Banged Up (3)

banged up (3)

pairing; frank castle x fem!reader

summary; frank unexpectedly meets your roommate willow and you begin to realise your feelings for frank.

warnings; fluff, hurt/comfort, soft frank, awkward frank, descriptions of injuries and memories of torture (not too explicit/graphic tho), suggestive themes, realisation of feelings

notes; part 3 is here my lovelies! we've got more soft frank, an introduction to willow (who uses she/they pronouns) and some realisation of feelings. this chapter is such super sweet and i am getting carried away with this fic. i love these two together so much and i just want them to kiss and get married and have babies. that's all.

masterlist

part one part two

When you heard your roommate - Willow - come back at 9am, you didn’t get out of bed. You hadn’t had a chance to look at yourself in the mirror and you really didn’t need her worrying anymore than necessary. So you let Frank deal with it. But you could still hear their conversation through the slightly ajar bedroom door and it made you smile (which made your face hurt even more than it already did).

“Hi,” Willow sounded unsure as she closed the front door and discarded her shoes onto the shoe rack.

“Mornin’.” Frank was cooking breakfast and you could sense the hesitance in his tone - trying to work out whether Willow was a threat. But he knew you had a roommate and considering they’d come in with a key, he didn’t immediately go on the offense.

“So you a friend of my roommate’s or…?” Willow asked. You tried not to chuckle, knowing it would hurt, as you listened to Frank’s boots shift on the floor. He was uncomfortable, you just knew it. He had never been over at your place when Willow had come back off the night shift. There was one close call a few weeks back but you had mostly kept those two parts of your life separate.

“Yeah, stayed over last night,” He responded. Willow let out a soft ‘uh-huh’ before she ran her hands over her face. They were exhausted.

“She in her room?” Willow asked. Frank was caught off-guard by the question and he quickly realized that he didn’t know if she knew about the company you kept during the nights. How would they react to seeing you bloody and bruised? Frank was surprised that your roommate hadn’t said anything about him considering his face had been plastered on the news more than once over the past few years. But they hadn’t shown any indication that they knew who he was.

“Mhm, gettin’ her beauty sleep,” He responded, gesturing vaguely towards the room. Willow nodded and ran her hands through their hair before letting out a soft huff.

“Cool, okay. Well, I’m gonna go to sleep. Would you two make sure to keep the noise down? It’s been a uh- long night,” Willow finally said. She sounded exasperated and you couldn’t blame her. You bit your lip, feeling a little guilty for not saying anything to them beforehand but you didn’t exactly expect this to happen.

 Plus, you had spent most of last night in so much pain that you could barely think straight let alone have the foresight to message her about Frank being in your apartment, “You the guy she went on a date with?” Willow asked after a beat of awkward silence between the two. She was halfway to her bedroom door when she turned to look back.

“Nah, just a friend,” Frank dismissed. Willow nodded and then disappeared into her bedroom while Frank continued to cook. As you lay curled up on the bed, your phone dinged and you grabbed it to catch a glimpse of the screen; it was a text from Willow.

‘What the fuck is The Punisher doing in our kitchen?’ There was a brief moment before another text dinged through, ‘Are you fucking Frank Castle? I swear to everything that is holy…’ A giggle bubbled from your lips despite yourself and pain shot through your body in an instant. The brief moment of joy was replaced with burning pain as you twisted your face into the pillow, crying out. 

Tears pricked at your eyes and you gripped your pillow underneath your hands. It made it worse but also gave your mind something to focus on. The ache in your fingers was much less painful than your stomach.

Another message dinged through and you tentatively reached a hand out to glance over it. ‘Good on you for getting that vigilante dick, better tell me about it later’ ‘Hook me up with Jessica Jones? Lord knows I need that woman to rail me’. You couldn’t help the laugh that burst out of your chest but your laughs were interspersed with cries of pain and coughing that only seemed to make every part of your body feel worse.

‘Must have been a good night… heading to sleep now, talk to me later xx’ The last message dinged through and you whimpered softly as you curled back up on the bed. Frank appeared a moment later with painkillers and a plate of food. His eyebrows furrowed.

