing’s going to be the same. I’m not that naive, but you have to believe that you won’t be miserable forever.”

Maybe that’s what you were made for. Misery.

“Can you just…” You gestured to your door. “With Frank and Billy and Dinah and Lieberman and Sarah and Orange, worrying about you and Foggy is the last thing I need right now.”

She scoffed lightly before muttering to herself as she headed to the door. She was nearly out when you heard her footsteps coming back. You had to bite your tongue to keep your sharp comment back as you glared at her, waiting for her words.

“You know.” She said angrily, a slight snarl as she clicked her tongue. “You can’t sit here and blame Matt’s death for the shitty way you treat people that care about you.”

“Right. Thanks.” You nodded, slamming your shoulder against hers as you moved past her. You nearly slammed the bedroom door behind you.

The next morning you had a call from Billy, saying he wanted to pick you up for lunch to talk about a new project. You also had a text from an unknown number saying to be outside and you knew it had to be Frank or Lieberman. You got dressed quickly and grabbed a jacket before heading down, getting out just as  the car pulled up. Without much explanation, Frank drove to Sarah’s house.

You two stepped inside and the atmosphere of the house was noticeably thicker than the last time. The mention of her son sent panic through the air and it made you shiver. You turned your head up the stairs, feeling a young anger burning under the thick blanket of loneliness. A few feet away sat a vibrating bundle of mixed emotions. Sadness, stress, exhaustion.

“Is Leo upstairs too?” You asked simply.

“Yeah… Both the kids are.” Sarah nodded.

“Why don’t you take a walk while we talk to them, yeah?” You offered, adding a small smile while you took in some of her worry. “Pete’ll talk to Zach and I’ll chat with Leo.”

She sniffled before nodding. She led you upstairs to Leo’s room before she stopped at Zach’s and asked him to head down. Zach stopped and stared at you in silence for a second before glancing to either hip, likely looking for your gun.

“Can I hold the gun now?” He said and you frowned.

“Only got my badge today.” You shrugged and shifted your jacket to show the badge. “And you’re still not old enough, bud.”

You tapped on Leo’s door and she called for you to come in. She smiled widely at you and adjusted on her bed so you could sit beside her. You put hands in your pockets as you sat and found the small enamel emblem waiting for you. You pulled it out and were greeted with the vibrant red hourglass of the Red Room.

You realized you hadn’t worn that jacket since you and Matt revealed your identities to each other in the office.

“What that?” Leo asked, leaning over to see.

“This is a very complicated little symbol.” You said honestly. “Y’know, I was a very different person growing up. A lot angrier, lonelier, more hurt. And this-“ You lifted the shape for you both to see. “-is a symbol of the place that caused it all.”

“Was it a school?”

“Sort of, like a boarding school and an orphanage put together.” You offered her the emblem. “I learned a lot in that place, about myself and different skills. It made me who I am, or who I thought I had to be at least.”

You glanced over and saw she was fascinated with the little piece of enamel.

“You can keep it if you’d like.” You laughed slightly. “I may not love it but it does show that the things we go through don’t define us… You don’t have to be the one who holds everything together.”

“Did my mom ask you to say that?” She dropped her hands to her lap.

“No.” You shrugged. “Just thought you’d need to hear it.”

“One of us has to have their head on straight. If it’s not gonna be Zach, then it’s me.” She nodded, as if trying to convince herself more than you.

“Right, right. Did you ever hear about Daredevil and Exodus?”

“Yeah?”

“It was like that with them, too. Daredevil thought Exodus was crazy for wanting things her way. She wanted to hurt the people that did what was done to her. Yeah, she wasn’t hurting the people that hurt her, but if they did the same things to others, it was the same.”

“But it’s not.”

“Right, that’s what Daredevil said. He agreed that bad people needed to face consequences but right consequences. Arrests and charges and trials. They argued for a long time in the beginning.”

“So who gave in?”

“You ever hear about Daredevil killing anyone?” You raised your brows and she shook her head. “Me neither. Exodus pulled back, trusted Daredevil and Daredevil stopped trying so hard to control everything she did.”

“How do you know this?”

You leaned forward and back, looking around as if to make sure no one else was around, then you motioned her closer. She leaned in as did you, lifting a hand to cover your mouth.

“Because I’m Exodus.” You whispered and her mouth dropped. “Or I was, at least, before I got the FBI spot.”

“Ohmygod!” She whispered loudly. “Does Pete know?”

“Nah.” You shook your head.

“Wait. But you’re so nice?”

“It took a lot of violence to be so gentle.” You nodded. “And I’m not always like this… Growing up I was tired of being afraid, so I became something others would fear.”

“I’m not afraid of you.”

“Really?”

“Really.” She nodded. “I like you’re kinda cool.”

“Well in that case, I want you to keep that with you, okay?” You gestured to the hourglass. “It’s more than a symbol. So long as you have it, you'll know I have your back.”

“Thanks.” She smiled. “Could you…”

Your brows raised in question.

“Could you teach me some stuff?”

“Like fighting?”

“Yeah…”

“I'm not gonna teach you anything crazy.” You laughed. “But I can show you how to get out of stuff. C’mon.”

You offered her your hand and she took it excitedly, shoving the Red Room logo into her pocket. You two went downstairs and found Frank getting ready to take Zach outside. The guys began throwing a football in the street while you showed Leo how to break a few basic grapples and some common reversals.

You had just sat down after your shower when Billy called. You groaned as you pushed yourself to your feet and headed out again. As little as you wanted to be in your apartment, you wanted at least a few minutes to sit down. Regardless, you met Billy out front.

He was waiting outside the car and opened the door for you. You said nothing as you sat in the passenger seat and he said nothing when he drove you to some out of the way part of the waterfront.

“This isn’t lunch.” You said simply.

He gave a small chuckle in return before he got out. You muttered to yourself about what you had gotten yourself into while you shoved the door open. You slammed it behind yourself and took a few short steps to catch up to Billy. He looked over his shoulder and offered you a smirk that you furrowed your brows at.

What the hell was he up to?

After a few minutes of silence, you two standing tensely on opposite sides of the room, a small group of men entered. You stood taller almost instantly, one hand tightening into a fist while the other snuck behind your back for the blade at your belt.

But the men walked right past you.

They didn’t even acknowledge your presence in the far corner. They were completely focused on Billy, but you weren’t so sure that would be a good thing. Your body relaxed only a fraction of a percent when their conversation started. It took them out of the room and Billy’s eyes met yours, silently asking if you were going to follow.

Hesitantly, you did.

You placed yourself in the doorway Billy was previously waiting in and listening quietly. Both arms were crossed over your chest, hiding balled up fists as the men talked. You didn’t care all that much to listen, knowing whatever Billy was going to offer would be met with refusal.

You couldn’t play both sides forever. When you tried to do that with Fisk and Matt, it got complicated. It got messy. People got hurt that didn’t need to and it wasn’t like you had a ton of spare people as of late.

“So who’s the girl?” One of the men finally acknowledged you.

“Bystander.” You said flatly with a small shrug.

“A bystander that doesn’t flinch at open fire on civilians?” Another challenged. “I don’t buy it.”

“Good thing you don’t have to.” You hissed before pushing yourself up and looking to Billy. “Thanks for the invite, but I’m not interested. Have fun though.”

You offered a salute before turning in your heels and leaving. You left without responding to any of the comments in your wake, both from Billy and his friends. You contemplated waiting at his car but that defeated the whole point of your exit so you opted to walk. You didn’t get far before Billy was calling you back.

When you didn’t stop or turn around, you heard his rushed footsteps to catch you.

“So that’s it, huh?” He asked when he finally got to your side.

“Yeah, I’m not interested in being an errand boy for Rawlins. Been there, done that. No thanks.” You answered simply, keeping your eyes forward and your feet moving.

“C’mon, Y/N.” He groaned. “You really think-“

“Just stop.” You cut in firmly. “I’m not doing anything for Rawlins anymore. I need to focus on my own shit, not trying to take down Frank.”

“He’s not gonna let you just walk away.”

“Well then I hope you’ll give me a heads up when I become your next blacked out search and destroy op.”

[bfi-archive]

SIN MIEDO - BUCKY BARNES

episode five - truth

tags: n/a // four // SM masterlist // what, it’s back? yeah, i’ve been thinking about it alot so i figured it’s time to come finish it

Pairing: stark!reader x bucky

Word Count: 7,209

Summary: After a near death battle with John Walker, Y/N decides to take a step back. But the desire to live up to her father’s legacy both weighs her down and purges her forward.

“We have to take her to a hospital.” Sam insisted.

“I know.” Barnes agreed, his hold on you tightening just to ensure you wouldn’t slip.

“What was she thinking?” Sam said worriedly. He couldn’t understand why you would take on John by yourself. He knew you were a smart fighter, skilled and powerful. But John had lost it. He took the serum and was off his rocker seeing Lemar killed.

“She wasn’t.” Barnes said simply. Barnes’ brain was running a million miles an hour. He wondered why you would be so stupid, but he also understood you weren’t one to play it safe. “We need to take care of her first, then we find Walker.”

“God, you’re unbelievable.” Sam scoffed. “How can you still be worried about that?”

“We need to get that shield. You saw what he’s capable of.”

“She needs to be the top priority!”

Without you knowing, or at least assuming you didn’t know, you’d been his priority the whole time.

“I don’t care about the shield right now!”

“You think she’d want to forget about the shield?” Barnes countered, watching his volume as if you were simply asleep in his arms. “That's what got her like this. Because she wanted to take that shield from him. We can’t let this go.”

“Is that what you think is right or is it because you have a crush on her?” Sam challenged.

You stirred in Barnes’ grip, slowly coming back. You felt the cool stream of water still working to heal you, the damp feeling of your suit’s material paired with the wet spot in your hair at the back of your head. You felt the cold vibranium arm under your knees, the warmth of Barnes’ chest against your cheek. Your eyes slowly opened to a completely different part of the city than you remember.

“Put me down.” You said hoarsely, pulling your hand and the water out of your suit and zipping it back up. You rubbed your eyes and the bridge of your nose to quickly heal that swelling and tenderness before flicking away the excess water from your hand and pulling the absorbed water out of your suit’s fabric.

You weren’t fully healed, but it was good enough. Your chest didn’t ache with every breath and your spine didn’t sting with every movement. You felt considerably stronger than before with clearer vision and the absence of pounding in your head.

The only thing in your head now were your dad’s words. You didn’t know if it was a dream or if you had really crossed the threshold between living and the dead. You didn’t care. All you knew was that he was right. You weren’t done yet.

“No.” Barnes answered. You turned and saw he wasn’t looking at you. Instead, he kept his eyes focused ahead. “You need a hospital.”

“I’m fine.” You struggled in his grip. “Put me down, Barnes.”

“No.”

“Fine.” You replied simply. Using your arms for momentum, you flipped backwards out of Barnes’ arms and landed wobbly on your feet. After quickly regaining your balance, you stood tall. “Where’s Walker?”

“Y/N..” Sam tried gently. “You took a hell of a beating, alright? Just take it easy and we’ll find him later. We’ll get the shield back.”

“You guys don’t get it…I have to do everything myself.” You muttered, turning your hand to see the inside of your wrist. You tapped the screen connected to FRIDAY and had her take the tracking information from Sam’s suit. “Thanks for the tracker.” You saluted Sam before quickly making an air ball and riding it to find Walker.

You had to stop him. You had to get the shield back. If not for Sam, then for your grandfather. He made that shield for Steve, and it should be with the man Steve gave it to. It was Steve’s legacy but it was also Howard’s favorite accomplishment. You couldn’t let it stay in the wrong hands and continue to cause people pain. To take lives. 

You heard the footfalls of the boys behind you, but you weren’t stopping. You figured they knew that. All they could do now was follow and fight beside you. All they could do was help you so you didn’t die. You had a feeling that if you went down this time, you weren’t getting back up.

You all found Walker off some old train tracks. He was distraught, likely over losing Lemar. You didn’t blame him for flying off the handle, but you couldn’t excuse taking a man’s life. A man who wasn’t responsible. And to do it so publicly made you sick.

“Are you insane?” Barnes asked you quietly as the three of you approached Walker.

“I’ve been called worse.” You shrugged.

“Walker.” Sam began, as if in warning.

“You guys should see a medic. You don’t look so good.” Walker replied. “And I’m surprised you’re still standing.” He nodded to you.

“I’ll admit, you got a mean swing… If you wanted me to stay down, you should’ve put me down.” You said simply, weaving a flame between your fingers on either hand. You felt the wind dancing around your ankles at the same time, maybe even small tremors in the ground. “This ends now.”

“You saw what happened.” He defended loudly. “You know what I had to do! I killed him because he killed Lemar!”

“He didn’t kill Lemar, John.” Barnes countered.

“Regardless, we don’t trade lives.” You added tensely. Every word between you four wound your muscles tighter. The flames at your hands grew hotter. The air at your feet moved in faster, tighter circles. 

“You go down that road, it won’t end well.” Barnes continued. 

“I’m not like you.” Walker countered angrily. There was an accusation in his tone, that that's who Barnes still was. He insinuated that he was better than Barnes, but that just showed he didn’t really know who Barnes was outside of his Winter Soldier stories.

You instantly turned your attention to Barnes. His eyes were down, as if he was processing what Walker had said. He looked like someone kicked his puppy and you didn’t know why that expression hurt you as well.

Without really thinking, your hand had reached for his, flame extinguished. You gave his hand a gentle squeeze, as if to say that everything was okay. He looked up at you and offered a tight smile before gently squeezing your hand in return. You didn’t know it but that gesture meant a lot in that moment. You hoped your eyes conveyed the sincerity you intended.

“It was the heat of battle, alright?” Sam tried reasoning with him. But the look in his eyes, the way he eyed you all like you were dinner, showed you he was well past reasoning with. You slowly pulled your hand back and the flame danced through your digits again. “If you explain what happened, maybe they’ll consider your record. We don’t want anyone else to get hurt…”

“You have to give us the shield.” You tried calmly. Even though every muscle in your body was wound tight and every nerve was alive with adrenaline, you followed Sam’s lead. You tried to talk to him, same way you tried with Karli. 

“So that’s what this is?” He answered darkly. “You almost had me..”

“You made a mistake. A very public one.” You said simply.

“You don’t want to do this.” He threatened.

“Yeah, we do.” Barnes answered with a nod. He glanced at you, who met his eyes and added a quick nod in return.

Barnes moved in first and Sam was quick to follow. You hesitated just a moment, letting Sam and Barnes make the first move. You had to be smarter and more calculated than the last time, otherwise you’d likely be returning to the States in a body bag. At the first opening you got, you stomped to raise a slab of rock and you kicked it at Walker.i

Walker kicked Sam away and tried to take on Barnes. You quickly took Sam’s place and created a fire blade in your hand. While Barnes had Walker by the shield, you slashed the flame across his back, burning through his suit and his flesh. You choked on the smell momentarily before dropping the flame and creating a rock gauntlet. You slammed your stone covered fist into the burning wound and forced him to the ground.

Walker elbowed you in the jaw and spun to land a solid right hook on Barnes. The contact sent both of you reeling back and gave Walker time to capitalize. He moved to swipe the shield in a direction that could take you both but Sam came through just in time.

The two went hand to hand while Barnes came around to get you. You could feel the bruise forming already as you moved your mouth around, trying to break up the pain.

“Come on.” He said when he got to your side, hauling you to your feet. “Fight’s not over yet.”

“After you, Sarge.” You gestured for him to go.

“Ladies first.” He shrugged.

You chuckled slightly before moving back into the fight. You moved quickly, throwing flame after flame at him. He ducked behind the shield and Barnes came from behind you. Walker countered most of your attacks but you saw a perfect opening. He pulled back to slam the shield against Sam so you yanked up a rock column to connect with his chin. The impact sent him wobbling back and gave Barnes a chance to apply more pressure. After ducking a heavy blow from Barnes, he threw the shield and sent Barnes flying across the room.

Walker was running after the shield as soon as it left his hand, you and Sam moving in right behind him. Walker had Barnes pinned against an old crate, the two fighting for the disk.

“Why are you making me do this?” Walker screamed, a desperate rage in his voice. He launched Barnes again once the sentence left his mouth.

“Bucky.” You muttered when you realized he didn’t get up right away. While Sam took on Walker again, you ran to Barnes’ side.

“You gotta get up.” You told him, kneeling at his side. You watched the electricity crackling around his arm. He winced as he tried to lift his Vibranium arm. “Here, let me just...” You said gently, focusing on redirecting the extra voltage away from his arm.

What you didn’t see was the way Barnes was looking at you. He watched the intent focus your eyes held, the precise movements of your hands, the careful direction of your fingers. The lightning travelled the path of your arms like a road, seeming soaking into your spine and exiting out the other hand. He was in awe.

He was partly surprised you had focused on helping him. You didn’t have to. It would’ve gone away within a minute, but you took the time to help him. He realized that you actually were his friend. And more than that, he liked that you stopped to help him.

The electricity crackled up one arm and to your spine. You turned and focused on Walker, carefully handling the power in your body. Electricity was a tricky thing. One slip of control and you could hurt yourself. You learned that the hard way. You shot it at Walker, your aim slightly off so you hit right near his feet, and caught him just before he tried to land a devastating blow on Sam.

“Come on, James.” You sighed as you pulled him off the ground to sit up. He groaned and leaned against a nearby pillar. You realized you used his first name and you tensed slightly. It felt too intimate to use in those moments.

“We gotta finish this.” Barnes muttered, to which you could only nod. You relaxed slightly when it didn’t seem like he noticed. But he did. 

“Did you have a plan or should we just try and tire him out?” You tried to joke.

“You want to be the bait?” He offered and you couldn’t fully tell if he was joking or not.

“Make him go after me?” You asked with raised brows. “Promise you won’t let him kill me.”

“Cross my heart.” He nodded.

“Worth a shot.” You shrugged, jumping back into the fight.

Walker had just yanked Sam out of the air and lost hold of the shield. You threw a blast of air to push the shield further for everyone and slammed a fist to the ground. You used the rock to snag Walker’s ankles and cause him to fall on his face. By the time you caught up to him, he was top of Sam and was ripping his wings apart.

You called a flame to cover the entirety of both hands and ran. You tackled Walker off Sam, your hands moving to his neck as you two rolled and you tried to bury your fingers into the soft tissue. The smell of burnt flesh invaded your lungs and you felt the smoke burning your eyes.

He screamed out from the burns and once your momentum stopped, he had you pinned with a knee on your chest. You coughed from the burnt smell and the increasing pressure. He pulled your hands away easily and squeezed. You cried out as you heard the bone break in your left arm. 

“We could’ve been a team.” He sneered ferally.

“I don’t play nice with others.” You commented, trying to buy yourself and Barnes some time. Turning your head to come up with something, you realized you had landed right next to the shield. But so did Walker.

