"call me when you need me,
call me anything you want,
darling, believe me"
- Remain Nameless, Florence + the Machine

╳

My eyes follow Frank as he stands up from his bed.

"How did.." he starts, frowning perplexedly.

"Like I said.. I'm not particularly fond of restraints." I tell him.

Frank looks me up and down, displeased with my response. He gives his head a little shake as he sits back down on the edge of his bed.

A small sigh escapes him as the air between us turns serious.

"You know, you.. you got a lot of people killed last night." he says lowly, pinning me in a stare.

I tense my jaw and ashamedly drop my eyes to the ground. "I know.."

"Let's do this one more time, okay? Just once." he says after a moment of silence. "Who are those people? And why are they comin' after you?"

I lift my head and look into his eyes.

"You're hiding something. What is it?" he asks. His voice is quiet and calm, but I can tell he's done with my shit.

I have to give him something. If our positions were reversed, the lack of answers would be driving me insane, and the trust would dissipate very quickly.

I want to be someone he can trust.

A deep exhale escapes me as I ready myself to divulge some truths.

"..They work for a man, who wants me to work for him." I tell Frank, who's watching me intently. "But I don't want to. I tried to tell them last night, but-"

"You think they wanna talk to you?" Frank interrupts, squinting at me. "Let me explain something, the only reason you're here right now, is because of me."

"Well duh, you drove me here." I stupidly remark.

He scoffs and shakes his head as he stands up. "They're coming after both of us now. That's where you got lucky." he continues. "See, the way I operate, the way I handle situations like this- I kill the enemy before they get to me. That's what I do."

"Mmm, real sustainable." I comment sarcastically.

"Works for me." Frank shrugs.

"Says the guy with a bullet hole in his ass."

He looks at me for a moment, then snickers humourlessly, shaking his head as he walks over to his bag.

"Guess I'm old fashioned.." he comments, digging aimlessly through his bag. "If it had been a man those assholes were goin' after, I'll tell you what, I would've bought a beer, I would've sat back and watched the show." He comes back and sits on the edge of the bed, opposite me. "But see, they came after you." he looks at me, tilting his head. "And I had to get involved."

"Well, well, well, chivalry isn't dead." I retort.

Frank sits up straight and narrows his eyes at me.

"Did I kill the wrong people?" he asks. "Should I have taken you out?"

I wish you could..

Actually, he probably could, with this serum coursing through my veins.

"You should've sat back and watched the show." I say. "I told you I didn't need you, and now they're after you, too."

"And who's 'they?'"

I keep my mouth closed, looking down at the ground as I exhale through my nose.

"You know, you were much more talkative the other night." Frank retorts.

I narrow my eyes at him.

"Yeah, you know what, I was." I sneer. "I was. Because for the first time in a long time I felt.. comfortable and at ease around another person." I admit. "You were certainly much more accommodating the other night." I say, arching a brow. "But you know what they say, if it's too good to be true.."

"True-" Frank scoffs. "See, I don't think you know what true is. I don't think you've been straight with me since we met. Is your name even Jean?"

"Gee, I don't know, Pete." I snap back.

I'm suddenly aware that I'm leaning towards him. I pull back, sitting up straight, and decide to drop the attitude.

"..I haven't lied." I state calmly. "..I just haven't told you everything. But what do you expect? We only just met. Talking to you at all was big deal for me."

And we did a whole lot more than talk.

Frank nods, taking my words into consideration.

"Why wait for me to wake up?" he asks. "You got free, so why stay? Why not just run?"

"..To make sure you were safe." I admit, shifting a little under his intense gaze. "Least I could do, seeing as I'm the reason you're not safe now."

"And who am I not safe from?"

I stare at him for a moment, before finally answering.

"..Bad people."

He slowly nods his head again.

"And why are these bad people after you?" he asks. "This man, why does he want you to work for him?"

I exhale another deep sigh. "I'm an asset.."

"Very vague." Frank comments.

"Yeah, well, the less you know the better." I say, dropping my gaze to my hands as I fiddle with my fingers.

"Better for who?"

I look back into his eyes, hoping to convey the seriousness of my next words.

"For you."

We stare at each other for a moment and Frank knows I'm not going to share any more on the subject. He stands and goes to his bag.

"What are you doing?" I ask, eyeing the zip ties in his hand.

"Takin' a shower. Then I'm gonna go out." he replies, stepping towards me. 

"You don't have to tie me up.." I tell him, leaning away from his approach. "Take me with you." I offer.

"To the shower?" he sarcastically replies.

"Out." I clarify. "..But I wouldn't be opposed to the shower."

"Not happening." he scoffs.

"The shower or going out?" I quip, arching a brow.

"Neither." he states firmly.

"Please, it's not safe.." I say, my tone losing all humour.

"That's why it's not happening." Frank stops in front of me, looking down at me. A better person would find him intimidating, but I just find him fucking sexy.

"It's not safe for you." I stipulate, trying to ignore the warm tingling feeling his proximity is giving me.