“Somethin’ happen?” He asked. You shook your head and slowly pushed yourself to rest back against the headboard, “You need some painkillers?” You nodded. You had probably had the last lot around 3 hours ago when you had woken up to find Matt in the apartment so you were more than happy to take more. You needed it.

“You know how to get in contact with Jessica Jones?” You asked as your head fell back against the headboard. You adjusted your legs a little before taking the plate of food from Frank. His head tilted slightly, a questioning look on his face.

“Wanting to add her to your roster of vigilantes to take care of?” He asked. You shook your head and stabbed your fork into a piece of bacon.

“Nah, Willow needs a good railing. Thought you might have contacts,” You shrugged, a wry smile spreading across your face. Frank stared at you for a moment, painkiller bottle cap off and in his other hand. His face made you chuckle but that just made your stomach hurt and so you quickly wrapped your arm around it, squeezing your eyes shut as your fork clattered to the plate.

“You’re real funny, sweetheart,” Frank muttered. You nodded your head, completely serious as you forced yourself to recover from the pain.

“I’m hilarious. God knew I would be too powerful if I became a comedian so he gave me no social skills and vigilantes for friends,” You responded, the corners of your lips turning up into a smile. Frank shook his head in disbelief as you let your stomach go, the pain subsiding a little.

“Whatever you say,” He then poured some painkillers onto a spoon before he gestured for you to open your mouth. You took the spoon into your mouth and swallowed it down.

“Y’know if Willow needs a railing, I think I need to be in an orgy or something. Nobody’s given me an orgasm in fucking years,” You grumbled. Frank didn’t know what to say as he poured another spoon of painkillers, “I just want God to give me a man that won’t cum in two seconds flat and leave me high and dry.” You were just bitching at this point but after your failed date and your torture, you were really beginning to wonder what the fuck you had done to get God - or whatever being was out there - to hate you so much, A soft sigh escaped your lips.

“This really bothers you, huh?” Frank asked after a moment of silence. You huffed out (though that made your chest hurt) and shrugged.

“I just got tortured and they got every fluid out of me except one. I’m not saying I wanted one of them to fuck me but the least I could have gotten was fucked in that fancy fucking restauraunt bathroom before I got kidnapped. Y’know,” You explained. You were half-joking but also, not joking in the slightest. He tilted his head as he looked at you and you reached out for his wrist, guiding the spoon of painkillers into your mouth since he seemed to have forgotten what he was doing. 

You swallowed the painkillers down before Frank pulled the spoon away and put it and the bottle down on the side.

His jaw clenched in thought as he tried to decide what to say. You could tell his head was spinning and it made your stomach turn (in a good way). Maybe it was because Frank had been taking care of you all night and he had been more attentive than any boyfriend you had ever had but you were sure that he would take of you if he fucked you. You found yourself almost wanting it.

“I need to piss,” You stated after a moment, distracting yourself from your unsavory swirling thoughts and giving the speechless Frank a reprieve. You had been fighting off going to the toilet for an hour or so, not wanting to face the thought of walking again. How you had walked last night was beyond you but you were desperate for the toilet so pain be damned, you needed to go.

“Come on,” He urged as he put the plate of breakfast to one side and got up from the bed. You shuffled around and wrapped your arm around his shoulder. He hauled you to your feet and with his help, you hobbled to the bathroom. You caught a glimpse of yourself in the mirror as Frank guided you closer to the toilet and you looked atrocious.

You were pretty sure you would have looked worse last night since you’d got the swelling to come down since but you still looked awful. Your face was covered in bruises, they were in various stages of healing but there wasn’t much of your skin that wasn’t discolored. Your left eye was bloodshot and there was a slash across your left eyebrow which made the skin swell. You definitely were going to have a black-eye when the swelling went down.

Thankfully, you didn’t see how damaged the rest of your body was but you knew that it wasn’t pretty. You could feel the sutures that kept your skin together on your arms. Without them, you would have bled out.

“Need me to stay?” Frank asked as he moved one of your hands to rest against the sink. You shook your head and he let your other hand move from around his neck. He stepped back, “Keep the door unlocked, yeah?” You nodded and he then disappeared out of the bathroom. A long breath escaped your lips, trying to work up the courage to step over to the toilet. 