“I am Captain. America.” He practically snarled.

“Yeah?” You asked as an idea came to mind. “You look like a cheap knock off to me.”

He quickly reached for the shield and raised it above his head. As he screamed, you lifted your right hand and flicked a quick bolt of lightning at his chest. He winced inwardly but didn’t budge. In a last ditch effort, you did your best to take control of his blood.

With one hand and the pressure on your sternum, it was impossible to gain complete control. He was fighting you the whole time, pushing the shield with all his strength. You knew once your control slipped, that disk was headed straight for your chest. You groaned as you tried adding your other hand, but the pain was too much. You stomped a foot instead, sending deep vibrations through the concrete foundation. Walker faltered but wouldn’t move.

You thought that was it. Your time was truly up this time. But maybe that would be enough to get that shield back to Sam, back to the man it was supposed to be with. You were about to accept your fate and let him kill you when Barnes made good on his promise. He tackled Walker off of you and handled the fight himself.

You turned on your side and coughed violently, trying to open your airways enough to breathe properly. They traded blows for a minute until Walker managed the upper hand. Sam moved in for the rescue, so he and Barnes were able to get control of the situation. Him and Barnes were turning Walker’s arm outward and you saw an opening.

You pushed yourself to stand and slammed your foot to break loose a piece of the concrete floor. You kicked it forward and heard the sickly pop of his bone dislocating. The pop turned Sam’s pressure into action and he went flying in a separate direction. You almost felt bad for dislocating his arm in such a violent manner, but the shooting pain in your own arm quickly erased that thought. 

“It’s mine.” Walker growled as Sam stood with the shield in his hands and Barnes came to stand with you.

“It’s over, Walker.” You answered through heavy breaths, clutching your arm to your chest.

“It’s mine!” He repeated, pulling back to swing on you.

You ducked his arm and the punch was blocked by Barnes. He landed a hard shot against Walker’s jaw and you swiped your leg to knock him over. Barnes lifted Walker and swung him like a baseball bat into Sam, who was moving in hard with the shield. The impact sent the three of them in different directions, the shield landing between them all.

You quickly moved to grab it while the boys groaned and tried to get up. You held the shield in your hands, staring at the dried blood on it. The sight disgusted you. You moved and shoved it into Sam’s chest once he stood.

“You give this away again, I’m keeping it.” You said plainly before pushing off and walking away with Barnes.

“You’re going to the hospital.” Barnes said simply once you caught up with him.

“I can fix myself.” You defended, picking up a stream of water from a nearby puddle and focused on the returning pain in your chest.

“It wasn’t a request.”

“You can’t order me around.”

“I’m pulling rank. I’m a Sergeant, you’re not.”

“Alright, you got me there.” You answered, too tired to really argue with him. “Can we get something to eat first?”

The next day, you three waited in the same room you had talked to Karli in. You did basic healing on your arm so the hospital left it in a sling rather than a hard cast. They said they may have to put pins in your sternum if it didn’t right itself, but that would take a bit of time before they knew.

Sam caught you up on the Karli situation and his buddy, who you learned to be called Torres, came in. You followed Barnes out after he ignored Sam asking about Zemo.

Later or maybe even the next day - things had really blurred together - you and Barnes found Zemo at the Sokovia memorial, exactly where you expected to.

“Thought you’d come sooner.” Zemo said when you two approached.

“Had something else to take care of first.” You shrugged.

“And don’t worry. I’ve decided I’m not going to kill you.”

“You’d never get the chance.” You said easily as Barnes said “Imagine my relief.”

“The girl… She’s radicalized beyond salvation.” He began as if he was just waiting for a chance to give his speech. “I warned Sam, but he didn’t listen to me. As stubborn as Steve Rogers before him. But you- Both of you, can do what needs to be done. Karli has people everywhere and there’s only one way to ensure she cannot carry out her mission.”

“I appreciate the advice.” Barnes answered flatly. “But we’re gonna do it our own way.”

“I was afraid you would say that.” Zemo chuckled.

You stood beside Barnes as he lifted the gun to Zemo. You watched what seemed like relief come across Zemo’s features. You weren’t necessarily surprised to see that expression, given that he had lost everyone. He was willing to take his own life in Siberia all those years ago, so of course he wasn’t afraid to die now. But part of it may have been relief to see Barnes being the one to hold the gun. Part of him likely wanted Barnes to be the killer HYDRA made him.

When Barnes pulled the trigger and the gun was empty, Zemo’s relief shifted to disappointment. You opened your palm and moved the bullets in a circle above your hand. You held your hand up with a small smirk as Zemo stared at the bullets in disbelief. You smiled as the Dora approached.

You let the bullets fall to the ground and tucked your hands behind your back, rocking on your heels. “Told you I’d deliver him myself.” You nodded in greeting.

“I took the liberty of crossing off my name in your book.” Zemo added. “I hold no grudges for what you thought you had to do.. Goodbye, James. Goodbye, Y/N.”

Ayo talked to Barnes for a minute while you looked at the memorial again. So many lives lost.. It still blew your mind how quickly that situation had gotten out of control.

You left before Barnes did. He was still talking to Ayo when you slipped away. Part of you knew you should’ve stayed and explained where you were going. But the bigger part of you just wanted to go. You headed to the airport where the Stark jet was waiting for you.

First, you went to your shared apartment. You quickly packed all your things and left no trace of yourself in the apartment. You thought about leaving a note, something simple that said ‘Heading back to my family. Thanks for the place to crash.’ but even that didn’t feel right. You decided it was best to say nothing so left about two months worth of rent in cash and walked out. You hailed a cab and headed to the lake house.

You spent the last couple days getting to know your half-sister, and she was such a sweet kid. You saw a lot of resemblance to your dad so the first day with her was rough. But you gave her a chance and you were glad you did.

The two of you spent most of the time near the lake. You showed her different tricks you could do with the water. You used the air to blow her hair around and make the leaves fly. You made little Avenger figures from the rocks below. You used your powers for parlor tricks instead of fighting, and the calm felt nice.

When you got the call from Sam, you ignored it. You assumed it was a lead on Karli and at the moment, you wanted nothing to do with it. You did your part and got the shield away from Walker. You couldn’t save that Flag Smasher but you saved Sam and Barnes. You put Zemo back in prison. All your boxes were checked. You could rest… So why didn’t you feel at peace?

It was another couple days before you were contacted by Sam and Barnes again.

You were with Morgan at the shoreline when the car pulled up. You assumed it was someone for Pepper, probably Happy. You were making a crown from the water for Morgan, freezing it above her head before placing it in its place. You spun the air around you two for dramatic effect.

“I now crown thee, Princess Morgan!” You announced theatrically, pushing a wave across the lake that made her giggle. “Sovereign ruler of this great body of water! What is your first decree, your Highness?” You bowed dramatically.

“Trespassers!” She announced, pointing behind you. “Defend our shores!”

“I shall give my life to serve!” You laughed before turning to see who was coming. You saw Sam and Barnes stepping out of the car and you froze momentarily. “Alas, fair Princess, it’s only visitors from another kingdom.”

“Trespassers!” She yelled again with a wide smile. “Get them!”

“I live to serve thee.” You chuckled and shook your head before heading to the boys.

“So this is where you’ve been hiding?” Barnes asked simply.

“Better than fighting.” You shrugged. “Besides, I never rescheduled my apartment walkthroughs… You guys could’ve just called, yknow.”

“It’s not really the kind of thing you say over the phone.” Sam reasoned. “And last time I called, you didn’t answer.”

“Yeah, cause I thought you were gonna ask what I’m guessing you’re gonna ask me now.” You sighed and turned to check on Morgan. She was playing with the rock Avengers you made her, creating a fight scene of her own. You watched as she held the figure of yourself in one hand and threw a rock at one of the other Avengers. 

“I’ll set the table for two more.. You don’t talk shop in front of the kid, you can stay for lunch.” You sighed, walking backwards and motioning for them to follow. “Pepper usually makes too much food anyways.”

“Morgan!” You called, heading towards the house with the boys following behind. “Chow time! Come get some lunch!” You waited at the porch for her to catch up. 

“What is it?” She asked when she met up with you. “Who are these guys?” She whispered.

“Just some friends..” You dismissed her concerns with a smile as you took her hand while she jumped up the stairs. “Let’s go wash up.”

“Everyone washes their hands before we eat.” You said over your shoulder. “Morgan will show you to the bathroom.” She shot you an accusing look. “I’ll wash my hands in the kitchen so I can reset the table.” You put your hands up in surrender before heading to the kitchen.

“You invited people over?” Pepper asked as you pulled two more plates from the cabinet.

“More like they invited themselves..” You shrugged. “I figured there’d be enough anyway.”

“What do they want?” She eyed you carefully.

“Hopefully just to check in.”

“I didn’t know you were friends with those two.” Her tone betrayed something of disapproval.

“With all the family I’ve lost, I could use a few friends.” You answered sharply. “Oh, and I told them not to talk about anything in front of her so lunch should be pleasant. You’re welcome.”

“Y/N!” Morgan came running into the kitchen while laughing. “You are relieved of your knighthood.”

“I- Huh?” You laughed in disbelief while you pulled her chair out for her and your own chair from beside her. Pepper hid her giggle while bringing the food from the kitchen. “And who will take my place? Who can defend this great land better than me? The prodigy of Earth’s greatest defender, himself?”

“Him!” She pointed to Barnes -who offered a look of confusion- as he and Sam sat on the opposite side of the table. She grabbed your arm and pulled you close so she could whisper her next sentence. “He has a metal arm!” Her jaw dropped to mimic her earlier shock.

“Unfortunately, he won’t be staying long enough to protect your waters.” You said, feigning disappointment. “Sadly, Sir James is only visiting… Besides, I’m stronger than him anyway.”

You felt Barnes’ eyes on you but you ignored them. You didn’t call him James often. Really, that only came to mind as the third time. In Madripoor, taking the shield from Walker, and now. You weren’t sure why you said it but it felt better than calling him ‘Barnes’ when talking to Morgan. But maybe ‘Bucky’ would’ve been better.

“It’s true. I’ve seen it.” Sam added with a chuckle. Barnes simply rolled his eyes with an amused smile. You were relieved that he stepped in and dissipated the tension.

Lunch was surprisingly pleasant. The boys talked to Pepper about how the company was doing and the plans - if any - for rebuilding the Avengers compound. She asked about Zemo and if they knew anything about his escape. You all made jokes and told stories, which made the reunion rather fun.

Once the table was cleared, you took the boys outside while Pepper kept Morgan in the kitchen. You all stood around by the lake. You skipped rocks while Sam and Barnes started their proposition.

“We’re pretty sure Karli is going to attack the GRC vote.” Sam explained.

“Pretty sure isn’t enough to be here, Wilson.” You shook your head. “You’ll need to do something better than that.”

“There’s no guarantee but I bet we’re right.”

“Right… You really think she’s going to be able to travel to New York without someone snatching her up first?” You scoffed. “That move would make sense, I guess. If you can’t change the vote, you stop the vote. Probably kill the Council as a whole and get someone else in there.”

“So you’re in?”

“Am I in?” You laughed. “I did my due diligence. Walker doesn’t have the shield and Zemo is locked up. My hands are clean.”

“So you’re comfortable with quitting on this?” Barnes challenged.

“Why do you care?” You turned on him. “Why do you really care? Let me ask you something, Barnes. Why did you let me stay with you when you didn’t know me?”

“What are you getting at?” He avoided your question. The accusations in your tone hit him deep. It sounded like you were accusing him of ulterior motives, but he just wanted to do the right thing. He was glad for it, being that he quickly got used to having you around. To the point where he even liked having you around.

“I’ve seen my name in your book.” You said simply. “You think you have to make amends because you killed my grandparents. That’s all it’s been about, right? Cause I’m the only Stark left that can forgive you?”

“No.” He shook his head and tried to continue, but you interrupted. He had to admit that it might’ve started like that, a chance to right a wrong from so long ago. A wrong that was the final nail in the coffin of Tony and Steve’s friendship. But the fire in your eyes made it hard for him to admit that to you.

“You didn’t actually care that I was on my own, and that’s fine. I don’t need you to. But you don’t get to stand here and pretend that I was more than just a personal assignment.”

“It wasn’t like that!” He shouted. Barnes was wondering why he couldn’t tell you the full story. Maybe since he couldn’t even admit it to himself.

“What was it like then?” You snapped in return. 

“Let’s just take a step back.” Sam tried carefully. You noticed the way he looked at Barnes, as if he was trying to help him.

“Do you see Howard when you look at me?” You pushed Barnes. A vicious heat was sprouting in your chest, inching up your throat and creeping down your arms. “Howard in his youth, believing that you and Steve were some- some unstoppable duo that HYDRA didn’t have a chance against. Or when I had blood on my face, did you see Howard before you killed him?”

“That’s enough!” Sam announced. The firmness of his tone cleared the red from your vision. You realized you had stepped closer to Barnes, almost in challenge. You chuckled in disbelief, stepping back with your hands up in surrender as you chewed the inside of your cheek.

“Y/N, we could really use your help.” Sam’s tone was gentler, bordering pleading.

“Please.” Barnes murmured, so quietly that you weren’t sure you had actually heard it.

“I think you’ve overstayed your welcome, boys.” You replied simply, taking a couple steps backwards. “You’ll get an email when the Compound’s up and running again.”

“Y/N.” Sam tried again but you ignored him.

“This isn’t the kid Steve thought you were.” Barnes called out. “Doesn’t seem like the kid your dad thought you were either!”

“Bucky.” Sam scolded. He knew that wouldn’t convince you to help. If anything, it would push you further away.

You turned on your heel and pulled water up from the lake. In a swift movement, you threw it at Barnes and froze him against a nearby tree.

“You don’t get to tell me who my dad thought I was.” You warned as you stepped closer. “You barely knew him. Both of you barely knew him… And you barely know me.”

“I know you’re not a quitter.” Barnes continued.

“I’m not quitting.” You shrugged, dropping the ice. “Like I said, I did my part. You want a fighter? See if Walker will answer your calls. Maybe call on Sharon for another favor. I’m done. My part in this fight is over, Soldier.”

“We’re a team.” Sam offered. “We can’t do it without you.”

“I think you’ll manage.”

“Did you bring it?” Sam asked Barnes as you walked away.

“You think it’ll make a difference?” Barnes scoffed.

“Just give it to her, dumbass.” Sam rolled his eyes.

“Stark!” Barnes called.

Your hand was on the stair railing but you froze. You turned but didn’t leave your position from the steps. You sighed and leaned against the house as Barnes came up to you with a case in hand.

“What is that?” You asked with a brow quirked in interest.

“I called in a favor.” He said causally as he held the case out to you.

“Again, what is it?”

“Will you stop being so stubborn for one minute?”

“No.”

“Consider it a gift.”

Cautiously, you took the case from his hands. You ignored the brushing of your fingers, though it made your heart stutter.

“Am I going to regret taking this?” You tried to lighten the air around you. There was still a tension lingering from your interaction only a few minutes earlier.

“Do you regret any of it?” He countered sincerely.

“Yeah.” You looked over at the lake. “We’ve lost good people doing this type of work… Can you really blame me for wanting to keep my peace?”

“We really need your help here, Y/N.” He stepped closer, placing a hand near yours on the railing.

“Tell me the truth then.”

“It doesn’t change anything..” He sighed. “You-“

“I want to hear you say it.” You said with a nod, more to convince yourself you were sure. “Is my name in your book?”

“Yeah… It was.” He confessed. “That’s what it was at first but..”

“But what? You saved my life so it balances out?”

“Wha- No. You know, you’re insufferable sometimes.” He groaned.

“Well, I guess that’s settled.” You sighed. “Thanks for this. I’ll send a ‘thank-you’ basket to Sam’s place for you.” You turned and went inside, dismissing your mom and Morgan while you went straight to your room.

You dropped the case on your bed and sat on the ground, back against the wall and knees to your chest while you stared at the so-called gift. It was light but there was weight to it. You had purposefully knocked it against the railing on your way in and felt a different reverberation from it, something you’d felt before but not often.

If you had to guess, you would’ve said Vibranium.

You folded your arms over your raised knees and dropped your chin on top. The case was taunting you and you let it. Your fingers itched to flip the latches, your brain creating possibilities for the contents. With a sudden movement, an all at once action that didn’t allow you to reconsider, you moved to it and pressed your thumb against the scanner.

There was a slight hiss of air as the seal between the two halves broke. There was almost a light coming from the contents and it only tempted you more. You drummed your fingers over the top, closing your eyes to register the reverb. It was Vibranium, but not completely. Not a solid piece, more flexible and bending. Fibers, maybe, or woven between.

You opened your eyes and held your breath while you lifted the top. The case sat open for a few more seconds, just until your chest was burning for air. Then you let out the breath and opened your eyes, seeing a flooded bunch of dark fabric sitting before you. Your fingers grazed the material, tracing the overlapping red and gold lines.

The colors matched your dad’s first suit perfectly. So perfectly it brought tears to your eyes.

“Dad…” You said softly. “I wish you were here right now, give me some advice.”

You gave a broken smile before shutting the case and shifting it out the way so you could sit. Hunched over, elbows on your knees and hands clasped while the tears welled to a point you had to close your eyes.

“You’d know the right thing to do, always did… Me on the other hand, I’m flailing. I don’t know who I’m supposed to be or where I’m supposed to be. I just wanted to be like you, Dad…”

A light knock at your door stole your attention. After a second of silence, Pepper walked in with a small smile on her face. She looked between you and the case before she settled on the bed next to you.

“You already are a lot like Tony.” She said softly and you sniffled. “He hit this kind of point too, where he thought he needed to stop because too many people were hurting.”

“But he didn’t.” You finished her thought and sat up, letting out a heavy sigh. “Pepper, I’m not my dad. I know that. I’ve always known that, but I just thought I could be like him.”

“You are.” She insisted gently. “I see him in everything you do. The way you are with Morgan. The way you talk. The way you carry yourself. Even the way you lose.”

“He’d want me to see this through.” You said quietly. Your voice felt far away, like it wasn’t coming from your body but from someplace else. From the lake maybe, where you and Pepper floated your dad’s first Arc Reactor. “I know that, but I don’t know if I can.”

“Your dad was wrong about a lot of things, Y/N.” She nodded before nudging you slightly. “But he was never, never wrong about you… You’re Tony Stark’s daughter. I don’t think your dad ever found a fight too big. Neither should you.”

“Karli’s threatened you and Morgan already. Sam’s nephews. If we can’t stop her, everyone we care about is in trouble.” You rambled, desperate for some sort of assurance that backing down was the right thing to do.

“Loki threatened you when he came to New York.” She shrugged. “Didn’t stop Tony.”

