Phone Call
When I woke up, just as usual, Frank was gone. However, I could hear him talking to Lola in the kitchen and smelled bacon, which made getting out of bed after just five hours of sleep a lot easier. I padded into the kitchen rubbing my eyes and sat down at the table, laying my head down on my arms.
“Morning.” Frank’s voice said from above me and I raised my head. He was holding a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon and was oh God, shirtless. I literally licked my lips before I could stop myself and hastily said “wow, breakfast looks good.”
“Is that the only thing that looks good, darlin’?” Frank sounded amused and I refused to meet his eyes.
“Yes.” I said defiantly, pulling the plate towards me. Frank laughed and lifted my chin with his knuckles. I slowly dragged my eyes up from where they were immediately drawn to where the borrowed boxers were riding low on his hips. He leaned down and kissed me gently, then replaced his lips with a piece of bacon. I bit into it and found it perfectly crunchy, just how I liked it.
“So.” Frank said, sitting down across from me and digging into his own plate of eggs (fried, I noted).
“So.” I echoed. “Wanna tell me how you ended up busting through my window? Speaking of, why it is not absolutely freezing in here?” I looked over at the window and was shocked to see that there was a piece of cardboard solidly nailed over the empty frame. “When the hell did you do that and how the hell did I not wake up?”
Frank laughed. “You were out like a light. I’ll go get some glass today and replace it for real.”
I nodded, knowing it was hopeless to try and argue.
“As for how I ended up on your floor,” Frank said, putting down his fork and scratching his neck. “I got wind of some Russians down at the docks up to no good.”
“Up to no good as in…”
“Loading up girls they’d kidnapped into cargo containers to send them to fuckin’ China.” Frank growled, gripping his knife extra tightly.
“So naturally you went down there and saved them?”
Frank looked down at his plate and I watched him swallow hard.
“I tried.” He said bleakly, looking up at me. “I fuckin’ tried. Two of the fuckers got away.”
“But the girls are okay.” I said. “The girls are okay, Frank.”
“Okay is a very subjective word,” he growled. “They’ve been through God knows what, but yeah, I made sure Brett came and got ‘em.”
“Brett Mahoney?” I asked.
“Yeah.” Frank looked surprised. “You know him too?”
“Family friends.” I shrugged and finished off my eggs.
“Unreal,” Frank whispered, shaking his head, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Lola nudged her head against my knee and I sighed.
“Yes, girl, I know you want to go out, but just wait a little.”
“Let’s take her on a walk.” Frank said immediately.
“Uh, Frank, you don’t have any clothes.” I said pointedly, gesturing to the garbage bag that contained his destroyed coat and filthy pants.
“Well, shit,” Frank said mildly. “You’re right.”
And that is how I got on the phone with Daredevil while in the presence of The Punisher.
“Ella?”
“Hey, Matt, how’s it going?”
“I’m fine, are you okay?” I rolled my eyes at Matt’s immediate jump to assume the worst.
“Yes, yes, I’m fine, I just have a favor to ask.”
“What’s up?”
“Can I come over and borrow a pair of sweats and a t-shirt? You’re not allowed to ask what it’s for.”
“What’s it for?”
“Jesus Christ, Matt!” Frank was laughing silently and I rolled my eyes at him. “If I tell you, will you promise not to freak out?”
“No.” Matt said and I appreciated the honesty for once.
“Fine, fine, well then I’ll just tell you the goddamn truth and you can either decide to help me or not. I’ve got Frank Castle sitting in my kitchen and he needs some clothes to wear, okay?”
There was silence on the other end for a full minute.
“I’ll be right over.”
“No, no Matt, I’ll come to your place please -- FUCK!” Matt had hung up. I buried my face in my hands.
“Well, that went about as well as I expected it to.” Frank said, putting all the dishes in the sink and running the water.
“He’ll be here in like 3 minutes.” I groaned. “He literally lives around the corner.”
“Then we’ve got 3 minutes to do this.” Before I could blink, Frank had pulled me out of my chair and was kissing me with an urgency I’d never felt before. His hands were cupping my face, buried in my hair, running up my back, everywhere at once. I moaned against his mouth and ran my fingers gingerly up and down his stomach, being careful not to touch the bandages I noticed he’d changed. Lola danced around our feet, barking in excited yips.
“Frank.” I gasped when we came up for air.
“Yeah, sweetheart?” He whispered, running his thumb over my cheekbone.
“We should probably talk about this.” I grimaced.
“I know,” he said, stepping back a half step. I reached for him and pulled him back to me.
“Don’t leave.” I whined. “We can talk while you’re still right here.” Frank laughed and I felt it vibrate through his whole body. Just then, the doorbell rang.
“I would say put on some pants, but a, you don’t have any and b, Matt’s blind, so…” I shrugged and walked past Frank to the front door.