Despite the ice pack and the rest, your ankle still felt awful. You didn’t think it was broken but it was definitely sprained. You could vaguely recall a boot being stamped over it and you rolled it in your heels before you had been kidnapped. It was painful and putting even a little bit of pressure made you want to cry.

But you had to do it so you did. You limped to the toilet and pulled your underwear and pants down before you sat down. Your arms hurt and as you peed, you looked over them, taking in every suture and stitched up cut. You could remember how it felt when they sliced you the first time. After that, it became just a blur of pain.

Your wrists also looked awful. At first, they hadn’t bothered to tie you up. Instead, they put you in a dark room with lights that flashed intermittently to disorient you. Then, someone appeared, sliced your skin open wherever they could and disappeared. You hadn’t been able to fight back even if you wanted to. It all became far too much, far too quickly and when you had eventually collapsed, they tied you up.

Your wrists were still red raw, layers of skin stripped away. The rope had been the only thing keeping you upright for most of the time, you could still remember the burn in your calves. You sighed, pressing your hands over your face. It took everything in you not to start crying. You sucked in deep breaths, stabilizing your breathing before you wiped and clambered off the toilet. You dropped the seat, flushing and then going to wash your hands.

But the soap against your cuts made you whimper and hiss in pain, tears pricking your eyes. When you were done, you just rested your hands against the edge of the sink. The thought of moving made you want to cry and you were staring back at yourself in the mirror. Your eye really needed an ice pack.

There was a knock at the bathroom door and you said that Frank could come in. He nudged the door open as he looked at you. The tears were threatening to spill down your face at any moment and he frowned, stepping towards you.

“Hey, hey,” He murmured softly as he gently pulled you into a hug. His arms were tight enough to know you were safe without being so tight that it hurt your already battered and bruised body, “You’re safe now, you got that? Nobody’s gonna touch you.” You sniffled against his chest, tentatively moving your arms to wrap around him. You were trying so hard to be careful of the stitches, not wanting another one to pop.

“Don’t know how I didn’t tell them,” You admitted softly, “It hurts so much.” He nodded and pressed a kiss to your forehead, “Don’t understand how you can do this,” You added after a beat. Frank ran his hands down your hair.

“I know, sweetheart.” He murmured. You sighed, your bottom lip quivering as you held Frank a little tighter, “Need to eat some breakfast, come on,” He said after a moment, supporting half your body weight to head back to your room where your breakfast plate was. 

Once you were back on the bed, Frank adjusted the pillows so you could sit up comfortably. Then he grabbed the other plate of breakfast food and the two of you sat together, eating in silence.

Frank’s presence was enough to make you feel safe and you didn’t want him to leave.

-

Despite your complaints, Frank left the house at around 6pm to get some takeout for the both of you. He had been with you all day, talking to you, lying down with you, feeding you painkillers and snacks and getting anything that you needed. You appreciated it immensely but the thought of him leaving the house sent your anxiety off the charts.

But he promised that he would be back soon and that he was a call away if you needed anything. So, you reluctantly let him leave with that in mind. But of course, the second that Frank leaves the house, Willow made her appearance. You were curled up in bed when there was a knock at the bedroom door.

Every single possible scenario ran through your head before Willow called your name, “I know you’re not asleep and Frank’s gone.” You sighed and told them that she could come in. Willow pushed the door open and for a moment, she was smirking. That was until she saw you and her entire teasing, smug demeanor dropped.

“What the fuck?” It was an involuntary response and you sent her your best attempt at a smile, “Was this him?” She snapped. You scoffed and that made your chest hurt.

“No,” You stated bluntly. Willow’s eyebrows furrowed, not believing you for a goddamn second. You probably wouldn’t have believed you either, “He’s the one that saved me. Got grabbed during my date,” You explained. Willow didn’t know what to say and so she simply pushed your bedroom door to and moved to sit by your side. 

“What did they want?” She asked softly. You shrugged and they scoffed. You let your eyes fall closed, you were exhausted. It had been an incredibly long day.

“Just know that Frank found me, got me the fuck out,” You murmured. Suddenly everything made a lot more sense to Willow and they let out a sigh, pushing her braids behind her ear.

“Is that why he didn’t want me to see you even though I knew you were awake?” Willow asked. You nodded which made you wince, “Jesus, girl. Was it him that stitched you up?”