“Morgan is all the family you have, Pep. I can’t let that get taken away. You said it yourself. I don’t know how to do this. I can’t clean up my own mess. ”

“I’m gonna say this once, kiddo. Your dad didn’t know how to clean up his mess until he was standing in the middle of it.” She chuckled sadly. “But he found a way. And you are Y/N Stark, just as smart and capable as your father. Morgan thinks so, too.”

“You really think it’ll all be okay?”

“I do. After this is done, if you’re still done with it, then you can rest.”

You offered a small smile and she gave the same in return. You threw your arms around her and she laughed in surprise before returning the embrace. You weren’t sure where the path to Karli would leave, but you knew Pepper and your dad’s ghost was right.

You had to finish what you had started.

You packed a bag, separate from the suit Barnes gave you, and called up your family’s pilot. The jet was ready within the hour and you gave Morgan one last hug on the way out. She clung to your leg for a few minutes and you felt the little tear puddles on your pants. She muttered that you had to promise to come back, to protect Stark Waters, and you did just that.

Your flight was relatively quick and you hailed a cab to take you the rest of the way. The driver was chatty, especially when you told him where you were headed. Sam’s family was well-loved in his community and you liked to hear it. You kept your head down and signature Stark glasses on your face as you walked the few blocks to Sam’s sister’s place.

You hesitated to knock, worried you wouldn’t be welcomed. Or maybe you were worried you’d be too welcomed. Either way, you turned away from the door. You called another cab and had them take you to the pier, this driver also knew Sam’s family and directed you to the right boat.

You stepped aboard and left your suitcases up top before you headed down to the engine room. You remembered hearing from the drivers that Sam was trying to fix it up and you decided to help with the hard parts. You activated your glasses and the AI showed you where there were issues.

You were working quietly on your own, ordering parts as you went, when someone else showed up. Sam first, then Barnes soon after. You were startled and looked at them with wide eyes, but when they gave you knowing smiles - the type that said they knew you would show up - you turned back to your work.

Later that morning, you three had the water pump pulled apart. Sam and Barnes were talking about whether or not a certain bolt existed in a big gear and you ignored them, examining the gear itself. You rolled your eyes in amusement as they went back and forth until Sam’s sister Sarah came up.

“The water pump is not the problem.” She instead. “I don’t come up into the sky and tell you how to barrel roll or whatever so don’t come down here and start messing with things you clearly don’t understand.”

“It’s not the problem but it will be soon.” You said, lifting the propeller shaped gear. “The corrosion’s gonna lead to this thing not bringing in enough water and it’s gonna overheat. And the impeller is cracking. Don’t worry though. I ordered new ones and they should be here by end of day. Easy fix.”

“Stark.” She nodded.

“I thought about a whole new pump but…” You shrugged. “She’s still got some kick in her. Just needed a few add-ons.”

“Alright, off.” She shooed you three away. “Off, bye. Thank you so much.”

You stayed around the boat for a while longer while Sam and Barnes went off to do something you didn’t care to join in on. Instead, you waited around for your parts to arrive and you put them in place. By the time Sam got back, you had finished your portion of the rebuild. You were tightening a few last bolts while Sam and Sarah talked, though you caught the end of their conversation.

“What would be the point of all the pain and sacrifice if I wasn’t willing to stand up and keep fighting?” Sam said simply, as if he truly understood his place in the fight.

And at the same time, you seemed to understand yours.

After hanging around and training for a few days with Sam, he got a call. His friend Torres caught a cell ping that matched the same pings from across Europe, just before the Flag Smashers went through. The ping was set in New York.

You were quick to set up travel plans to New York. Sam said he would get in touch with Barnes while you did your end. After the calls were made and a time table was set, you found Sam opening his case.

“Looks good.” You said as you went in, peering over to see it. “It’ll suit you.”

“How’d yours look?” He asked.

“Stylish, easy to move in, and a little homage to my dad… Pretty much perfect.”

“Pretty much?”

“Depends if it’s fireproof.”

At that, Sam laughed.

“You ready for this, Captain?” You gave him a small nudge with your elbow.

“Are you, Stark?”

“Yeah.” You nodded with a small smile. “I think I am.”

[bfi-archive]

WORLD CLASS SINNER - FRANK CASTLE

seven - so it goes…

tags: n/a // six // eight // masterlist

Pairing: Frank x Reader, Billy x Reader

Word Count: 8,917

Summary: All eyes on her, a skilled illusionist. Playing the field for information gets what she needed but could threaten the relationship keeping her afloat.

You stayed late to help Curtis clean up after group. Lewis has pushed past you on your way in and ignored any sort of conversation you had offered. You could feel he was still angry, about something that was bigger than what had happened at Anvil though he clearly hadn’t forgiven you for that either. You shrugged it off initially, but it struck you as something interesting when you noticed O’Connor didn’t show up. That was a man that loved to attend group for the chance of pissing someone off, so for him to miss a session and to see Lewis - who was beginning to idolize the man - holding in more anger than necessary, it all had you wondering what you had missed while you were off tending to your wounded.

You tried to use that time alone to talk to Curtis about Lewis and O’Connor to find out what happened but before much could come from that conversation, Billy came in. You listened in on what he came to say but focused more on the task of putting things away when something caught your attention and you nearly dropped the chairs in your hands.

“You know, Frank Castle.” He continued and you stepped around Curtis and glared at the man. Billy gave you no reaction and just kept talking. “Our friend, our dead friend. You seen him recently?”

“Billy.” You hissed and lightly smacked his arm.

“No, its.. It’s alright, Y/N.” Curtis held a hand out to you and you turned to face him. He knew Billy was baiting him into some sort of a confession, though neither of you could’ve been sure if Billy had any sureness in his attempt. So Curtis remained calm, albeit confused, and you remained irritated. “What do you mean, man? Have I been back to the cemetery? Or am I seeing ghosts, having flashbacks? What are we talking about here?”

There was a staredown between the two men that seemed to span an eternity. Tension rose with every second until you subtly snapped your fingers at your side and it broke instantly. Billy looked away first but you felt the relief from Curtis as a shive across your own skin. 

“Frank’s alive, man.” Billy finally confessed and you lifted your head slightly in confusion. Clearly, Billy had a plan, but to hell if you knew what it was. “Sorry, I had to find out if you knew.”

“And why do you think that?” Curtis countered calmly but he was rightfully suspicious of his friend’s accusation.

“I can’t tell you how I found out, but I found out, and now I gotta find him.”

“I’ll tell you.” You cut in simply, speaking quickly before Billy could try to stop you. “Homeland Security, some agent is looking into an incident that Cereberus was allegedly involved in in the middle east. She said where but I don’t remember. She swears Frank is alive and hurt and gonna get himself killed on his little crusade… I’m not so sure.” You ended with a shrug when you saw the glare Billy was shooting you. You simply brushed him off and the heat from his look disappeared almost immediately.

“I was hoping you had been lying to me this whole time.” Billy continued, taking a subtle step closer in an attempt to gain control of the conversation. The attempted power move almost made you laugh. “At least then I’d have a lead on where to start. I’ve been putting out the old unit call on the radio.”

“Which I thought was risky as a first move.” You shot Billy a look that he ignored. “But hey, what do I know?”

“Has he answered?” Curtis asked and though his tone was level, there was concern laced in his words. You wanted to reassure him that Frank was fine, walking and talking and eating and arguing with you the same as he was before the arrow, but you couldn’t do that with wannabe Detective Russo in the same room.

Billy shook his head slightly and Curtis gave a shrug as if to say that was enough of an answer.

“If you could just give me an idea on where to start…” Billy tried and you had to look down to keep your eye roll to yourself.

Desperation was not a good look for Billy Russo.

“So what? You’re gonna help them?” Curtis asked with a slight challenge that almost went unnoticed.

“Imma help Frank.” He corrected and your ears perked up. Curtis noticed your focus shift over Billy’s shoulder and your eye contact only lasted less than a second. “I could get him out of here, man. Free and clear.”

“You do realize his lawyer and a federal agent is still in the room with you, right?” You pointed out with a sigh. “You need to tell me what you’re planning, Billy, now.”

“Now is my chance to make things right, Y/N.” Billy said instead of a real answer.

“That’s not an answer.”

“You lived how many lives before you decided to keep this one?” He spat over his shoulder before instantly regretting the words.

You closed the distance between you two and stood in front of him in silence for a few moments. You watched his eyes dart between yours and across your face to try and read your expression, but you knew you were blank. You gave him nothing. You owed him nothing. No explanation, no answer. When he opened his mouth to speak, you didn’t hesitate to bring an open palm across his cheek. The firm slap echoed throughout the empty room and the impact mimicked that familiar explosion.

“Не говори о годах, о которых ты ничего не знаешь, или я вырежу тебе язык и засуну его тебе в горло.” You warned lowly before storming out of the room. (Do not speak of years you know nothing about or I’ll cut out your tongue and shove it down your throat.)

You sat in your car for a few minutes in quiet anger. You had the AC running full blast and the doors locked while the car idled in the parking lot. You usually didn’t care when people had a snide comment on your past given the fact that they usually knew nothing and spoke from a place of ignorance. But it was the tone that Billy used, the entitlement he believed he had for you to look the other way. Just because you slept with Billy from time to time didn’t mean that you owed him any sort of favors, especially where your new job was concerned. If you so much as breathed in a sketchy direction, Hattley would have your badge faster than you could say ‘No’. Being on Frank’s side to begin with was risky enough, but for Billy to assume that you would side with him over your own wellbeing was selfish and juvenile.

You were quick to return to the compound when you noticed Billy and Curtis leaving the building. You kept the air on during the drive so by the time you got there, your skin felt a normal temperature despite the newest heat that had made a home in your heart and spread through your veins with every beat. You arrived not long before Curtis did. You felt his anger before you saw him, a dull heat that wasn’t necessarily directed at anyone specific but more at the entirety of the situation.

“I lied for you again.” Curtis said flatly, just as you had hopped up to sit at the edge of the counter.

“You did the right thing, Curt.” Frank answered and you nodded in agreement, just as the unit call came through the radio again.

“I’m going to break that damn thing if I have to hear it one more time.” You muttered as you looked around for something to throw.

“Every hour, on the hour.” Lieberman commented indifferently. He had said his peace when it started so he felt no need to argue anymore. “This guy’s determined.”

“He said he wanted to help you, that he could help you.” Curtis explained and you pressed your lips together in an effort to keep your thoughts in your head. “Whatever he’s offering, if you ask me, you should take it.”

You shook your head slightly and hopped off the counter to pace the small kitchen area. You rubbed a hand over your mouth while you tried to flesh out your thoughts, create a pinboard of ideas in your head and connect them with imaginary strings. You knew your expressions were shifting with your thoughts, brows furrowing and lifting while your eyes squinted or went wide when your head nodded or shook as things did or didn’t make sense. You glanced up to ensure your path was still clear and you noticed Frank was watching you with a questioning expression. You shook him off, hoping he would understand the gesture was meant as a ‘not now’ before he answered an expectant Curtis.

“Less people know I’m alive, safer it is for them.” Frank finally said.

“But what about you? You don’t look too safe. You look like a guy that nearly got his ass killed and you know it.” Curtis pressed. “And for what, huh?”

“The thing with Gunner was an ambush.” You explained quickly with the intent of scraping away some of Curtis’ frustration. “Not so much the arrow but the bullet wound… Someone knew where we were going. What I don’t get is who knew or how they knew because Gunner was off-grid for years. Someone put him on someone else’s radar but…”

You trailed off your question when the answer was so obvious it could’ve slapped you. It practically did. Dinah Madani must’ve been looking into the Cerberus crew, directly or indirectly, but that must’ve alerted a certain someone in Langley and Gunner was either the nearest or the most logical target to take out first. It was either Dinah’s research that popped up on someone’s radar or there was a bug in her office.

“If I could just add something here…” Lieberman tried.

“You don’t get an opinion, not in this conversation.” Curtis said without breaking eye contact with Frank. “Right now, she’s lucky she gets one.”

“I’m still his lawyer.” You defended quickly. “Taking anything from Billy should be carefully weighed out before anyone jumps on it… There’s still the potential for foul play.”

“You think it could be a set-up?” Curtis scoffed. “C’mon, Y/N/N. You were there when he was telling me everything.”

“And the person who told him is someone he’s sleeping with, which is the one looking into him.” You outed Billy with an indifferent shrug. “There’s still the potential of using Frank as an excuse to bed her a few more times. Y’know, gratitude sex.”

Curtis laughed in disbelief before turning back to Frank. You ground your teeth slightly and restrained both your hands and your tongue. Going up against Billy was one thing but standing opposite of him and Curtis would make your life harder than it already is.

“So what? I keep lying for you?” Curtis challenged.

“Look. Curt, you… You gotta do what you think is right. I’d never ask you to do anything else.” Frank said honestly and it proved something you had already knew.

Despite the reputation, despite the pain and trauma he had fought through, Frank Castle a good man who cared about people. A select few people, but those people would always be the safest in New York.

Curtis left after that without saying anything else. Frank and Lieberman talked shortly about Billy and Lieberman said Frank should. At that, Frank turned to you.

“You’ve been quiet.” He said and your eyebrows went up.

“I don’t think you’ll like what I have to say.” You said honesty.

“C’mon, Princess. It’s never stopped you before.”

“Like I said, Billy’s sleeping with Madani so this may be all for her… But there’s been other coincidences that I don’t trust.”

“Like what?”

“Like ones I can’t prove yet.”

“Anything that’d hold in court?”

“No.” You laughed slightly. “Everything is just circumstantial at best. I’m trying to get the proof but he’s careful. He covers his tracks, watches what he says.”

“But do you think-”

“No, okay?” You cut in sharply. “I don’t. I don’t think you should talk to him. I don’t think you should take anything he offers if you talk to him. Billy Russo has gotten too close. He needs to be taken off the board.”

“Off the board… How do you plan to do that then?”

“I’m not gonna kill him.” Yet. “He just needs to believe Dinah is wrong about you being alive. Maybe whatever she thought would’ve killed you actually did because something isn’t right about everything.”

“Go ahead then.” Frank gestured for you to keep going. “Lay it all out, Princess.”

“No, you wouldn’t believe me and I don’t even blame you.” You put your hands up in defeat as you turned away from him. “Do whatever you want, Frank, but don’t expect me to go along with it.”

Just hours later, both men tried to invite you to the waterfront. You ignored Billy’s call completely but listened to the voicemail almost immediately after it was left. Admittedly, you were surprised Billy had called given your last interaction was a solid slap and a threat. And your last interaction with Frank was you throwing accusations at Billy with no proof. So either man reaching out came slightly out of left field.

But you did what you had to do and you chose yourself, the way you were always meant to. You wanted to return to being alone, the way you had been so long to the point where you liked it. Where you longed for it. Then Matt and Foggy pulled you out of it, Marc and Steven kept you out of it. But to live a life without them, without any of them, you began to hide in that loneliness despite that yearning for someone to hold your hand and drag you out.

Meanwhile, Frank and Billy were sitting on the waterfront. At first, they spent a few minutes catching up but talking about Anvil led to Billy’s offer. And while Frank was listening to it, he was also watching for Y/N.

He didn’t think she’d show given the fact that she didn’t answer his call, but he still had hope. It wasn’t a decision he would take lightly, and Y/N doesn’t stand so firmly for nothing. She knew something, something she didn’t think he would believe without seeing. But if she was there, she probably could’ve used that fancy law degree and gotten Billy to admit to it. Or at least trip him up enough to prove something wasn’t right.

“You uh, you know Y/N, right?” Frank asked, looking back to his friend who he could’ve sworn was blushing at her name.

“Yeah, yeah I know her.” Billy smiled slightly. “Hell of a lady.”

“Yeah..” Frank smiled. “She really went to bat for me way back when. You tell her about this?”

“Started to.” He shrugged. “Then I said something stupid and she walked out. Slapped the shit outta me, too.”

“Eh, you probably deserved it.” Frank chuckled, but the comment sparked a question. Y/N wasn’t one to lose composure over nothing, so what did Billy say to her? “Was all this, the new life and everything… Any of this her idea?”

“I don’t think she wants to know for sure if you’re alive.” Billy answered. “She took your death pretty hard, man. Then she loses her boyfriend and… I don’t know, all that death changes you.”

“Yeah…” Frank nodded slightly.

He had noticed Y/N had been colder lately, more to the point, but knowing that even Billy noticed it meant she must’ve really lost it after Murdock. He knew she was still hurting, feeling guilty every second she was alive, but he also knew she was the strongest person he knew. She’d fight her way through this just like she fought through all the other shit in her life, but he couldn’t help but wonder what would change in the process.

“You spend a lot of time with her?” Frank asked, trying to lighten the mood between them where Y/N was concerned.

“Fair amount, yeah.” He nodded with a proud smile.

“You actually like her, don’t you? Aw shit, is Billy Russo actually interested in settling down?”

At that, Billy laughed. “She’d kick my ass to Jersey if I tried.”

You were headed out the next morning with the intent - again - of going to Dinah’s office. You had to get a lead for your leak theory, whether it be Billy Russo or Dinah Madani. Either way, you had no issues going after either. Despite your FBI position lurking in the back of your thoughts, which you were on standby for until something good came across someone’s desk, nothing would stop you.

You took advantage of the badge at your hip and flashed it at the confused looks. The familiar look of the badge was enough for them to nod and accept your presence but someone decided to step in front of you. He gently grabbed your arm, pulled you down a secluded hall, and stepped close enough to back you against the wall.

“What are you doing here?” He asked lowly and you met his expression with one of challenge.

“Visiting your girlfriend.” You mocked quickly. “You?”

“She’s not my-“

“I don’t care.” You cut in with a sigh. “Can I go now?”

“You didn’t answer my call yesterday.”

“Yeah, I figured the slap was enough. Besides, I was too busy with your girlfriend’s head between my legs.” You lied and his brows raised. “Jealous?”

“Yeah, actually.” The corner of his mouth tilted to a smile but dropped quickly at your glare.

“Gross.”

“I’m kidding, c’mon.” He chuckled nervously.

“Get out of my way.” You mumbled and nodded for him to move.

“No, Y/N, just-“

“No.” You said sharply and moved forward to force him a few steps back. “I don’t care, Billy. I don’t care what you do with Dinah. I don’t care what you do with Frank. What I do care about is my name and my reputation. Neither of you get to take those from me.”

“I’m not trying to.” His hands went up in surrender. “What I said the other day was outta line. I know that. I was stressed with this whole-“

“I have a litigation specialty. You can’t talk around me or play the victim. We all have our own shit going on but that doesn’t make it okay to try and pull punches you’ve already blindly thrown.” You rolled your eyes and pushed past him. Before you got very far, he caught your arm and spun you back to face him.

“I will break every bone in that hand.” You warned angrily. “Let go of me.”