Ignoring my words, Frank grabs my left hand and pulls, attaching me back to the headboard.

"You know I will just get out again, right?" I comment.

At that, Frank doubles the ties, then frisks me. Pathetically, I'm a little turned on by the action.

I hate how responsive my body is to him.

"Yeah, I don't think so." he states, satisfied I'm not carrying any escape weapon.

Frank heads to the bathroom to clean up and comes out in fresh clothes, his hair still a little wet from his shower.
There's a cut on his right cheek and his left cheek is a little bruised. He looks pretty good for having been in a bar fight.

He looks pretty good, period.

Frank drags his bag from the bed and swings it over his shoulder before heading out the door.

The engine of his van starts and when he drives away, I cut the ties.

Jumping off the bed, I rush to the window, peeking through the blind to watch his van disappear down the road.

Damnit..

Worry sits in the pit of my stomach, but instinct tells me he's safer on his own.

I am the main target after all. If they see I'm not with him, they'll leave him be. If anything, they'll follow him in an attempt to locate me.

And maybe that's the best way for him to be free of me.

╳

I peel the dressing from my bullet wound to find that it's finally healed back to perfect, smooth skin. I unravel the bandage on my knuckles to reveal the same results. Perfect smooth skin.

Slowly, I extract my claws through my knuckles until they reach their full 8 inch extension.

I haven't really had the opportunity to examine my new claws. I take my time studying them, and run the tip of my finger along the sharp blade, pricking it on the tip of the claw. My finger heals before any blood can even surface.

When my studying turns to admiring, I switch my focus to the mirror, and remind myself that this monster should not be appreciated.

A vision of feminine vulnerability, with my small frame and innocent eyes, standing in nothing but my underwear. The perfect disguise for a deadly weapon.

I killed many people during my escape from Stryker. Without a second thought. I had been running on nothing but anger and instinct, unintentionally achieving the primal rage Stryker wanted so badly from me.

"Don't be what they made you."

I watch my eyes brim with tears until my vision turns blurry.

I also haven't had time to process the death of my family..

The sound of Frank's van parking outside tells me I'm not about to, either.

But I'm relieved he's back. He's been gone a couple hours.

His van door slams shut as I retract the claws back into my arm and watch my knuckles heal.

The motel door opens and I flick a glance at the dressing on the vanity. The dressing from my 'bullet wound.'

I quickly discard it into the bin and grab a new one. As I press it onto my skin, Frank bursts through the bathroom door.

His frantic eyes skim over my scantily clad body.

"Sorry- I thought.." He snaps his eyes to mine. "..I apologise." he mutters and retreats, pulling the door closed.

Behind the door, I hear him mumble under his breath and chuckle quietly to myself as I get dressed.

As soon as I exit it the bathroom, Frank's off his bed and on his feet. "Sorry.."

I shrug dismissively. "Nothing you haven't seen before, Frank." I remind him.

He gives a singular nod and drops his gaze.
He almost looks bashful.

"I told you I'd get out."  I say, trying to suppress a smirk.

"You did." he nods slowly, watching me carefully.

My eyes fall upon the door, while my ears listen for any noises outside that could indicate he was followed by any of Stryker's people.

"Don't even think about it." Frank states lowly.

Does he really still think I'm planning to leave?

I decide to pin him in a sultry stare.

"Don't think about what?" I purr, titling my head. "Think about what we did the last time we were in a motel?" I tease, taking slow steps towards him. "About the sounds of pleasure we brought out of each other? How you felt on top of me?" I come to a stop right in from him, our bodies just short of touching. "And in me?"

Frank's jaw is tense as he stares down at me. The movement of his throat as he swallows nearly pulls my eyes away from his, but I don't falter in holding his gaze.

"About going out that door." he finally answers. His demeanour portrays nonchalance, but his quickened pulse says otherwise.   

"Wouldn't dream of it." I reply, a small innocent smile playing on my lips. But on the inside, I'm beaming. Ecstatic to find his body just as responsive to me as mine is him.

"Good." he states, his nostrils flaring. "Got you somethin'.." he adds, intentionally changing the subject.

He holds up a plastic bag between us and digs inside, before pulling out a sandwich and a can of coke.

"Thank you." I say softly, as he hands them to me.

While I unwrap the sandwich, Frank goes back outside to his van for a moment.

I sit on the end of my bed, biting into my food as Frank returns, crowbar in hand.

He closes the motel door and walks straight past me to the closet.

After opening the closet doors, he suddenly swings the crowbar hard into the wall, creating a hole into the next room.

A/ N

references: adapted dialogue from "Fight or Flight," ep 2 of The Punisher, S2.

This story's going to have around 49 chapters. I'm currently drafting chapter 40, and it's fun coming back to the beginning of these two characters.

Also, in a few days, I'll be going on an overseas holiday for two weeks! I'm very excited! I haven't traveled for years.
I'm sure I'll be able to find the time to still upload chapters, but if I don't upload next Friday, this is why.

Big love,
- K