“Yeah, used most of the kit, sorry,” You murmured. Willow scoffed.

“It kept you alive, I don’t give a fuck,” Willow responded. You gave her a grateful smile before your head fell back down against the pillows. Just keeping your head up made you exhausted and you let your eyes close, “I’ve still got some of my prescription painkillers from my shoulder injury. You want them?” You bit your lip, debating whether that was a good idea, “I wouldn’t offer them to you if they would make it worse.” 

“You’re not a Nurse,” You murmured. Willow chuckled and nodded their head, “But please,” You added after a moment. You were so grateful for even the chance at stronger painkillers, it hopefully would make it easier to function. Willow surveyed you battered and bruised form for a moment before she stood up.

“And I’m gonna wrap your ankle, it looks awful,” Willow stated. You let out a grumble of acceptance before letting your eyes fall closed. You just wanted to relax but you also felt so bad. Willow had enough on her plate without worrying about you. You knew that she had plenty of her own issues to deal with between family, friends, her ex. Her roommate being tortured really wasn’t something you wanted to put on them.

It was a few moments before Willow returned and she had a fresh glass of water in their hand. They placed it down on the side before perching on the edge of the bed.

“Before you bitch, I know you hate pills but you either take it like a big girl or be in pain,” Willow stated. There was no arguing with that tone and you groaned softly in annoyance before slowly pushing yourself up to rest against the headboard. Willow then placed the pill in your hand before you grabbed the glass of water. You put it on your tongue and instantly chugged the water.

The pill washed away with the tsunami water and it was gone. Willow smiled before she shuffled down to bed, “Gimme a pillow,” She ordered. You grumbled in annoyance before grabbing one from beside you and throwing it their way. She grabbed it, put it under your ankle and then began to wrap your ankle, “I have a question,” Willow said after a beat. You groaned, tilting your head back. Willow asking questions never meant anything good, they were a menace at their worst and nosy at their best. You grunted in annoyance.

“What?”

“The Punisher wouldn’t just stay around anyone’s house all day and night. I mean, he should have taken you to the hospital but he didn’t. Gonna explain why?” Willow asked as she continued to wrap your ankle.

“It’s complicated.” It was literally the only way to explain. You and Frank had always been complicated. You knew Frank because of Karen. She had asked for help with something Frank needed probably a year or two ago. Karen had been madly in love with Frank then. You had a feeling she still was but she wasn’t as obvious with it anymore.

But when Frank had found out you had helped (and knew he was alive), he freaked. You couldn’t blame him but he had found you and threatened you. It made you terrified to even go near him and when it was released to the news that he was alive, that terror turned to worry. Even if Frank was terrifying and vengeful, you knew he had a code. He hadn’t hurt you despite the fact that he had no reason to trust you wouldn’t tell people he was alive.

Karen had been worried about him too and she had somehow managed to rope you into a scheme to make sure he was okay when he had gone to the hospital. That then led to you helping break him out of the hospital with Dinah Madani, a literal Homeland Agent. It had been a weird time in your life but somehow Frank saw you as someone to trust.

So, one night, he found his way to your apartment as he bled out and you saved his life. Ever since then, he checked in on you every week and often came to you to get patched up - as did Matt. You didn’t exactly have any medical training but you had a steady hand and the best leftovers to feed the injured so they had both found you to be someone to trust.

It boggled your mind that you had grown a friendship with Frank especially after your rocky start but it felt good to have someone who you knew protected you. You also had called him more than once while completely trashed and he always came to pick you up and take you home like the gentleman he was.

But it was complicated. That was the only way you’d ever be able to explain your friendship with Frank because you didn’t think he would ever actually let you in and trust you. It didn’t really bother you but you sometimes just wanted to be there for him like he was for you.

“You want to fuck him, don’t you?” Willow asked bluntly. Your eyes widened and you used your good foot to kick her in the side.

“I want anyone to fuck me at this rate, as long as they do it right,” You snapped. Willow chuckled at your comment, shaking her head as they continued to wrap your ankle.

“I wouldn’t blame you for wanting to fuck him. He’s the only man who's ever taken care of you while you’ve been sick,” She pointed out. You scoffed, opening your mouth to rebuke that claim. The past few boyfriends you had hadn’t been all that bad but then you remembered every time you had been sick, none of them had come over. You groaned.