“Let me make it up to you, huh?” He offered and you held back on rolling your eyes again. “Remember that guy I said that if he liked you, I’d be able to tell you more?”

“Yeah..” Now you were intrigued.

“Well I’m going to talk to him in a bit. Maybe you could come with me.”

“And if he doesn’t like me?”

“I got a feeling he will. Pick you up on my way?”

You took a minute to consider. Your gut was telling you that it was a direct path to Agent Orange. Maybe not a name, but a face and a potential location. It was a perfect chance, fallen into your lap. Could you really pass on it?

“Fine. But you’re not forgiven,” You said flatly. “Give me a few minutes to talk to Dinah.”

You knocked sharply on Dinah’s door before pushing in, the tense conversation between her and some other agent coming to a screeching halt. You looked awkwardly between them and the annoyance sat heavily in the air.

“Sorry, am I interrupting?” You asked carefully while subtly activating your implant and the man sighed but gestured for Dinah to answer.

“No, it’s fine.” She gave a tight smile. “Something I can help you with, Agent Y/L/N?”

“Agent?” The man’s head popped up. “Jesus, Dinah, who else are you bringing in?” He looked over to you and nodded slightly. “No offense.”

“None taken. And I’m from FBI SWAT, actually.” You corrected. “Agent Madani had reached out to collaborate on a case. Lotta things we need to catch up on… Got word of something down in Kentucky you might be interested in.” You glanced around her office to try and pinpoint where the feedback in your head was coming from. All you could figure out was a direction, somewhere on her bookshelf. 

“FBI? Dinah, you’ve gotta be kidding.” The man urged quietly.

“It’s not official.” You scanned the objects on the shelves but without your mask or even the pocket tech you used in Lieberman’s home, you wouldn’t find it. You cursed silently before facing the expectant stares. “Just a consultation from a friend but I can see this is a bad time. Should we get something on the books for later, an evening meeting maybe? My treat.”

“Yes, that’d be great.” She sighed in relief.

You smiled slightly and scribbled ‘bugged?’ with two sharp underlines. She shot you a questioning look but you simply raised your brows with a knowing smirk before you left.

You didn’t know what took you back to the compound. Pure curiosity to see if Frank was still around, maybe. Truthfully, if Frank did leave, then Lieberman’s situation was no longer your problem. Orange and Billy and the Lieberman family wouldn’t matter to you. You owed them nothing so why would you continue to figure anything out for them?

But when you walked in, a mix of relief and disappointment ran through you before disappearing down the crater. Frank was still around.

“Colonel Morty Bennett, Fort Byron.” Lieberman began, pausing when you quietly approached the countertop with the map spread across it.

Your eyes scanned it as Frank pointed to various points and talked out the plan. Your head tilted in thought as to how to insert yourself but you’d need a bit more intel on Bennett before you could find somewhere to slip in.

“…entertains at home, every Saturday night, like clockwork.” Lieberman explained and an idea clicked in your head. 

“What kind of entertaining? Like a dinner party?” You asked, already planning five personas for different scenarios.

“Not exactly, no.” He answered, now feeling awkward. “Female company.”

“Oh… Oh.” You nodded in understanding. “There’s my way in then.”

“No.” Frank cut in suddenly but you ignored him.

“Can you get me the name of the company he used and if he has a favorite date?”

“Yeah, I can do that.” Lieberman answered while Frank argued, “You’re not doing it.”

“I’ve done it a thousand times.” You said flatly. “Bat my eyes, laugh a little, wear a short skirt. Never even have to touch them.”

“Y/N.” He said firmly.

“That way it’s not two people sneaking onto an army base. I pass myself off as the expected guest, flash Bennett the big doe eyes and get the intel we’re looking for before I knock him out and get out of there. What is your issue?” You pressed but Frank scoffed and mumbled something under his breath. You rolled your eyes and turned back to Lieberman. “Send me the info, please. I have another string I’ve gotta pull on.”

“Are you listening to me?” Frank countered angrily before Lieberman could say anything. “You’re not gonna pass yourself off as a goddamn escort. You come in my way or you don’t come at all. Got it?”

You went back to your apartment after that and waited for Billy’s arrival. He knocked on your door after about a half hour of you being home and you said almost nothing to him on the drive. He tried to pry about what you wanted to talk to Dinah about, and all you said was that maybe he wasn’t the only one rolling around the sheets with her. You stared out the window for most of the drive, though almost nothing stood out. When you pulled up to the house, you were quick to open your phone and pin the location before Billy led you in.

He told you to wander the place while he talked to his friend and that he’d find you in a few minutes. You said nothing, just began strolling the halls. You managed to stay out of sight enough that Bily didn’t notice you knew exactly what room he went into. A few minutes after Billy went in, so did another man. You didn’t see his face, just the back of his head. You crept to the door and stayed just outside.

The outline of where your mask would sit burned and you wished you had the familiar device. You could record on your phone, sure, but the quality wouldn’t be half as good. You could miss something and by the time you got it out to begin with, who knows what would’ve come and gone. And to get it close enough for clear audio would’ve likely meant it would be seen.

“There’s no way she gets to Castle before we do.” Billy said calmly and your mouth hung open for a moment. “Trust me, I know him.”

We. That was all the confirmation you needed, but for Frank to believe you, you’d need more. But was the ‘she ‘ you or Dinah?

“Clearly not as well as you think you do.” The other man countered and you committed the voice to memory. The tone, the register, the dialect. You needed every detail you could. “You should’ve killed him when you had the chance. The country had too much to lose for Frank Castle to expose me… Unless the other one has gotten in your head.”

“You think this has something to do with Y/N?” Billy laughed.

“It doesn’t? Hard to argue with Columbia Law.”

Had Billy talked about you or had Orange done his own research? The thought that he knew you before you ever knew him sent a chill through your veins. You rationalized it as public knowledge after Frank’s case blew up but the discomfort settled in the pit of your stomach like a rock.

“You try to win an argument with her.” Billy muttered, likely into a glass. “I don’t think she wants to get too involved in any of this anyways. Far as she knows, I’m trynna help and she’s not trynna stop it.”

“You should know that if it comes to me getting exposed, you’ll be right there with me. No more government contracts, no more Anvil. No Mr. Billy Russo or dating Ms. Y/L/N. ”

“So I should’ve just… What? Killed him on the pier in broad daylight in front of a calzone truck?”

“That girl in the mask he used to work with...” Orange answered thoughtfully and your body tensed, only for a moment. “Former assassin likely operates like a sniper if you open up the checkbook. Maybe I should find her instead…”

“You know… I always thought of you as more of a hands-on kinda guy. Your face when you were working over those Afghans, they would talk and talk, scared shitless. Terrified and you’d just keep on hitting them and then there would come this moment…”

You wondered where the hell this reminiscing was going. You needed a good time to just ‘innocently stumble’ into the room and make an introduction. You needed to see the man’s face. You were so goddamned close. To be so close and unarmed made you feel like an idiot, but then again, you were nothing if not resourceful.

“Is that your thing, Rawlins?” Billy taunted and your head whipped up.

Rawlins. Agent Rawlins.

“ Достаточно просто.” You whispered and you nearly smiled. That was a huge victory for your side. (Easy enough.)

“Every man’s got a thing.” Billy continued.

“Stay on point, Lieutenant.” Rawlins commanded and there was a bubble of frustration from the man.

“Oh, I am right on point.” Billy responded quickly and your brows raised in interest. You focused in on what Billy was feeling, the deep feeling of being slighted, and you spun your finger like a dial and gradually raised it. “I remember seeing that look on your face once, that fear. When Frank gave you that milky eye, he was gonna keep right on going too. And you knew it too.”

As Billy spoke, the bitter taste of fear settled on your tongue and you could’ve sworn it came with the memory of the altercation. Being pinned under Frank, fearing it was all ending and there was nothing to be done otherwise. It was almost enough to make your head spin, though it did make you a tad nauseous.

“I made you.” Rawlins said in a matter-of-fact tone, though it didn’t hide what he truly felt. He was indebted to Billy for saving him from Frank, but due to some sick power dynamic, he convinced Billy that he was an inferior. Maybe it was rank, maybe it was manipulation.

“Are we gonna warn Morty Bennett that Frank Castle might be coming for him?” Billy asked, a new mocking tone in his voice. You watched his figure come into view from your hidden angle and his head turned in your direction. You held your breath and waited for a reaction, but there was no acknowledgment other than a slight smirk.

You assumed he had seen you, that you had lost your touch for espionage. But he said nothing, showed nothing, in regards to your presence. Maybe he was just assuming you’d show up at the doorframe to listen. 

“Morty has the instincts of a rat and the courage of a rabbit.” Rawlins reasoned. “We tell him Castle is still living, one of two things happen. He runs or he talks.”

“So why not just kill him too?”

Shit.

Hearing Billy say ‘too’ only affirmed your theory that Rawlins was looking for a way to kill Frank. Billy was intended to be his Trojan Horse to get close enough to Frank to get it done. The real question left was who would Billy choose when push came to shove.

“Not if we don’t have to. Too many questions. We want Morty alive and where we can find him. When Castle finally turns up, we’re gonna save his life anyway. So what can he complain about?”

“I’ll gather up my best.” Billy nodded and you heard his footsteps nearing the door. You hurried a few feet away before walking towards the room with your head turning as if distracted by something, leading you to bump into Billy.

“Every window is bulletproof.” You said simply.

“They’re double-paned.” Rawlins corrected, suddenly behind Billy.

“No, they’re not. They’re bulletproof.” You said again.

Rawlins offered a condescending smile that you nearly knocked off.

“See for yourself.” You gestured to the nearest window and the men followed you over. “If it were just double-paned like you said, you’d see the gap between the glass where it fits into the frame. But instead you can see the edges where the panels were melded together, making it classified as bulletproof.”

“Meet Y/N Y/L/N.” Billy said proudly as his hand came to your shoulder. “One of the best.”

“You didn’t say she was so… knowledgable.” Rawlins answered, staring at the glass for a few more minutes before looking to you.

“I consider myself a woman of many talents.” You lifted your chin slightly, daring him to say something.

“Pleasure to meet you.” He finally said with a slight bow of his head.

“Yes, I’m sure it is… And me being knowledgeable is a perk of coming from Columbia Law, but I’m sure you knew that already.”

“Yes, Billy has mentioned that you’re a lawyer.”

“You knew that beforehand.”

“Excuse me?”

“I was hard to miss.” You shrugged. “Being that I was Frank Castle’s lawyer.”

“Were you?” He feigned surprise.

“You’re a terrible bluff.” You said flatly. “And you’re what, CIA? I bet you tried to figure out my whole life story.”

“Not much of a story.” He shrugged slightly. “Overseas orphan turned law prodigy… Unless there is something more interesting about you, Ms. Y/L/N?”

“I’m sure Agent Madani would be more interesting… That’s why you bugged her office right? And why you have Billy keep in touch with her? Unless Billy’s pulling a fast one and gonna double cross her. She wouldn’t see it coming, I bet.”

“Double cross her how?” He shook his head slightly and the condescension in the gesture made your chest rumble.

“You can call yourself whatever you want, y’know. Rawlins. Orange. It doesn’t change that you’re a coward, hiding behind someone else and forcing them to act for you. You see, I know men like you, that pretend their power comes from the shadows they operate in, but what happens when the ones that gave you the shadow step? What would you have left? Ничего. “ (Nothing.)

His eyes narrowed and Billy was quick to end the conversation and steer you out.

Now the game was getting fun.

“What did he mean that he made you?” You asked during the drive back to your apartment.

“Nothing.” Billy shook his head. “He helped get a couple of contracts for Anvil but nothing much.”

“He wants Frank dead. Frank wants him dead. What do you want?”

He blew out a long sigh as he thought of an answer, as if he hadn’t been asked that during the endeavor.

“I want my friend.” He finally settled.

“Your friend will want the head of the man that pulled the strings of the man that had his family killed.”

“How’d you know that?” “Cause I felt that way.” You answered quickly and suddenly felt that your hands weres slick with blood again. But looking down, they were clean. “A while ago when a friend of mine from college came back, this cult was trying to recruit her. They swore she was their idol and she was meant for them. She refused and they killed her for it, said she would be reborn in a way that serves her true purpose… When I found the man above the one that killed her, I killed him. No hesitation. I don’t regret it and Frank wouldn’t either.”

“Like I said, Y/N, I wanna help Frank.” He said with enough insistence that you nearly believed it.

“Would you help him kill Orange?”

“I don’t think Frankie would need my help for that… You want in on this?”

“I’m not gonna go against Frank.” You said plainly. “We didn’t see eye to eye on everything but I know he wouldn’t pull a trigger on me.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t ask you to.” He said honestly, and you believed he meant that.

“Would you back me up if I had to take down your team to keep him alive?”

“Long as it looks like we saved Bennett, I’m not gonna get in your way.” He shrugged. “You in?”

“I’m only doing this to find out if he’s really alive.” You agreed.

“If you had answered my call the other day, you could’ve come with me to meet with him.” He snorted a laugh.

You needed a way in that wasn’t Frank anyway.

It was the next night when you were walking through Fort Byron. It was a small team you were with, four men counting Billy. They wore the expected lightweight tactical gear but you wore a simple fitted outfit, enough to pass as Bennett’s company but nothing that would restrict your movement. You were practically unarmed, save for the retractable blade hidden under your sleeve and two shock disks and a smoke bomb in your front pocket.

You two were sitting at the table and the man was droning on about his week on post and how awful it was. While you were running your finger discreetly on your scar to find whatever channel Lieberman was using, you picked up the glass of wine and smelled it. Bennett attempted an apology but you simply stared at him while you poured the glass on the floor. You quirked a brow in light challenge before he gulped and got down on the floor, licking the spilled wine like a dog.

“Боже, это жалко.“ You said to yourself with a small eye roll. When the man tried to turn and look up at you, you put your foot on his back and forced him back to the ground. (God, that’s pathetic.)

After a few minutes, the sound of Bennett lapping at the puddle annoyed you so you got up and pulled the man to his feet. He opened his mouth to speak but you rolled up one of the napkins and shoved it in his mouth instead. He made a face of shock before you pushed him to lean on the table.

You took a few minutes to wander the dining room, looking for anything of interest but you found nothing. When you heard Bennett’s muffled voice, you returned to the table and picked up one of the tall burning candles. You tilted it so the dripping wax would land on his hand, causing a smothered shout before a gleeful laugh. You had to refrain from making a face of disgust at the sound.

“I expect you to be quiet unless I ask you to speak.” You said simply, holding in your gag at the man’s arousal due to the situation. “Nod.”

He nodded eagerly and you rolled your eyes. You moved closer to the window and saw figures crouching in the bushes. You leaned in slightly and saw what looked like Billy’s face between the branches. When your eyes adjusted the lower light, you noticed the shadowed figure hiding moving around to the other door. You smirked slightly before returning to the table.

The comms device fitted in your ear was relaying the mindless chatter from the men outside, waiting for your signal. You calculated how much time you could

give Frank before you had to alert them. If you didn’t, it would be obvious that you let Frank go. So you figured enough time for Frank to start whatever he was doing and for you to deploy your smoke would be sufficient.

You hauled Bennett up by the back of his coat and forced him against the wall in his office, which was just the next room over. You went back to the dining room and scanned the contents of the table, finding a clean napkin, an untouched glass of water, and one of the steak knives. You heard the front door opening and knew you only had a short window before Billy’s team crashed the building. You poured the water over the napkin while Frank found you in the dining room. You pointed towards Bennett without looking up and used the steak knife to cut two small holes in the napkin.

Frank muttered his complaints and confusion about your presence but he said nothing directly. You knew it would be a whole can of worms the next time you were at the compound, but that would be a problem for future Y/N. In the meantime, you focused on your makeshift gear.

You intended to use it like a filter over your nose and mouth. Seeing through the smoke might prove troublesome and it’d likely burn your eyes, but if you couldn’t breathe, then you wouldn’t be able to fight. You heard Lieberman give the time estimate and you knew you could buy them that.

“Smoke.” You held your comms in your ear as you spoke quickly, draping the wet cloth over your face before you moved into the office.

Lieberman’s voice echoed on the other side of your head.

What? How did- Y/N? What smoke?

“Castle.” You said as you entered, both getting Frank’s attention and alerting the team waiting outside. “Thirty seconds to breach.”

You’ve got four hostels headed your way. They’re moving fast.

Frank threw Bennett into the nearest closet but you stopped him before he closed the door. You knelt down to be eye to eye with the cowardly man - which you hated to admit lived right up to Rawlin’s description - and used the steak knife still in your hand to press it against the side of his neck.

“You make one sound…” You said lowly, watching the yellow haze spread across his pupils as the words fell. “I will slit you open and watch you drown in your own blood. Understand?”

He nodded feverently and shoved the napkin gag back in his mouth. You hummed in delight and patted his cheek before you stood and knocked the door shut.

You heard the clink of canisters before the sound of aerosol filled the silence. You looked to Frank, who pulled a ski mask over his face, and he offered you a sharp nod. You gripped the steak knife a little tighter before you moved carefully into the next room and pulled your own smoke bomb and slammed it to the floor.

You were quick to press yourself against the nearest wall when you saw the red beams through the smoke. It was already burning your eyes and you felt the tears welling but you blinked them away, listening for footsteps. The team was careful to tread lightly and you cursed not having your mask to see through it all. They stayed relatively close together and you tried to tell the vague figures apart.

In those minute vulnerable moments of simply

observing, you also found Billy’s determination in his mission. What his exact mission was, you couldn’t say, but at least you knew who to go after last.

When one of the men was within your range, you acted quickly. You kicked the barrel of the gun away and jammed your elbow against his spine. With one hand, you yanked his helmet off so the other could grab the side of his head. You slammed his head into the nearest stud of the wall and watched him drop to the floor. You moved to his gun and flicked off the light. When you looked back up to find the next, you saw a second red light turn off.

You breathed in a deep sigh of annoyance before you began creeping forward. You realized you had dropped your small blade as you stayed low to the ground, listening for steps and watching for their feet.

More than halfway, how we doin’ in there?

You weren’t going to answer. You heard the sounds of a nearby interaction and you assumed Frank had it covered. As you followed the last one, you recognized that it was Billy.

Of course it was.

Bennett’s fear continued to rise and you knew that once the door opened, it would spill out and fill the room as dense as the current smoke was. You saw a figure in your peripherals with their red beam shining so you abandoned your stalk of Billy and moved towards the other.

You caught up to him quickly and grabbed the strap of his rifle to pull him to his back. He tried to redirect his weapon in a panic, firing a few quick shots that echoed in your ear and triggered the explosions in your chest. You knelt on his chest and tried to wrestle the gun free while you heard the rushed steps coming closer.