“Jesus Christ,” You mumbled. Willow nodded, glancing over at your down-trodden expression. It all seemed to make so much more sense now, “That’s probably why I wanna fuck him so bad, he actually pays attention to me.” There was a pause before you added, “Not gonna happen though.” Willow cocked an eyebrow before they returned back to your ankle, doing one more pass of wrap before she was done, “Willow, he lost his wife. Don’t think fucking anyone is his priority anymore.” Willow hummed in agreement before she pulled away from your ankle. It was wrapped up nice and tight but not so tight it’d block your circulation. It would just hopefully keep the swelling down for the next few days.

“He’s missing out,” Willow stated as you began to shuffle to lie back down. They moved the pillow with your ankle, keeping it elevated, “I’ve heard you give head, pretty sure those men go to a different universe.” Your eyes widened and you kicked Willow with your good foot.

“You perv!” You accused, pouting at her. Willow chuckled.

“Don’t suck your boyfriends off in the bathroom then I won’t hear it,” Willow shrugged nonchalantly. 

You pouted, sinking into the bed, “Noted. I’ll keep giving head strictly to the bedroom.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Willow mumbled. You rolled your eyes and moved your arms to rest over your face. You were so tired but the prescription painkillers were at least helping. The numbing pain had been replaced with relief that was also making you drowsy as hell.

“I’m gonna go get ready for work. Will you be alright?” Willow asked. You nodded.

“Yeah, Frank’s gonna be back soon. I’ll be fine,” You dismissed. Willow nodded, pressing a kiss to your forehead just as the apartment door closed which meant that Frank was back. You eyed her for a moment before she smiled and disappeared. Her and Frank shared a curt conversation before she headed into the bathroom.

You stayed where you were, eyes closed. Your stomach was turning in anxiety after that conversation. You did like Frank and it was ridiculous and terrifying and suddenly it felt like you didn’t know how to act around him.

“You and Willow close?” Frank’s voice startled you and you opened your eyes. He still had his coat on, wrapped snugly around his torso. A takeaway bag was in his left hand and there was a smile on his face.

“Yeah, they’re a fuckin’ menace though,” You muttered before slowly pushing yourself to sit up. Frank went to come over and help but when he realized you weren’t grunting or hissing in pain, his eyebrows furrowed, “She gave me some painkillers, strong ones,” You answered the question before he even asked it. Frank nodded and he placed the bag on the bed. He then unzipped his coat and pulled the beanie off.

You opened the bag and it was from your favorite Italian takeout. The familiar smell hit your nostrils and you groaned in excitement before unloading the bag onto the bed. Your muscles still ached and there was an acute sense of pain but the painkillers that Willow had given you were making it so much easier to ignore. You felt almost normal.

“Careful, sweetheart. You still got stitches,” Frank reminded you as he placed his beanie and coat on your dresser. He then came over to the bed and sat down across from you. He had ordered you pizzas from the Italian place down the street and you could have kissed him. You would have kissed him if you had the courage. 

“Shouldn’t have got me my favorite then,” You responded, a wry smile on your lips. You flicked the box open and of course it was your exact pizza order. The grin spread wider and it hurt your bruised cheeks but you didn’t care. You grabbed the pizza slice and shoved it into your mouth, taking a bite. You let out a groan of appreciation, “Fuck, forgot how good this was,” You muttered, mouth full of pizza.

“Feelin’ better?” He asked. You nodded your head, a smile spreading across your face.

“Are you going out tonight? With Matt?” You asked curiously. Recently, the two men (despite their differences) patrolled together and then if they got injured, invaded your apartment for the night. That hadn’t been the case last night since from what you could remember, it was early when Frank had saved your ass.

“Nah, stayin’ here to make sure your sorry ass doesn’t get grabbed again,” Frank responded. A smile began to spread across your face despite yourself and you quickly shoveled pizza in your mouth to ignore the bubbling feeling of happiness, “That gonna be a problem?” He asked, noting how you seemed to have tensed up.

“No, no, I don’t mind. It’ll make me feel safer. I’m glad,” You rambled, “The painkillers are making me drowsy so… probably need the protection.” You added. Frank nodded and he continued to eat his own slice of pizza. The two of you fell into comfortable silence and for the first time since you had woken up to Frank taking care of you, you didn’t feel any pain. It was a mercy.

don't get me started on ana de armas, the things i would let that woman do to me for just a moment of her time are insane 😭

hard agree on her and jenna being some of the most beautiful woman around. and LITERALLY looking at jon bernthal is enough of an explanation for how hot he is 🥵

i truly do not understand how you have such impeccable taste in men (and women), jon bernthal?? jenna coleman??? your reblogs send me feral every goddamn time

ruby!!! thank you so much 🥺 i’m glad that i have good taste! i just see pretty people and fall in love, that’s kinda it CKSKXK jenna coleman and ana de armas are probably like the most beautiful women in the world to me can you tell i have a type and jon is just self explanatory at this point PFFF!

i’m glad i can make you feral!! that’s what i’m here for!! 🩵

penelope you’re a strong soldier because i would’ve folded as soon as he put on that fbi vest

im in the library doing uni work on the second floor (not silent study but quiet study) and there has been not a second of silence since i arrived two hours ago. are these people stupid?? do you not have basic reading and comprehension skills? some of these people have been talking this whole time like 🧍🏼‍♀️

Having a BAU girls night out but with Luke tagging along for scary dog privileges (even though you could very well do anything you want yourself bc you're a literal federal agent)

girl i LOVE this idea, like luke would fucking LOVE to be the scary dog on a night-out, intimidating anyone in sight who was being creepy or weird. here's how a typical night with the women of the BAU (+luke) would probably go.

(below the cut)

so you all get to the bar as soon as you're off work, sometimes in uniform (which is literally just formal wear), sometimes you get a chance to change into something more comfortable but sluttish for the bar, really depends on the day

either way, luke is there and he sometimes wonders how he gets himself into these situations because being surrounded by his absolutely gorgeous drunk coworkers is just something he never really expects but he secretly loves it

you and the girlies all do rounds of drinks, cocktails for garcia, rum and coke (or whiskey) for emily, jj gets like either aperol spritzer, cocktails or like vodka with a mixer (orange or pineapple or cranberry juice) and tara gets either whiskey, like emily, or she gets like coke/lemonade with vodka, you get whatever your favourite is on the night and you obviously are all drinking

luke probably gets like a beer but doesn't tend to get too drunk unless it's a whole team outing (including matt, reid and rossi) so he has a few beers

the ladies quickly get smashed which leads to dancing, which leads to reader being incredibly touchy with everyone but especially luke which leads to him getting dragged to dance

he loves dancing (even if he'd never admit it) and he loved seeing you so care-free on a night out

the dancing then leads to men approaching the other girlies and jj is probably the first to make her way towards you and luke when men start being weird

this is quickly followed by garcia

they are both strong independent women, don't get me wrong, but jj especially avoids conflict when she can, so you will drag her into you and dance with her and with luke

the GLARE the luke gives the weird men would be enough for them to give up or scuttle off

jj is always thankful for luke in the mornings and always tells him as much, garcia is a little more on-and-off about it

you almost never leave luke's side so you're usually clear of the creeps

now as for the other girls, whenever weird men come around, tara and emily are the first willing to start a fight

this leads to luke diffusing which only pisses them off more and you or jj or garcia step in to diffuse further, the men always back off when another man comes and it makes emily and tara mad (so real)

but after that hiccup in the night, it usually goes back to normal, dancing, singing, drinking until you can barely walk because a release like a drunken night is seriously needed after a long day chasing criminals

also emily will occasionally spend an entire night drinking wine but it makes her a little too silly and gives her a raging headache in the morning so she generally avoids it

but all-in-all, everyone loves when luke comes and are thankful for the scary dog vibes that he gives off to people who are being weird

obviously, they wish things were different and also can and do take care of themselves whenever they got out alone but luke being there tends to make everyone feel safer

luke also just loves having free rein and permission to glare down any man who even dares go near any of the BAU women if they don't want it

he is aware that everyone can take care of themselves but after dealing with weird men who make him feel sick to his stomach most days, being able to protect his friends from those same kind of men does make him feel a little better

you also love when he protects everyone, you just think it's so sweet and you adore him for it

which is just another reason that you fall for him