You ditched the tug of war and began to spin it instead, watching the strap tangle itself and put more pressure across his chest. He coughed and tried to release the strap but you didn’t let him. You repositioned your knee to block the clip and quickly looked around for something to end it with. You saw a thick ceramic knick-knack on the nearest end table so you reached for it. You had to shift your weight off his chest to reach it and it was enough of a shift for him to be able to push you off completely. You landed with a groan before you got up and grabbed the trinket, the other hand slipping to your pocket for the disk. The red dot settled on your chest but you snapped the disk forward before he could fire. The small device landed against his forehead and you heard the crackle, but the man fell limp regardless.

When Billy got to the scene, you had barely gotten far enough that the smoke covered your frame. You nearly held your breath just in case while he looked carefully into the darkness.

You heard the Lieberman’s countdown in your head just before a pistol went off. You abandoned your hiding place quickly, pushing past Billy without a thought, and ran towards the sound of the gun. You had just missed the altercation but you heard the glass shattering down the hall. You followed the commotion again and saw one of the men from the team shooting at a fleeing figure across the lawn. You quickly yanked the other disk from your pocket and threw it against the man’s back.

He fell to his knees so you took a second to pull the wet cloth off your face but before you could make any other move, you were grabbed by your shoulder from behind. You reacted quickly and elbowed the person in the stomach. You turned on the man and flicked out the blade at your wrist instinctively. You swung it aggressively, though he batted your hand away. You threw your other hand wildly but he caught it with ease, bringing a new rage across your skin. His other hand went to the back of your head and pushed it down, simultaneously using the hold on your hand to throw you into a spin. You were slightly disoriented when you faced him again and he was quick to wrap his hand around your throat. He backed you against the wall, pinning your caught hand about your head.

You raised a knee quickly and managed to get it against his lower abdomen, you positioned your bladed hand at the base of his throat so the tip threatened to pierce under his chin. Staring at the man for a second, you realized it was Billy and you let yourself smile.

“Having fun?” You teased and he smirked back at you.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” The man you had thrown the disk at just moments before yelled from behind Billy.

“You gonna handle that or should I?” You nodded to the man without breaking eye contact with Billy.

“Go find everyone else.” Billy said simply, refusing to look away either.

The other man scoffed and mumbled something about how you got away with it cause you’re hot.

“They’re gonna think you’ve gone soft for me.” You said with a playful tone to your voice.

“For you?” His brows raised and he shook his head slightly. “No, I’m hard as ever.”

“Nothing like a knife to your throat to set the mood, right?” You continued and slid your knee lower, earning a small groan from him. “Don’t you have a job to finish?”

“Can’t do anything when you got me like this… What’re we gonna do about it?”

“Can’t do anything when you got me like this.” You nodded to the hand above your head.

“Well..” He chuckled and you bit your lip to keep the smile back.

“You got Morty and the team waiting in the other room.”

“Yeah, you’re not the quietest.” He joked and slowly stepped away and tapped his fingers under your chin with a wink.

You hummed slightly and looked down the hall to the broken window. You had to trust that Frank got away, pulled something out his sleeve and was on his way back to the compound. Until you knew otherwise, you had no reason to doubt him. When Billy finally had his blood flow back to his head, you followed him back to Morty’s office.

“That was a shit show.” He announced as he entered, you right behind him. 

“Yeah, cause this bitch wants to flip sides in the middle

of the job.” One of the men commented.

“The bitch can still break your jaw.” You warned sharply, your accent dancing on the edge of your tongue.

“The hell are you doing here?” Morty asked Billy, thankfully taking Billy’s and your attention back. “Oh Christ. She’s with you?”

“We’re saving your life, Morty.” Billy answered. “So why don’t you put your pants on and then you’re gonna say exactly what I tell you to say when I tell you to say it.”

You had to admit that despite Billy’s loyalty being seemingly based on coin flips, something about seeing him in that firm and commanding circumstance reminded you of why you liked him in the first place. You smirked slightly and you looked up at him, knowing your expression was one of clear admiration. And it wasn’t any sort of romantic or loving admiration. It was attraction. It was your own magnetism to and for power, to and for violence. Billy was both good for you and bad, good for business and bad.

When all was said and done, you realized you had no idea what Frank and Lieberman actually did. You didn’t know what the countdown was for. It was more than just testing the theory that Rawlins knew what was happening. But if anyone had asked what the hell happened on the other side of things, you’d have no real answer. But you knew that there was one thing that you could and would have to answer to Frank for.

And that was what the hell you were doing there.

Billy sent the other guys away, leaving you and him to deal with Bennett. You and him drove the man to the same place you two had been to meet with Rawlins. You and Billy both went off to change, though you simply exchanged your form fitting top for a sweater Billy brought for you. He joked about how it took you long enough to wear his clothes instead, and you knew it was a jab at your refusal to stay out of Matt’s drawers, but you ignored it.

You walked into the study and his hand was on your lower back. You two were instantly hit with an accusation from Morty. Billy sat on the back of the couch and hooked his fingers into your front pocket to pull you to stand between his legs so he could have his arm around your hips. You rested your arm on his shoulder while your fingers ran along the back of his neck and leaned into him slightly.

“And her!” He yelled and turned on you, throwing a pointed finger in your direction. “She put a knife to my neck!”

You offered a sarcastic expression and flipped him off, which made Billy chuckle slightly from beside you. He leaned away to pour two glasses of liquor and pressed one into your hand while Morty and Rawlins continued their little back and forth.

“Y’know, without us…” Billy began, looking up at you for a second before going back to the conversation. “Frank Castle would have your balls wired to a car battery by now.”

“Yeah, but he pays women to step on his balls so he probably wouldn’t even feel it.” You added on. “If he did, he’d probably finish right then and there.”

“Kiss my ass, Lieutenant Russo.” Morty spat back. “You too, you cheap skank.”

“You couldn’t afford me.” You retorted with a small step forward but Billy’s hand on your leg stopped you.

“What did you tell Frank Castle?” Rawlins asked calmly.

“Nothing.” Morty admitted.

“Did he take anything?” Billy asked.

“Did he take anything? He was trying to take me!”

“No he wasn’t.” You muttered into your glass.

“Excuse me?”

“He wasn’t gonna take you.” You repeated. “He knows about what you did, stuffing the drugs in the KIA’s that got sent back, but you aren’t the big ticket. He is.” You gestured to Rawlins, who was sat behind his desk with his hand folded like a cartoon villain.

“You give him any names?” Billy asked again.

“No.” Morty dragged out the syllable. “I told him to kiss my ass.”

“No you didn’t.” You laughed. “You begged him not to kill you. You didn’t say anything cause you didn’t have the time… Castle wasn’t looking for you to say the name to begin with.” You realized the last part as you said it.

He never needed Morty to give Orange’s identity because Lieberman has another way of getting it. Lieberman’s specialty was tech, survelliance, hacking. The more complicated version of what you could do. Frank was acting as a smokescreen while Lieberman worked behind the curtain.

You were so lost in putting the pieces together that when Billy tapped the back of your thigh, you jumped slightly. He stood up slowly and you backed away a few steps, but you caught the questioning look that only lasted for a second. Once he began to turn away from you, it was all business again.

[bfi-archive]

WORLD CLASS SINNER - FRANK CASTLE

six - so what now?

tags: n/a // five // seven // masterlist

Pairing: Billy x Reader , Frank x Reader

Word Count: 7,682

Summary: Limits are pushed and more secrets pile up as she continues to pretend on both sides. When they creep closer to one another, can she maintain all of her lies and save face or will she be forced to pick what relationship matters most?

You and Lieberman got Frank onto a table in the small kitchen area before you shooed him away. You stressed that if he didn’t come back with Curtis, then he didn’t need to come back at all. You dug through your own bag seven times to try and find something to help, anything that might give you an idea to fix it, but you had nothing. Instead, all you could do was track the vitals you could feel with the small batch of equipment Lieberman had pulled, which luckily included a forehead thermometer and a stethoscope.

“Do I even wanna know what you’re doing here?” Curtis asked when he got there. Suddenly, you were hyperaware of the blood splatters still on your skin from earlier but at least you had changed out of the suit.

“BP hovering around 90/60 and temperature’s 104 and climbing.” You explained instead. “He’s been on fluids and antibiotics the entire ride back but it’s not helping.”

“Does he need blood? I’m a universal donor.” Lieberman offered and you rolled your eyes.

“So am I but I don’t think the blood’s the problem. I tried to pack his wounds in the field so he wouldn’t have that as a problem.”

“No, it’s not the blood.” Curtis confirmed, opening Frank’s lids to check his pupils. “I think he’s septic. That arrow’s a foreign body and his system’s trynna fight it off. Antibiotics are fighting a losing battle.”

“Okay, so we take it out.” You agreed.

“So you’re gonna just pull it out?” Lieberman asked.

“Pulling it out’s gonna do more damage than when it went in. All this swelling and inflammation means the arrow’s crowded now. You try to pull it out, you don’t know what you’re gonna tear up in the process.” Curtis countered. “You alright?”

“Yeah. Mhmm, yeah.” Lieberman nodded.

“He doesn’t do this often.” You explained and moved to stand at the head of the table.

“Well, you’re gonna have to help me hold him still so Y/N can get it out.” Curtis explained and you rubbed your sleeves against your forehead to try and push them up.

“Right now?” Lieberman’s eyes went wide.

“Yes, now.”

The men shifted Frank to his side and you looked between the front and back, realizing the arrow didn’t fully penetrate. You made a face to yourself and gently pushed the arrow from the front, only to find tension and resistance. You came back to the other side and pressed your fingers firmly until you felt the protrusion of the arrowhead. You looked at your waist habitually for a knife but you were in your regular pants. Instead, Curtis passed you the scalpel.

Using one hand as a guide, you began to slice through Frank’s back. As the cut got bigger, the smell of blood began to permeate the small area and Lieberman looked like he would pass out.

“I swear to God if you don’t get it together.” You muttered without looking away from the task at hand.

“No, I’m good.” He sniffled from the other side of the table. “I’m good. I got this.”

“Do not lose your shit.” Curtis said firmly from your side. “Say it.”

“I won’t lose my shit.” Lieberman repeated and you laughed to yourself.

“Can you-” You began but Curtis was already reaching a hand to help move some of the muscle out of the way. He handed you a set of forceps.

“Put some pressure on the arrow.” You told Lieberman, watching for the movement on your end. “I see it.”

“Good.” Curtis said, peering over your shoulder. “Can you get it?”

You made a small noise as you tried to position the forceps. “It keeps slipping.” You grumbled and shifted your angle, trying to hook the forceps between the points of the arrowhead. “Wait, I think I- Yeah, I got it. It’s coming.”

You pulled gently and the arrow slid out the open wound. You dropped it on the plate behind you and dropped the forceps with it. You grabbed a small handful of gauze and wiped the excess stream of blood away. You looked over and repositioned Lieberman’s hands to put pressure from the front. Curtis moved you away so he could pour alcohol over the open wound before he stapled the wound shut. Lieberman backed away and made small exclamations of stress while Curtis cauterized the entry wound.

“What about you?” Curtis looked to you while Lieberman took the bottle. “You good?”

“Uh, yeah.” You nodded. “I saw most of them coming so I’m good.”

“Most of them.” He repeated with a small nod. “I’m guessing the blood across your chest was the one you didn’t.”

You hummed a small noise of question before you glanced down and realized you bled through your shirt. You closed your eyes and sighed slightly. When you opened them, you saw Curtis giving you an expectant look. He gestured for you to remove your shirt and you shook your head, to which he lifted a pair of scissors. You flipped him off quickly before carefully pulling your shirt over your head.

“Jesus, Y/N.” He sighed and changed his gloves before he came closer to examine your wound.

“Don’t tell him you got me to take my shirt off that easily.” You tried to joke, pulling a face when he pressed on the tender area.

“I don’t think Frank’s gonna care that much.” He answered with a small laugh.

“I didn’t mean him. I meant our other mutual friend that I haven’t told Frank I know…”

“You haven’t…” He looked at you with wide eyes and you shrugged innocently. “What do you think is gonna happen when he finds out?”

“Honestly?” You blew out an exaggerated sigh. “I haven’t thought that far ahead. I’m just going day to day at this point.”

“Y/N.” He groaned before placing a gauze square over the missing chunk in your shoulder. “It sounds like you’re trying to be someone different with every person you meet.”

“That’s what I was taught to do.” You shrugged your other shoulder while he taped the gauze into place. “Don’t worry about this. It’ll heal quicker than you think.”

“Do I wanna know how?” He sighed while you replaced your shirt.

“I don’t think you should.” You said honestly. “Every time someone finds out, they end up like him-” You nodded to Frank. “-or worse.”

“You say that like I wouldn’t get it.” He said simply as he turned to dress Frank’s wound.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Go ahead and look in the bag.” You gestured to your duffel while you moved to the sink to gather a wet towel to clean up some of the blood. “Seems to be the one thing people recognize.”

Curtis was quiet but you heard the shuffle of the material. You kept your eyes on your task, gently wiping away the excess blood, when you heard the heavy sigh.

“Y’know that explains a lot.” He said and you dared to look up at him. “Not everything, but a lot.”

“Explains how I keep up with him, why I can’t tell anyone how I can, and why I don’t talk about a good chunk of my life. Everyone looks at me differently afterward, like I’m suddenly not a person anymore. All they see is the blood.”

“I don’t.”

You offered a small, thankful smile. Leave it to Curtis to actually get through to you. He offered a small pat to your shoulder before turning towards Lieberman.

“Why’d you have to go after him?” Curtis asked plainly. It was a fair question, given the only real explanation you had was that the same people who came after Frank came after him - allegedly - for distributing the video of Ahmed Zubair.

Really, when you sat back and thought about it, Lieberman brought his so-called death on himself. You and Frank owed him nothing. You two had no reason to help him get back to his family. But if Lieberman was right and Agent Orange tried to orchestrate both of their murders, then Agent Orange killed Frank’s family. And that was the answer you were willing to chase down. Not for Lieberman, you hardly knew or cared for the man. Not for Sarah and her kids, mourning their dad who was mere miles away. But for Lisa Castle, Maria Castle, and Frank Castle Jr. For the family stripped away from one of your closest friends due to no fault of their own. For the innocent kids gunned down in Central Park. Kids you didn’t even know…

You didn’t know Frank’s family…

Why did their closure matter to you?

Then a new possibility hit you.

Closure.

You couldn’t get closure for Matt’s death so you wanted to help Frank get closure for his family. After everything, maybe you owed him that much.

The tension in the room had grown exponentially by the time you focused back on the conversation. The men seemingly had nothing left to say to each so Curtis offered you a small smile and nod before he left.

“You um.. You need anything?” Lieberman asked awkwardly, now just you and him in the small kitchen.

“Help me move him?” You asked simply. “I was planning on staying with him, at least for a little while.”

“Sure, yeah.” He nodded before managing to help you get Frank to the cot in the next room.

Lieberman brought you a chair first, then a sleeping bag and pillow. He apologized for the lack of comfort but you shrugged it off. For a while after he left, you sat in the chair holding Frank’s hand. The sound of the IV drip was all the noise in the room and it dripped steadily, like a metronome for your thoughts.

“Lieberman?” You called out after some silence. There was no verbal answer, just the sound of the desk chair’s wheels skirting across the floor. “We promised Gunner that we’d bury him… Think you can help us out?”

“Yeah, I’ll take care of it.” He answered.

“Thanks, ‘ppreciate it.”

He went back to his typing and you leaned your forehead against your forearm, your free hand thumbing across your screen to flip through your phone. Your mind was finally slowing and you felt everything from the past few hours settling in. You seemed to finally realize Gunner had died in those woods. Whoever went after him had to have gone because you and Frank were going, but that conversation never left that hideout. You thought about that team a bit more.

You had assumed it was an Anvil team since Billy offered you the lead, but given their performance, that didn’t make sense. Billy may not have a completely elite roster at his company but they would’ve been smarter than those men were. But Billy knew, which could’ve meant that whoever sent that team told him. Either because of his relation to Gunner, having served together as well, or due to his relation to you. The first seemed more likely, given the assumption that whoever the alleged friend was was going to be Agent Orange, and that man would’ve known nothing about you or Exodus.

You were yanked from your thoughts when Frank shot up on the cot suddenly. You jolted upright and tried to calm him, but the words seemed to go in one ear and out the other. His eyes were wide but not seeing, muttering about him still being out there and that he had to go back.

“You’re alright, Frankie, okay? It’s just me.” You put your hands on either side of his face and turned him to look at you, the contact sending a shock to your palms. You shuddered at the sensation but gave no other indication of anything and after a few seconds, Frank’s eyes focused and he realized where he was.

“We’ve gotta go back.” He said quietly and you sighed softly.

“It’s okay.” Lieberman said from the small doorway and you leaned back in your seat when the tension in Frank began to melt away. “She took care of it.” He nodded towards you.

Your head turned quickly and you shot him a quizzical expression. Lieberman gave you a quick nod and waved his hand, signaling for you to not say anything. Your brows furrowed and you slowly turned back, though your eyes lingered on him for a bit longer. When you finally looked back to Frank, his expression was soft with appreciation. You offered a gentle smile and he laid back down, adjusting on the stiff material before closing his eyes again.

You gave it a few minutes before you got up and went out to where Lieberman was still typing and his eyes darted across the monitors.

“Why’d you lie to him?” You asked simply, though you made sure to keep your voice low.

“Didn’t.” He answered plainly. “You handled it.”

“No, I told you to handle it.”

“What difference does it make? He knows you. He trusts you. I tell him you took care of it, he’s gonna trust it more than if I said I did… Besides, if it was that big a deal, why didn’t you tell him?”

You sighed slightly and turned away, knowing he was partially right. You could’ve told Frank the truth, too. But with the state he was in, maybe it was easier to let the little white lie go. You were going to head back to the room when you saw the light reflecting off the blue lenses of the mask in your bag.

“Hey.” You began and looked over your shoulder. “The body cams they were wearing. Is there any way you could find out where they were streaming to?”

“If I had one of them, sure.” He shrugged. “Why? You have a lead?”

“Maybe. What if I had something that could mimic the signal?”

“Mimic? I don’t know, I’ve never tried that.”

You hurried to grab your mask and held it to your eyes, tapping the side to try and find the signal it captured earlier. Your mask had been able to get a vague direction, but it was too far for even your technology to do anything. You gestured between Lieberman’s computer and your mask and he allowed for it to be detected by bluetooth devices. You found the connection and transferred the data from your mask before sliding it into your pocket.

“This is…” He breathed out as his skimmed the newly shared information. “Wow. This is a good start, yeah. I mean I probably can’t get an exact location but I can get within a few mile radius, hopefully.”

“Great.” You nodded. “Work on that but don’t tell him when he wakes up. If this is what I think, it might do more harm than good.”

“Why?”

“Need to know basis, Lieberman.” You shrugged. “I’m actually gonna head out. He’s stable and now that he’s woken up, I’m pretty sure he’ll be fine in a day or two.”

“Yeah, okay.. If he asks, when should I tell him you’ll be back?”

“I’m pretty sure there’s a leak somewhere. I’ve gotta see what I can find. Could be a couple days, could be sooner. But call me if something comes up on your end.”

He nodded quietly and you grabbed your things before you headed home. When you got into your apartment, you kicked off your shoes and pants almost immediately. You threw your bag behind the locked doors and threw on a loose shirt and sweats to sleep in. Once you hit the bed, you fell asleep almost instantly as.

—-------------------------

You drew your staff and stuck it out in front of Matt, causing Nobu’s weapon to clatter against it. He switched grips and slammed his elbow into your nose which made you stagger back. When he turned to slam the weapon into your stomach, you saw Elektra coming closer from the corner of your eye. She moved to step in front of your but you reacted quickly.

You grabbed the back of her collar and hooked a foot around her leg. You yanked her back quickly and threw her to the floor, just before the weapon pierced your abdomen.

A small whine left your mouth before you fired a sharp jolt from your Bites. As the electricity hit its mark, your knees gave out and you landed in Matt’s arms. His hands were as careful as ever to avoid the weapon still lodged in your side as he lowered you to the ground.

“You’re okay.” He said in a quiet panic. “You’re okay, I got you. I got you, you’re gonna be- Gonna be okay.”

“Matt..” You said quietly, but the simple syllable came out as a gurgled sound. “You should know…”

The night hadn’t been cold just minutes before. But as you laid on the rooftop, uneven breaths shaking your chest, you felt the cold creeping across your body. It started at the point where the weapon protruded and radiated out, soaking up every degree of warmth your body had. It was an illusion, your body’s way of telling you something was wrong. Realistically, your body wouldn’t go cold for a few hours, but in your head you were turning to ice at that moment.

“You can tell me later, okay? Stay with me.”

You reached for one of his hands and pushed your mask up. His fingers were shaky as he traced your features and you watched the tears gather in his eyes. His mouth opened and closed, trying to give shape to the words tumbling around his brain but unable to do it. He couldn’t say anything as you were dying in his arms and he recognized who you were.

“Y/N?” He said, hardly above a whisper. “Please.”

“I love you, Matty.” You managed before roughly coughing blood down your suit front.

“Don’t leave me.” He breathed and shook his head quickly. His arms pulling you closer. “You can’t. I- I need you.”

“You’re safe now.” You tried but there was no sound in your throat.

There was no air in your lungs.

There was no life in your eyes.

Rightfully so, you were dead.

————————————

The sharp bangs on your door woke you quickly. You pushed yourself up, noting a faint red line across your sheets. Glancing at your chest, you saw the red line seeping through your shirt and you groaned when you realized you had slept the later portion of your night away face down. You tried adjusting the shirt but the material was stuck to the scab beneath so it only tugged the skin. You gently rubbed at the line on your shirt with one hand and ran the other down your face as you shuffled across your apartment to answer the repeated banging.

You opened the door without checking and turned away quickly, looking down at your shirt and gently pulling at it again. You winced slightly and headed into the bathroom, hardly registering Billy’s voice in your living room.

You turned on your tap and wet your palm before pressing the water against the cut. You watched from the mirror as you dampened the material, in turn softening the scab beneath it. You sucked in a sharp breath between gritted teeth as you were able to peel the fabric off the injury, which allowed you to rid yourself of the bloodied shirt.

You stared at the newly exposed cut in the mirror, an angry red and irritated length of exposed muscle bubbling with droplets of fresh blood mingling with crusted patches of scab. You pursed your lips in a slight pout before gingerly prodding at the surrounding redness. There was no pain in the palpating so you took that as a good sign. You shrugged slightly before heading back into your living room, only to be met by Billy staring at you expectantly.

“Sorry, I wasn’t listening.” You confessed. “Start over?”

“What the hell is that?” He asked instead, gesturing to your chest. “What’d you do this time, Y/N/N?”

“Some guy tried to get tough, I fought back, he pulled out a blade. I’m fine. What has you riled up?”

“Agent Madani.” He answered with a sigh. You gestured to the couch and he took a seat while you went back into your bedroom for a shirt.

“Little early for that, don’t you think?” You called out as you grabbed the first shirt out of the drawer, which seemed to be Matt’s. Again.

“Unless…” You popped your head out instead of thinking too much on the shirt. “You woke up with her, didn’t you?”

“Jealous?” He quirked a brow and you pulled a face before ducking behind your door again. “Anyways. You know she has a file on Frankie? And I can’t help but think she’s been using me to fill in the gaps, y’know?”

Frankie.

You paused for a moment when you realized you picked that up from Billy. And you said it out loud to Frank when he woke up in a panic. If he was lucid, he probably would’ve connected the dots. You forced yourself to shake the thought quickly and padded back into the living room to sit beside Billy on the couch.

“Yeah, I figured there was a file. She called me in to talk about how I knew him and the court case.” You explained as you folded your legs under you. “I didn’t tell her much.”

“She asked me about you, too.” He offered a small smirk. “I didn’t tell her much either.”

“Hmm. Makes me one of your better kept secrets then… What’d she say?”

“She asked about your past, where you came from and what you know how to do. I told her you could clear a battlefield on your own without breaking a sweat but the hell if I knew where you learned it.”

“I could’ve told her that.”

“Well she also said you seemed like a maneater.”

“A maneater?” Your eyes went wide. “I’ve never been called that before.”

“Really?” His brows raised teasingly.

“Not that I know of. And here I thought we really hit it off.” You pouted, which made Billy laugh. “Unless she just wanted to keep you all to herself. If that’s the case, I don’t blame her.”

“You want me for yourself too?” He kept the teasing tone and you shook your head with a small smile of your own. “Just gotta say it, y’know.”

You sighed loudly and patted his chest before you got back to your feet. He groaned slightly and dropped his head as you wandered to your kitchen.

“Hey, maybe she’s into you.” He called out and you snorted a laugh.

“Yeah, cause that’s how you talk about someone you wanna sleep with, huh?”

“Why didn’t you tell me Dinah called you in?” Billy asked and you glanced over to see him still looking at you with his head hanging over the back of the couch.

“I figured it would go away on it’s own.” You shrugged. “Most things regarding Frank Castle do. Why did you tell me what Dinah said about me?”

“Figured you deserved to know.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“I know.”

“Why’d you come to me about this whole thing anyway?”

“I…” He trailed off and shifted to face you. “You were the first person I thought of.”

You smiled slightly and suddenly the crater in your heart didn’t feel so deep.

The rest of your day was relatively normal. You felt your chest wound mending itself as the hours passed and you found yourself constantly checking your phone for a message from Frank or Lieberman. But there never was one. Billy didn’t stay long, blaming some investor meeting. You even tried checking in with Dex, but there was still deliberation on your official office given your training scores caught every SAC’s attention.

You made time to go to Curtis’ meeting, which you regretted by the end of it. The same man, O’Connor, was ranting about how weak recent veterans were.

“How real Americans are put at the back of every goddamn line!” He shouted and you made a noise of complaint. “Life’s tough, Princess. Learn your place and get over it.”

He spat the name sarcastically and it reignited an old fury within you. It was similar - but not quite the same - as when Fisk would refer to Exodus as his friend. Your hands made tight fists that were hidden since you had your arms folded. Your jaw clenched and your brows raised in a quiet challenge.

“Real Americans.” You repeated with a slow nod.

“Y/N.” Curtis tried but you ignored him.

“See, I know my place.” You continued, shifting your legs so you could lean forward. Coincidentally, the movement made O’Connor lean back. “I’m your perfect, all-american bitch. And I’m grateful -so grateful - all the time, for men like you. For men who think they have a say in anyone else’s business.”

“There you go, with that feminist bullshit.” The man scoffed. “You wanna go print pamphlets and sing the Beatles? Huh? Tough shit, Princess. Words aren’t gonna win this fight.”

“Call me princess one more time and I’ll give you a goddamn fight you won’t win.” You warned firmly, but before anything else could be said, Curtis stepped in.

You weren’t even completely sure why you were angry. Maybe it was what the man was saying, maybe it was something else. Maybe it was everything. All you knew was that you were wearing yourself dangerously thin and you would break at any minute. You were too hollow, too breakable to keep going the way you were.

“You go through all this shit just to get patched up and so it all over again.” Curtis said with a slight edge in his voice. You didn’t need to look up to know he was looking at you, only a glance but you knew it was a pointed one.

You knew he was thinking of Frank. So were you. Maybe he was even talking about you.

Either way, you just had to keep going until you became like Curtis’ goat. Until you died from just too much.

The next morning, Billy was outside your building when you were on your way out. Initially, you were going to try and get in with Dinah to talk about Kentucky and what she knew of Gunner Henderson but he caught you before you had a chance. Conversation was casual as he drove you to a more secluded portion of a shipyard. There was a certain uneasiness from him that you couldn’t quite place but it stemmed from you, from what you may or may not know about Frank. And admittedly, you liked it. It made it easier to keep him from getting too close. Ensuring he couldn’t fully trust you meant he could never be with you because there would always be that uncertainty. The sideways glance at something you said, the hesitation due to something you brushed off.

Billy came around and opened your door, his hand landing on your lower back to guide you towards the secondary car. As you drew closer, you saw none other than Dinah Madani standing in front of you. She glanced between you and Billy and there a hint of green around her, which made you smile slightly.

“Hello, Dinah.” You said kindly, leaning into Billy for show. “Nice to see you.”

“I’m glad you’re here, Y/N.” She nodded to you before looking at Billy. “Thank you for coming.”

“Great place for a romantic apology. Or mob hit, whichever.” Billy shrugged, though there was humor in his tone despite his annoyance.

Clearly, he was still bothered by Dinah’s confidentiality regarding her Kandahar and Castle investigation. You tuned out Billy’s short rant but came back into focus when you heard Dinah’s demand dressed as a request, as a favor.

“I want you to tell me about Frank Castle, both of you.” She said curtly, looking between you two. Despite the firmness of her tone, you felt her waver.

“You first.” You spoke simply, chin tilting up slightly as you stepped away from Billy. “Tell me what you know.”

“Castle’s alive.”

“Says who?”

“You didn’t know?” Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Maybe you did, maybe not. I’m telling you that I know it.” “How?” “You think I’m lying?”

“No, I don’t think you are.” Billy spoke but Dinah’s eyes didn’t leave yours, alowing you to see the challenge within them.

“You didn’t know?” She asked again but Billy only answered with silence. “You strike me as a pair that would’ve protected him even if you did.”

“That’s the beauty of lawyer-client privilege.” You taunted with a small smirk. “Without a warrant, I’m no use to you.”

“You and I both know I can get one.” She returned your challenge.

“On what grounds?” You nearly laughed. “You go pulling skeletons out of closest, someone’s bound to have a probem with it.”

“Someone like you?”

You simply lifted a brow with a small head tilt, only egging her frustration on.

“Why are you telling us this now?” Billy asked from behind you and you wondered why he hadn’t tried to move you back.

“I need to bring Castle in.” Dinah continued and you had to refrain from rolling your eyes. “If you already knew where he was, I was going to ask for your help. As it is, if there’s anyone who can find him, it’s probably one of you. Can you?”

“Can I, yes. Should I, well… You tell me.”

“Why should we?” Billy asked and there was a controlled anger from within him. Not directed at you or Dinah. Not at Frank for his secret survival. But at something beyond his control, something that was coming.

“I think he knows everything about my Kandahar case.” She explained and at that, you couldn’t contain the scoff.

“You’re still on that?” You laughed mockingly and her own anger spiked for a moment, like a flash in a pan before retreating.

“How does that help him?” Billy urged.

“It doesn’t.” You said flatly, earning another glare from Dinah that made you smile. “You’re so easy.” You taunted with a condescending smile. “It’s adorable.”

“Because I think he went after it himself.” Dinah spoke through you to Billy. “And somebody left him half dead on a mountain. I think he’s hurt and he needs help. The people he’s up against… He’s gonna get himself killed, Billy.”

“What do you know about these people?” You asked, sidestepping to block her path when she tried to move around you. “Frank’s just intel for you. You’ve already admitted it. Even if we find him, you’re gonna need to offer one hell of a deal to get us to hand him over.”

“Find him and I will.”

“Should’ve gotten that on record.” You mumbled and turned to the side, allowing her clearance to go to Billy.

“I’ll shake the tree and see what falls out.” Billy agreed and motioned for you to head to the car first.

You hummed in agreement and turned, giving one more look to Dinah. She didn’t like you and you didn’t like her, which you were fine with. You didn’t need more friends. You didn’t need more people to look out for. So let the conversations be tense. Let them be filled with undertones and condescension and disdain. Let there be rage and distrust and a lack of pleasantries.

“So what now?” You asked Billy as he opened the door for you.

“Got a few options.” He said with a small shrug. “You got any ideas?”

“Boat explosion was last news I heard.” You answered, which technically was true. There was no news stories on Frank Castle since.

“I’m gonna try something and we’ll see what happens, I guess.”

“You sure we should? What if she just tried to send him to prison after she gets what she wants?”

“He’s gonna need a pretty good lawyer then, huh? I think I know a lady.”

You clicked your tongue in fake disappointment before smiling slightly. “I don’t know, I heard her retainer fee is pretty steep. And her hourly’s up there with the best of them.”

He laughed slightly and pushed down on your head so you would drop into your seat.

You went back to Liebernan’s that afternoon. Being in your apartment still felt strange from the dream you had the night before. Lieberman didn’t bring up the signal and neither did you. Instead, you cleaned and dressed Frank’s side, chatting about nothing when you heard it.

In your head first, so you thought you hallucinated it, but then Frank acknowledged it.

It was Billy’s voice, calling out to someone.

“Blackbird to Raven, come in. Raven! Blackbird, come in!”

“What the..” You trailed off, shutting down your implant and still hearing it. “Is that a recording?”

“I’ve been monitoring radio chatter.” Lieberman explained as he toyed with the dials. “Just in case I hear something about us or one of our targets. Mostly it’s just been random shit, you know, dead air.”

“You know what this is?” You looked to Frank.

“Yeah. I’m Raven.”

You out there, Frankie?

“I figured that much but why is Billy Russo calling for you?” You asked, pointing firmly to the radio to punctuate your faux ignorance.

“Who’s Billy Russo?” Lieberman asked while Frank challenged you with “How the hell do you know Russo?”

“Does he know you’re alive?” Lieberman came around you to stand in front of Frank.

“No, I don’t think so.” Frank answered.

“See, that sounds to me like he does.” He said instantly, pointing at the radio before turning to you.

“I haven’t said anything but all the interest in you as of late may be allowing speculation.” You explained. “He knows about Madani’s file on you and Kandahar so maybe she’s convinced him to try.”

“Yeah and you-“ Frank groaned as he tried to get to his feet, but decided against it. “-didn’t answer my question, Princess.”

“I don’t have to.”

“Frank, Y/-“ Lieberman began to say your name but the glare you shot his way made him backtrack. “Exodus. Do we need to worry about this?”

“I can handle Billy.” You waved him off as Frank argued “He’s my friend.”

“What kind of friend?”

“The life or death kind.”

“That’s all I get?” Lieberman scoffed. “C’mon, Frank. This is a serious development here, alright? Some guy - I never heard of him - all of a sudden he’s broadcasting your name all over the radio.”

“What did I just say to you?” Frank said firmly and you quirked a brow as the tension rose.

“Why do you think he’s calling?” You tapped Frank's shoulder to gauge his response to the situation.

“I dunno.” Frank shrugged. He longed for that familiarity, for the comfort of that close knit relationship, but he was also keeping himself from acknowledging it. Because acknowledging that desire made it real, made it dangerous. It gave power to those feelings and that was a risk no one could take.

“Okay.” You nodded slightly. “I’ll see what I can find.”

“Jesus Christ, Y/N/N… Please tell me Russo isn’t one of your boyfriends.” Frank sighed, rubbing a hand over his eyes.

“He’s not.” You shrugged. “Neither of them are. We worked together for a little while.”

“Neither, wow.” Lieberman muttered as he walked away.

You had half a mind to start an argument with the hermit but decided it wasn’t worth it. Instead, you pulled your phone out and tried to dial Billy. You had to wander around the compound to find somewhere with decent service, but ultimately decided to take the call outside.

“Morning chat and a phone call? Sounds like someone wants me after all.” Billy joked when he answered.

“Real funny, Blackbird.” You rolled your eyes. “What are you doing, Billy?”

“You heard..”

“You’re feeding a loop on every open radio channel. Of course I heard you putting his name out there. That was your great idea?”

“Everything with Dinah, it just got me thinking, yknow… He’s out there somewhere.”

“He’s not. He can’t be. The boat explosion was massive. There’s no way he survived. I don’t know what she’s on about but-“

“They never found his body, Y/N. I just- Alright, look, you’re probably gonna be pissed at this one but what if there was even a chance your Matt was still alive? I mean, wouldn’t you wanna find him?”

“No.” You said flatly and the word was bitter in your mouth. You had to give up that thought quickly because while it was the same in the sense that his body was never recovered, you knew that not even you would’ve been able to cheat that death, let alone Matt. “Because if he was alive and he hadn’t come to see me, then he didn’t just didn’t want to.”

“You think I should cut it?”

“I think you need to be careful. If the people he’s up against are as bad as Dinah says they are, we’re all gonna be in dee shit before we know it.” You warned, though the tone you used made it sound like genuine concern. “Someone else may just hear this and think the Punisher is on his way back, which brings problems to your doorstep, in turn bringing them to my doorstep.”

“What would you say to him? If we manage to find him.”

“Billy..”

“C’mon, just humor me.”

You sighed slightly, but took a minute to formulate a response nonetheless.

“I’d ask what was worth throwing away the case.” You said honestly. If memory served, that was what you had first asked. “I’d ask if he got the bastard that took his family. I’d ask where he’s been. And I’d probably knock him on his ass for tanking my career… It’s a dangerous game you’re playing here, Bill. We don’t know every player in the game yet.”

“Yeah, I know.” He said carefully and you knew calling him Bill sparked something in his head. “Sounds like you’re worried about me.”

“I’m allowed to do that every so often.”

“I like it.”

“Don’t get used to it.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

You chuckled slightly before ending the call and making your way back inside. As far as you could tell, Billy was running solely on Dinah’s information. But in the back of your mind, you couldn’t help but wonder if Orange had gotten to him , given that you didn’t feel any surprise from him when Dinah spoke. Only annoyance, maybe at the fact that she knew before he did or because of something with Orange.

You wanted to warn Frank to take Billy’s outreach with a grain of salt, but how do you convince someone that their best friend may be setting them up? You decided to keep it yourself for the time being but remain vigilant in the meantime. The second you had proof that Billy was connected to Agent Orange - willingly connected or not - you would bring it to Frank, whether he wanted to see it or not.

When you got back to the guys, they were talking about Thanksgiving. Lieberman offered to make one of the frozen meals from his stockpile but you refused it, saying you’d pick something up on your way home.

“What about you, hmm?” Lieberman gestured to you with his fork and your brows raised in question. “What were your Thanksgivings like?” “I never had a real one.” You shrugged, though the admission stung your heart a bit. “I do remember when I was a kid, we took these pictures. It was me, my cousins Nat and Yel, my aunt Mel and Uncle Alex. There was one of me and Nat putting mashed potatoes on Yel’s cheeks and one where me and my aunt were breaking the wishbone… I wished for a real family, to protect me and care for me.”

You found yourself smiling at the memory, despite the fact that it was all for show and you had done a Christmas, Easter, and birthday photoshoot that same day.

“It wasn’t real, obviously.” You continued to ensure that the quaint reminiscing was cut short before the tears could embarrass you. “And I never really stayed anywhere with anyone long enough so that’s the best I got.”

“Well, uh, you can be a part of ours.” Lieberman gestured to the countertop before holding out a lazily closed fist.

“Thanks.” You nodded and gave him the fist bump he was waiting for.

“So uh..” He began before an awkward sniffle to buy time. “What do you know about this Russo guy?”

You blew out a long sigh, though you were thankful for the conversation shift.

“He’s a private military contractor.” You began simply, knowing there were both worse and better ways to describe Billy, but neither would’ve been what Lieberman wanted to hear. “Company called Anvil… He’s relatively well-connected. I think some of his contracts go overseas, too.”

“So my impression is that he’s not a man that’s gonna reach out to him-“ He gestured to Frank. “-unless he knows that he’s alive.”

“He doesn’t know.” You insisted on your earlier lie. “Suspect it, sure. I mean who wouldn’t when the body was never recovered, but he doesn’t know.”

“You’re not gonna call him?” Lieberman asked Frank, who finally looked up from his microwaved meal.

“We’re Marines.” He shrugged and you chuckled to yourself. “We can handle disappointment.”

“Maybe someone else knows you’re alive and they’re using Billy to-“ Lieberman had turned to you and you knew it was about the signal. He had found a source, and it wasn’t a good one.

“There’s something you need to understand, okay?” Frank cut in firmly. There was no edge or venom in his tone but there was no room for debate either. “I had two families, all right? I had Maria, I had my kids, and I had my unit. I was a father and I was a husband, but I was also a Marine. And I loved being a Marine. I loved that shit. There were times where I would’ve rather been neck deep in bullets and blood than be with my own kids. And that’s something I gotta make peace with, alright?”

“Yeah, you’re not the only one.” You muttered to yourself and were relieved there was a way to put words to the lurking feeling in your mind. “Some of us are wired differently. What’d you tell Red on that rooftop, that we don’t pick what fixes us?”

He looked at you for a moment with an expression that showed not only did he understand that idea, but also that he knew how much you missed him.

“Billy and I did eight years. He’s got my back, I got his.”

“It’s a hell of a coincidence. Don’t you think?”

“Billy Russo is my family, same as her.” He nodded to you. 

“As your friend, I want to say Billy reaching out isn’t a problem.” You said carefully, keeping your eyes on the countertop while you spoke to ensure that any eye contact couldn’t derail your thoughts. “But I know Billy, too. Differently than you, but I do. If Orange knows, then he could’ve reached out to Billy and be fueling his speculation.”

“You think Bill’s the kinda guy to let someone else tell him what to do?”

“I think Agent Orange is the kind of man to ensure leverage and manipulate people to think his idea was theirs.” You corrected and faced your friend. “All I’m saying is take this with a grain of salt, alright?”

“You don’t trust him?”

“Not enough.” You said truthfully and the response was almost automatic. You made a face to yourself but kept focus. “This whole situation is getting more convoluted each day, Frank. Everyone involved is connected to each other. Him-“ You gestured to Lieberman. “-you, Page, me, Madani, Billy, Curtis, Gunner, Orange. With this twisted fucking web we’re wrapped in, Billy and Orange are bound to overlap at some point. If it’s now, before he knows anything, I might be able to get close enough for a real name or a location or motives. Something that can help end this.”

Frank scoffed and took his plastic tray of food to another room. You made a face behind his back as he left, despite your button pushing being purposeful to get him to leave. When he was definitely out of earshot, you turned to Lieberman.

“You got something, didn’t you?” You asked quietly.

“Nothing exact but close enough.” He answered in the same hushed tone.

“Government?”

“Langley.”

“CIA.” Your brows went up in interest. “Any name on the device?”

“No, if I touched those firewalls, they would’ve had everything.” He shook his head. “But I did figure out it was probably a personal device. It’s gotta be Orange, right?”

“Mhmm… And that makes everything else more suspicious.” You nodded before you clapped your hands together and took a few steps back.

“Okay.” You announced loudly for Frank to hear. “There’s a leak somewhere. I’m gonna find it and plug it. Whoever has something new, find the other.”

You went home that night and collapsed from exhaustion. You hadn’t even done much that day but the mental power it took to ignore the deep rumbles that reverberated with every step, the haunting screens that echoed in every voice, the wet feeling of blood across your clean hands, the sick knots in your stomach while in your apartment. To remain heartless, to remain in the headspace of a Widow, it was harder than you thought. It had been easy before, more natural and subconscious. Now, you had to remind yourself every morning, every time your mind wandered, you had to yank your humanity back into the shadows. Push her into that chasm and step on the fingers she used to cling to the ledge.

But somehow, some godforsaken way, she hung on and clawed her way to the forefront of your thoughts whenever she could.

[bfi-archive]

WORLD CLASS SINNER - FRANK CASTLE

five - build god then we'll talk

tags: n/a // four // six // masterlist

Pairing: Billy x Reader ; Frank x Reader

Word Count: 7,008

Summary: Temporary alliances form on one side before fighting off an ambush from the other. All the while, dots are connecting for more than one player as the game grows more and more dangerous.

“Ms. Y/L/N.” She smiled as she came into the conference room. You stood from your chair and shook her hand, noticing a slight wince as she sat across from you. “I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. I’m acting SAC Dinah Madani.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” You nodded. “I heard about the crash at the docks. I commend you for coming into the office so soon but I guess it’s no surprise as you’re the acting SAC.”

“You heard?” Her brows raised.

“Word travels fast between bureaus.”

“Ah.” She nodded. “Of course, you recently completed FBI training at Quantico. How was that?”

“It was good. I’m excited to start and get to work with my partner.”

“You have a partner already?”

“He recommended me. I wouldn’t have pursued the FBI if I hadn’t met him.”

“Sounds like a good foundation for a partnership.”

“I’m sure it will be, but I don’t think that’s what you called me in for, is it?”

“No.” She shook her head with a small smile as if she had been caught. “It’s about your previous employment.”

“Oh, Anvil!” You nodded, feigning understanding. “Of course. Billy told me about the Homeland group that came through a few days ago. He said you really stuck out.”

“Um-“

“If this is about Billy-“ You leaned your elbows on the table as if you two were high schoolers gossiping at the lunch tables. “-I say you should go for it.” You continued when you noticed she was taken by surprise. “I don’t blame you, he’s real good-looking and you’re beautiful. And, between us, the sex is good too if you’re interested in that.”

“Ms. Y/L/N.”

“You guys had good banter the other night so you should go out with him again, on a real date.”

“I’m sorry, the other night? He told you about that?”

“No, I saw you two.” Your brows furrowed as you played dumb and leaned back in your seat. “I walked right past you? …. This isn’t about Billy, is it?”

“Your employment at Nelson and Murdock, actually.”

“Oh… That feels like a lifetime ago.”

“Wasn’t too long ago.”

“A lot has changed since then.”

“Since college too, I assume.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, naturally, I looked into your academics, and may I say, you’re brilliant. Columbia Law, summa cum laude, alongside the two partners at the firm you’d later work at. Only you took some time between your senior semesters. Completed your degree online and you were able to skip internship. A near-perfect Bar score as well. Looking at it all together, it’s truly impressive.”

“Thank you.” You nodded. “Although I’m not sure why the firm is relevant. It’s disbanded. Franklin Nelson is thriving at HC&B and Matthew Murdock is on a Catholic Retreat at the Vatican.”

“Are you religious?”

“You go ahead and build God yourself then we’ll talk religion.” You scoffed. “Any God isn’t relevant here anyway, right? Considering the whole Church and State separation.”

“Hmm.” She nodded before coming around to your side of the table. “Before Columbia, there’s practically nothing. Like you didn’t exist.”

“Yes, well, my father dumped me at an orphanage overseas.”

“Your mother didn’t protect you?”

“Died when I was an infant, may she rest in peace. Hence the whole orphan thing”

“You were a ghost before law school, Ms. Y/L/N. Forgive me, Agent Y/L/N. And yet you have made quite a life for yourself.”

“What are you implying?”

“Someone intentionally wanted to keep your existence a secret… Leaves room to speculate on what you were before, but no one ever seemed to.” You saw her focus stay on your eye for a moment and you mentally cursed yourself for not having dealt with it that morning. “Yet you’ve still gotten everything you wanted out of life, didn’t you?”

“You can ask Mr. Russo about that. He can give you the gist, off the record of course. Just as I assume this entire conversation is.”

“Anvil hires ex-military.” She challenged rather than acknowledging your last comment.

“Yes.”

“You were never a soldier.”

“Correct, I never served in the US Military or any nation’s traditional military.”

“But you have some training?”

“Enough to get in at Anvil and be one of his most trusted/most consistent and earn his respect from the first time I met him. But with all due respect, Agent Madani, what does this have to do with Nelson and Murdock?”

“You’re an interesting woman, Agent Y/L/N.”

“Yes, you’ve said that.” You said sharply. “Please make your point, Madani, or I’m leaving.”

“I just wonder why you’d throw away such a promising career on the Castle case.”

“And this conversation makes me wonder why you’d want to disturb a dead man.”

“I’ve read through the transcripts and you were a real powerhouse in that courtroom. You were a fierce advocate for the man. Your work ethic is rather admirable.”

“It was my idea to take the case in the first place. It was only right to give it my best.”

“Why take it at all? I’m sure the partners didn’t agree.”

“Not at first.” You agreed. “But it wasn’t supposed to go to trial. Our plan was to negotiate a better plea deal but Frank had other plans. Why is any of this relevant?”

“What interested me the most was the testimony of the medical examiner that got thrown out.” She flipped open her folder and trailed her finger down the page as if she was searching for something before tapping the page a few times.

“And how do you know about that?”

“Transcripts.”

“The testimony was stricken from official record.”

“Public record, maybe. A case that major would’ve had everything available to departments like mine or yours, if you talk to the right people.  What stood out to me was the woman he mentioned, wearing a mask with an accent. The woman Mr. Tepper said coerced him into his confession.”

Elektra. Even in death, she haunted you. Same way Matt did.

“Yes.” You nodded as the Midland explosion rumbled deep in your chest when she shut the folder. “But the defense had nothing to do with that. To this day we have no idea who that woman was nor do any of us care at this point. We’ve moved on.”

“Would it be fair to assume it was a local vigilante? I’ve heard there’s one who fits that description, worked alongside Daredevil - who you know well - and even did a short stint with the Punisher.”

“Excalibur. No wait, that’s the sword.. Was it Extremis?”

“Exodus.” She corrected.

“Right! I don’t know, I heard she died.”

“Did you know her?”

“Allegedly.” You shrugged.

“And how exactly does that work?”

“The last time I saw either of them alive, they came to me and said there was some organization targeting their loved ones. They made it seem like they knew me without their suits but never said their names. Then they fought their fight and everyone else that was hiding out with me had their friends come back but those two never did… Nothing was ever uncovered from the rubble either.”

“Rubble?” Her head tilted slightly.

“Some building went down a few months ago. I’m sorry, but I’m still lost. I don’t understand what you’re asking me.”

“Why advocate for Frank Castle at all? And if Exodus was your friend, why throw her to the wolves in the trial?”

“Are we still off the record?”

“Of course.” She gestured to the lack of cameras in the room.

“Frank Castle was the victim of a sting operation gone back. When DA Reyes was in office, she planned to catch the Blacksmith, who turned out to be his old C.O., at Central Park. Only she neglected to - Actually, she opted to not clear civilians, which ended with Lisa, Maria, and Frankie Castle being shot dead on what was supposed to be a celebratory outing. Frank Castle endured a tragedy, Agent Madani. Now it’s not justification for a full-blown killing spree across my neighborhood but it’s some sort of explanation as to why he was so goddamned angry.”

“And are you angry, Agent Y/L/N?” She asked carefully.

“Yeah, I am.” You said after a minute of contemplation. “I’m angry that he’s gone. I’m angry that my firm fell apart. And I’m angry that I’m here, digging up stories on a dead man that I let down.”

The heat that lived in your veins rose and you felt it burning through your skin. You had to take a few steadying breaths to force it back where it belonged.

“I’m sorry to have upset you.” She offered, and there was an attempt at sincerity, but you could tell it was learned. Forced, even. “I didn’t know it was so important to you.”

“At Columbia and Quantico - They probably talk about it at the FLETC too, body language. Facial expressions. Inflections in people’s voices. Helps to figure out if someone’s lying and whether you can trust the words they’re saying. Almost everybody has a tell and I see one from you when you talk about Frank Castle. Like a kid in a candy store, just waiting to hear the right words from her parents…  What words are you hoping to hear, Agent Madani?”

“Did he ever tell you about his time in Afghanistan? Specifically Kandahar.” She asked finally and you had to keep your smirk to yourself. For an acting SAC, she was easy enough to work. “I was in Kandahar myself before this. Turns out Frank Castle might’ve been the man I needed to talk to.”

“What’s important about Kandahar?”

“Do you know anything?”

“Depends on what you’re looking for.”

“Ahmed Zubhair, a man I worked with. Tortured and executed by his unit. Tell me, what kind of man was Frank Castle?”

“Decent. Angry, but honest. I had nothing to fear from him. He treated me with respect and I did the same. And I regret how I let him down… If Kandahar is something that could’ve had something to do with what happened to Frank’s family, I’ll see what I can find.”

“I can’t ask you to do that.” She shook her head slightly. “I doubt your SAC at the FBI will let you open a case based on intuition and a personal stake.”

“You’re not asking.” You said simply. “When you talk to Billy about me, which I know you will, I’m sure he can fill you in on some of my capabilities outside of my bureau… If his old C.O. was behind Central Park because of Kandahar, I owe it to him and his family to find out why and find out who pulled Schoonover’s strings.”

“You think there was someone above him?” Her eyes lit up.

“Operation Cerberus wasn’t forgotten in the records.” You clarified. “It had to be on purpose. Someone kept it off. And that leaves room to speculate, remember?”

“Do you have any leads?”

“I will. I was a ghost before Columbia for good reason. Oh, and feel free to call if you need any sort of freelance in your investigation.”

“Off the record?”

“It’s how I do my best work. Enjoy your speculation in the meantime.” You shrugged with a small smile as you stood and she gave you a slight smirk and a nod.

You and Madani would likely not find yourselves being friends by the end of your endeavors. Her mission ran counter to your own, though slight parallels existed. By seemingly agreeing to get her information about Kandahar, it allowed you a certain leeway regarding your own business. She wouldn’t be keeping a watchful eye over you so long as she believed you were on her side. And by planting the ideas of Billy’s knowledge of your past, you knew that it would create a direct line as to what she was asking and what she was being told.

The only way you would’ve crafted the situation any better would be if she was running solely on speculation and didn’t know Frank was alive. But you saw it in her eyes, that spark of a reignited passion project. Just days before she, like the rest of the world, knew Frank Castle to be dead. But now having seen his face, heard his voice, she couldn’t believe that ruse any longer. And that knowledge just might be the bump in your otherwise unobstructed path.

Before heading back to Lieberman’s hideout, you stopped back at your apartment. You pulled your gym bag from your room and dumped the contents across your bed. You took it over to the locked closet and took a deep breath, noticing your hand was shaking as you reached for the lock. You forced the hesitation to that familiar gap in your chest and opened it to reveal your bloodied clump of material, your case, and Matt’s case - kicked into the back corner.

You went straight for yours and dug through until you found what you were looking for, one of your very first suits. One before the alterations and additional protections. One that had the bright red emblem of the Red Room still embedded at the neck. It was a suit designed from a time before you were a vigilante before Exodus was ever created. It was born before Y/N had her own identity, before she met Matt and Foggy. The suit was created for the nameless, faceless Widow. The spy, the child raised to be an assassin. One that was good at it and hated herself for it. The suit was what your father traded his daughter for. The suit killed the little girl your mother gave birth to, erased her name, just to put a knife in one hand and a gun in the other. The suit, what it truly stood for, might’ve been all that was left for you.

You shoved it into the bag with a set of Bites, your other mask last used at Midland, boots, belt packed with all your usual tricks, and two handguns with an additional clip for each. You paused at your two torso protections, the recent vest newly adorned with scratches or the original long-sleeve top that was a gift from Matt before your first fight with Fisk. Neither felt right so you threw them both to the side. You tossed it on the table before rummaging around the kitchen to put together a few sets of to-go meals. Whether or not Frank had pissed you off, it was going to be a long drive so you made quick burritos and wrapped them up before placing them in the bag, along with your car charger for your phone. You grabbed a couple of waters and sodas, even threw in a couple of energy drinks for good measure, before heading over.

“Oh.” Lieberman said as you approached the two stocking the van. “I didn’t think you were coming.”

“I started something. I need to see it through.” You answered. “So are we doing this or what?”

Frank made a small noise in agreement and nodded for you to get in. He moved over to the driver's side and Lieberman offered you the passenger. You shook your head and dropped your bag into the back before you climbed up, yanking the doors shut behind you.

You were quiet for most of the drive, trying to drown out Lieberman’s blabbering about anything and everything. You laid out on your back and saw a message from Billy asking you to call him. You sat up quickly and turned to see the guys were now talking about the root of the word Cerberus. You scooted to the far corner and dialed the number, taking one more glance to ensure no one was paying attention to you.

“Hey, Pretty Lady. How you feeling today?” He asked when he answered and you noticed you almost smiled.

“Uh, yeah, I’m doing fine.” You answered quietly, though your voice earned a questioning look from Frank in the rearview. You just waved him off and he rolled his eyes. “What’s going on?”

“I wanted to see how you were feeling cause I just had something come across my desk that I thought you might wanna head up.”

“Okay, shoot.”

“Thing is, it’s an out-of-town job.”

“Since when do you take those on?”

“Since it’s an old friend.” You knew he would’ve shrugged with a little head tilt. “He’s got some property in Kentucky he needs to clear out.”

“Sounds like a job for the Sheriff’s department out there, not you.”

“Look, he came to me so I’m assuming he tried all that.”

“Assuming…” You nodded to yourself. “So you didn’t bother to ask?”

He sighed slightly and you pictured the face he was making. Things with Billy were getting too familiar, too predictable. That small patch of vulnerability on your heart liked it and wanted to keep it, but the hardened reality urged you to push away.

“I guess it doesn’t matter. If it was a little closer, I’d do it but I’m not trying to go that far right now.” You said simply, which was true. You didn’t want to go to Kentucky but that’s where the job took you.

“Hey, not a problem.” He answered, no doubt with a smile. “I just had to offer it to my best girl.”

“As if there was anyone else. You gonna take it instead?”

“No, I’ll just let the guys run it themselves. I can’t get away right now.”

You nodded to yourself in slight relief, knowing you wouldn’t have to worry about him showing up out of the blue and being a problem. It did interest you a bit more as to who would be able to pull Schoonover’s strings and get to Billy. You knew it had to be Agent Orange but it did nothing to answer who the hell that man was.

“You still there?” He asked and you realized you had been quiet for too long.

“Yeah, sorry. Just thinking.” You admitted. “I gotta go, alright? I got some work I gotta get started on.”

“No worries. Take care of yourself for me, yeah?”

“Mhmm.. Bye.”

“The hell was all that?” Frank asked as soon as you had set your phone in your lap. You pulled your knees up and blew out a sigh, pushing your hands through your hair. You glanced over and saw him looking between the road and you from the rearview. You simply shrugged and scooted to be closer to them.

You leaned between the seats and saw Lieberman pass Frank a packet of tuna, at which you made a face. You were wildly confused as to why he would bring something so cheap and seeing Lieberman pull out a full sub made it worse for you. The meal choice confused Frank as well, and you had to laugh at the response from them both.

“Where’d you get that?” Frank asked in bewilderment, almost jealous as well.

“I made it.” He answered honestly.

“What do you mean, you made it?”

“Yeah... This stuff was in the fridge.”

“You make me one?”

“No... No, I thought you liked that stuff.”

You reached between them and grabbed the tuna out of Frank’s hand. Before he could complain, you replaced it with one of the burritos from your bag. He looked between the new food and you before he nodded in thanks. You offered a small smile and then dropped a water bottle into the cup holder. Lieberman looked between you and Frank with a clear question in his eyes, though if you had to guess what he was wondering, you’d have a list a mile long.

You knew how odd your dynamic with Frank would seem from the outside, both within and outside the law. As vigilantes, you two were partners who held each other in a certain respect. It was similar to you and Daredevil but with more aligned viewpoints. As regular people, you two were allegedly just a lawyer and her client, hardly friends or even acquaintances. So when looking at the way you two would interact, ensuring the other was alive and taking care of each other, it was something to question. How did you two get so close? Why were you two the seemingly only exception for the other? And realistically, there was no real answer other than you were too stubborn to let Frank, or the Punisher for that matter, do something stupid in your neighborhood alone.

Maybe it started as damage control or a way to piss off Matt and Daredevil, but it grew into a real friendship. A real partnership. It grew to be equivalent to family.

Lieberman talked some more during the drive, most of which you tuned out. Instead, you ate your food and rubbed the temple of your red eye with the intent of clearing it away. You almost felt the repair and you pictured it like using a squeegee on a window or using a magnet to play with flecks of iron. As your fingers moved in small circles, the redness would follow like a little trail until it diluted away.

You took a short nap on the drive as well before you all arrived. You ensured to kick the guys out before you changed into your suit. As you unfolded the material, your retractable fell into your lap. You hadn’t even realized you had grabbed it but there it was, tangled in the fabric of your suit and still caked in the blood of the Hand. You thought for a moment if you had done it on purpose but at that point, you didn’t think it mattered so you slipped it onto your wrist. Fitting all of your equipment into place felt like you were fixing the puzzle pieces of your life, replacing what seemingly always should’ve been. As you were finishing, you wondered absently if your bones had reshaped to allow the perfect little niches for your Bites and mask.

“I don’t wanna hear from you unless you hear from me, got it?” Frank warned as he took the walkie from Lieberman and you came around the van.

“Turn it on.” You nodded as your finger slid to your scar. The device beeped in your ear and you kept a light pressure as you shifted along until the static died and you were in the loop. “Got it, thanks.”

“Stay in the van.” He pointed to Lieberman before he began climbing the fence. “No getting your hands dirty this time.”

“Or trying to get someone killed.” You muttered as you hauled yourself over. You tapped your mask upon landing and followed behind Frank.

You were thinking about telling him that you had a theory an Anvil team would be sent in, but there was no good way to explain it. Explaining how you knew meant you had to explain your relationship with Billy, which meant he would connect the dots that you were sleeping with one of his closest friends, and that may or may not go over well. So you kept your mouth shut about it but your head remained on a swivel. You listened for anything that would cut into your communications with Lieberman or anything unusual through your lenses.

Your walk to the cabin was mostly clear - and unsettlingly quiet - save for the lone trip wire. When you two got to the small cabin, Frank began to rid himself of his backpack and gun. He gestured for you to do the same but you hesitated. You didn’t like the idea of being defenseless against whatever team Billy was sending your way. You knew you would have to kill them first, and the team likely would’ve expected to die or at least fight, so you didn’t necessarily feel bad about what was going to happen. But you did feel a little guilty for keeping it to yourself, for no other reason than to keep Billy your little secret.

With a small sigh, you untucked your guns and set them with Frank’s. You took the blade out of your belt as well, but you slipped a finger around your wrist and found the retractable blade was in its position. With your Bites and that, you should be fine to get back to your gun. You turned to Frank and put your hands up in slight surrender, to which he gestured to your wrists. You simply shook your head and moved back to his side.

You were adjusting your lens to see further when it picked up the faint outline of a figure far off. You tried to make it clearer and you could see the shape of a weapon. Your brows furrowed as you stared when you realized it was a bow and arrow. You grabbed Frank’s sleeve to move him but the arrow pierced him before you could. A secondary arrow zipped by and dragged across your chest, slicing a shallow gash from one collarbone to the other, taking a chunk of your shoulder with it.

You shoved him behind one of the bigger trees before you gripped the arrow with one hand and braced his shoulder with the other. He groaned in pain but ultimately nodded for you to do it. You yanked hard and the arrow snapped. He yelled loudly and you looked over your shoulder to see the figure was aiming at you two again. You cursed to yourself, grabbed the front of Frank’s jacket, and yanked him to the side. As you two were moving, the arrow came whizzing past your shoulder and buried itself at what you assumed would’ve been the center of your back.

“Gunner, goddamit, it’s Frank Castle.” Frank tried again after ducking behind another tree. You peeked around and saw Gunner coming closer, setting sights on you two again. You looked at Frank for confirmation but he held steady. You would just have to trust him.

“Come on. I’m not a part of it, brother. I never have been.” He continued.

You watched carefully and felt his slight hesitation. Despite it all, he still trusted Frank. And you could use that. You pulled that to the forefront, allowing that trust to be his focus. You also projected Frank’s trust in you and the two began to meld easily enough. You couldn’t completely beat the suspicion so you didn’t try to. You just had to make sure he didn’t fire another arrow because you weren’t gonna be able to dodge it.

“Сукин сын.” You said to yourself before stepping around the tree with your hands up in surrender. (Son of a bitch.)

“I know you don’t know me and you have no reason to trust me.” You said simply as you dropped to your knees, hands still raised as his arrow set a course to the center of your chest. If you said one wrong thing, you’d be dead. “A woman in a black suit and a mask shows up out of the blue, I wouldn’t trust me either if I were you.”

“The hell are you doing?” Frank asked in a hushed tone as he got to your side, falling into the same position you were in.

“Trying something.” You answered before returning your focus to Gunner. “You don’t have to trust me, but I’m willing to bet you trust him… And he wouldn’t bring me if I wasn’t on his side. That’s gotta be worth something.”

Gunner looked between you and Frank, an uncertainty in his eyes but his hands never faltered as Frank gave a quick explanation of what brought you two there. The arrow was still on course for your chest and you could picture how quick it would come, if it would be the same as feeling Elektra’s weapon in your dream. But the piercing never came. Instead, you heard the sound of the arrow relaxing and footsteps coming closer.

You helped Gunner get Frank to lean against one of the trees.

“I’m sorry about your family.” Gunner said honestly and you kept glancing around, anxiously awaiting for the figures to reveal themselves in your lenses.

“Agent Orange.” You said simply. “You know anything about who he is? Maybe a name.”

“No.” Gunner answered.

“So why’d you do it, man? Why’d you… Why’d you make the tape?” Frank asked and while Gunner explained it, you focused on your belt. You found the gauze you kept and unrolled some to pack his wound. You gently reached under his jacket and carefully stuffed the hole with the tissue when Gunner’s words stole your attention and your hands froze.

“They were putting bags of drugs in his body.” He explained.

“That’s why he was never caught.” You realized. “When she was first trying to catch him, the DA at the time didn’t know how he was getting that much product into the country… I never would’ve guessed.”

“Treated him like an empty carcass.” Gunner continued and he was both disgusted and heartbroken over it. “Jim and all the rest of them in there.”

“Who was it?” You continued when you noticed Frank was growing tense. “Who was in the room, Gunner?”

“The colonel, Bennett - the guy who ran the mortuary - and Orange… I didn’t know who was in on it. I didn’t know who I could trust.”

You heard the feedback before you saw them. When the high-pitched sound rang in your ears, you spun behind you to see the incoming helicopter.

“We gotta go.” You said quickly, adjusting your lens to try and see further. “Now.”

“They with you?” Gunner asked as he hauled Frank to his feet.

“Shit, no.” He answered. “Y/N, who are they?”

“A problem.” You muttered and saw the row of soldiers coming your way. “They’ve got body cams, live feedback but I can’t figure out where it’s going.”

“Time to go to work.” Frank told you, offering a small nod to you. You returned the gesture and peeled away from the group, habitually reaching for a gun, only to come up empty.

You cursed quietly when you remembered that you had ditched them back near the cabin as a show of allegiance. You sighed quietly and armed your Bites while you ducked behind a fallen tree trunk. While remaining hidden, you scanned the area to see a trio coming your way. You noted the rifles in each of their hands as they stayed on alert as they crept forward. You had to acknowledge that they had the weaponry advantage but you had the element of surprise. And you were rather resourceful.

When the first one landed in front of you, you hooked one foot around his ankle and slammed the other into the side of his knee. There was a sick ripping sound as he collapsed with a loud scream. You moved quickly to cover his mouth with your knee and the more weight you leaned onto him, you began to hear a crunch and you weren’t sure if it was the branches beneath you or his jaw.

You saw the knife handle at the soldier’s belt so you snatched it quickly. First, you slammed the butt end against the body cam and the lens shattered, but your mask told you it was still functioning. You shrugged it off and raised your arm in anticipation of the next soldier. When he finally showed, you flicked the blade quickly and it buried itself at the base of his throat and a deep red stream of blood shot out. Instincively you closed your eyes and the warm liquid splattered across your cheek and mask. You wiped it away quickly and noticed the soldier beneath you had stopped squirming.

You climbed off and removed his rifle, slinging the weapon over your own shoulder before leaning closer to the body cam.

“Наслаждаетесь шоу?” You said lowly, seeing the red light blink to show that it was currently being watched from the other end. “Не волнуйся.” You smiled slightly as that thick stream of blood trailed down. “Мы тоже придем за тобой.” (Enjoying the show? Don’t worry. We’ll come for you, too.)

You heard the crunch of footsteps against the leaves and lifted the gun quickly. You lined your shot and as soon as the third soldier faced you, you fired straight through his eyeball and he fell limp immediately. You pushed yourself up, nudging the first soldier with your foot and getting no response. You gave a small, indifferent shrug before you began searching for Frank and Gunner. There was a sharp whistle and you saw the man waving you over.

You took your position next to Frank, Gunner stationed on the opposite side, and you three began firing against the next wave from the team. You and Frank alternated shots, popping out from your covers for seconds at a time to take someone down. Gunner leaned over to fire an arrow and you heard the shout. You glanced over and saw a second shot pierce his chest.

“I got it.” You said quickly, drawing Frank’s attention. You nodded towards Gunner before you two switched positions, allowing Frank to go to his friend. Though Frank was stubborn and refused to stay down, which got him shot in the side. “Get some cover. I’ll find you.”

You nudged him aside with your shoulder and jumped over the fallen tree, landing in a low crouch as the shots hit the tree. You kept your head down until the bullets paused and you fired back, hearing two different voices shouting. You surveyed the area quickly and saw two more coming at you, hopping over a log not too far away from you.

You hurried to your feet and got behind a tree, lining the weapon with your body to keep it hidden. You flicked out the blade at your wrist and looked over to see neither soldier had noted your position. Either that or they didn’t care. Regardless, it worked in your favor. You crept behind the one closest to you and jammed the knife through the side of his neck, the other hand covering his mouth to hide his gurgled shout. 

You lowered him carefully to the ground and yanked your blade out, freeing your bloodied hand. Looking down at it, you saw the stream of blood coming from your own shoulder. You glanced at your chest and saw the long line across it. The sight made you groan slightly but you made a mental note to deal with it later.

You moved after the other from the pair, careful to match your steps to his. When you were close enough, you jammed the short blade through his back and heard the squelching sound of his now severed spine. You twisted and pulled out, letting his body fall unceremoniously to the ground. You knelt to take the knife from his belt and heard Lieberman giving Frank directions.

You heard small shouts as Frank and Gunner dealt with the pair that was closest, and you used your lens to see the secondary pair that Lieberman was referring to. You made your way to your friend quickly and Frank’s hand closed around your arm to bring you with him. Despite your mild pulling away, Frank dragged you along.

Once there was enough space, Frank gestured for you to try and help Gunner. Gunner leaned against a fallen tree and Frank took position with the rifle. You knelt beside his friend and inspected the wound, though you weren’t sure if you would’ve rather found an exit wound or not. Two quick shots sounded, followed by the thud of limp bodies. Given what you had already taken out, there should be only one pair left.

Frank helped you get Gunner to his feet and you moved ahead of them. Gunner muttered something about you and where Frank found you but you kept your focus forward. Your mask picked up the drone above, which showed the same origination as the comms channel, so you trusted it. You led your trio around the last pair until you were able to watch them pass you. Once they did, you felt their anxiety.

They must’ve known their team was being picked off, one by one. They had walked into a slaughter, though they expected to be the ones ambushing. Their small team, likely even friends, were being left in pools of their own blood, by three figures in the shadows. They didn’t know who they were facing, but they knew their opposition was better. You, Frank, and Gunner were better than them, despite their likely elite or at least high-ranking status. But something about them, their vibrating hesitation and drumline for heartbeats, led you to wonder if it was actually an Anvil team.

But if it wasn’t, why would Billy bring it up to you?

You realized quickly that something wasn’t adding up the way it should and it led you to some tricky speculations that Billy was still in contact with Agent Orange. While it would be an overall useful connection, it did seem to disappoint you a bit. You made a small noise of disgust to yourself before raising your Bite, the bright red glow momentarily illuminating your vision.

You fired on one of the last pair before disappearing out of sight, just before the bullets came in. The man fired aimlessly, shouting his plan to kill you. You scoffed quietly and threw the borrowed knife, watching it bury itself into the man’s leg. He cried out before Frank grabbed him and slammed his own blade into the man’s throat.

Once he fell limp, you two retrieved Gunner and attempted to get him back to his cabin.

The walk felt like an eternity and you knew - Gunner knew it too - that Frank’s friend wouldn’t make it. The two collapsed against one of the trunks and you knelt on Gunner’s other side. You felt awkward, out of place beside a dying man you didn’t know. While they exchanged last words, Gunner reached out and took one of your hands. Your brows furrowed and your first thought was to pull away, but you decided quickly that you could offer comfort to a man who was now dying after fighting beside you.

Maybe you really were a curse.

“Promise me you’ll bury me, okay?” Gunner managed and the words were as desperate as they could be.

“Okay.” Frank answered, looking over at you for the same commitment.

“Yeah.” You nodded. “Just stay here, okay? We’ll be back.”

“We’ll be back.” Frank repeated.

You two stood and you were quick to recognize that Frank wouldn’t make it very far. You cursed quietly as you caught him just before he fell over. 

“Goddammit, Frank.” You complained as he leaned more of his weight on you. “You don’t get to die on me in the middle of fucking Kentucky.”

You reached up and pressed on your scar.

“I can’t get him back on my own.” You said quickly, carefully lowering him to the ground. “Get your ass over here, now.”

You yanked your mask down to hang around your neck and reached under Frank’s jacket. The gentle pressure you applied caused fresh blood to bubble out and coat your hand. Your other hand patted your belt and the gauze you kept wasn’t enough. It wouldn’t be able to pack the wound enough to be of real help. It was too dark to fully see the extent of the damage and the leaves and branches around were going to do you no favors.

You had two choices. Wait for Lieberman to show up - assuming he would be able to find you two - or leave Frank to find Lieberman and bring him back. The second option was contingent on you being able to find your own way back in the dark so you decided you wouldn’t move. You wouldn’t abandon the one friend you hadn’t been able to push away.

Using your teeth, you pulled off a glove and allowed your exposed hand to cover the wound instead. You shoved your glove into your belt and leaned more weight into Frank, feeling the thump steady against your hand. You weren’t entirely convinced it was a good thing, to feel less of his pulse, but you had to keep faith in the resiliency of Frank Castle.

If a bullet to the head wasn’t going to kill him, neither would a bullet to his side.

After you didn’t know how long, you saw Lieberman’s flashlight. He helped you load Frank into the van and offered you a small collection of items to help. He drove quickly as you worked in the back, though you had to straddle Frank in an effort to allow some stability during the trip. You carefully dressed the wound on his side and managed to insert the IV for fluids and antibiotics without problems.

“You’ll need to get Curtis Hoyle.” You explained as LIeberman drove frantically and you climbed off, reaching for your sweater from your bag.

“What? Wha- Why? What’s wrong with him?” He answered quickly, the anxiety in his words bouncing off the empty walls of the van which made you shiver as you undid the zipper down the front of your suit. You peeled the bloody material down your arms and rubbed some of the excess off with a cleaner area before pulling your sweater over your head, letting out a sharp hiss as you stretched the cut across your chest.

“I don’t know.” You answered honestly before yanking your boots off. “I’m not a doctor but could be from blood loss. Could be the beginning of an infection. Could be something bloodborne that got passed during the fight. That’s why you need to get Curtis when we get back.”

“You can’t help him?”

“I’ve done all I can, Spook.” You groaned and shimmied out of the rest of the suit to change for your regular pants.

“Is he gonna die?”

“No… He’s too stubborn.”