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[subplot]

Karen Page USERNAME: page voice ⇝ video ⇝ image ⇝ text ⇝ action

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[She doesn't respond. Anything she'd want to respond with sounds like a snipe at the fact she knows he's been avoiding her. Her worry about Matt wins out over her need to be right and she hurries to go yell at him and manhandle him to stay in bed and get medical attention. She isn't with Matt for that long, though it isn't because she's in a hurry to find Frank. She stays just long enough to ensure that he falls asleep before slipping away.

Deck 6 is promptly where she heads, and sure enough Frank is...cleaning blood off the wall. She keeps her distance at first, watching him. Max takes notice of her and stops trying to lick up Matt's blood, and she smiles as he comes trotting on over her way. Crouching down to greet him properly, he's given a hug and some pats as she peeks up over his head at Frank. Way to spoil her trying to sneak up, Max.

After not seeing him for a handful of days, and not really being sure if he wants to see her now, she isn't sure what to say. So she stares with some kind of deep and meaningful look. It's what they do, they're good at the intense staring.]

[oorah]

[ he hears the click of her impractical heels approach even before max blows up her spot and he turns from the wall he'd been wiping blood off of with a rag, the top half of his jumpsuit hanging around his waist so he doesn't get blood on his only clean one. his undershirt already has a few specks, but it's nothing compared to how gruesome his bruises look after several days to settle into his skin. frank looks up at her, his own expression soft and even a little vacant. ]

Hey, Karen. [ his voice sounds small, lost. he feels like he's lost everything by matt coming here, and yet he wants to protect that asshole. it's a confusing day for him. to say nothing of all that still lies between himself and karen, unsaid, and that's his fault too. ]

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Hey. [She can't help but smiling when she hears his voice, even though she knows she should walk up and hit him for being an idiot. After a last scratch for Max she's standing up and making her way over to him. She can see the vacancy in his eyes and wonders if it's because of her or the fact he's having to clean up Matt's blood. There's a lot she wants to ask in relation to what's going on between the two of them, but there doesn't feel like a right way to get that ball rolling.

The click of her heels against metal stop when she comes to a standstill before him.]

So. Does this mean you're done avoiding me?

[oorah]

I wasn't... [ he starts, then stops, turning back to the wall and suddenly unsure why he's even bothering. with the blood, that is. not with karen. ] Yeah.

[ he drops the rag to the floor and gets up with a grimace before turning to face her. he's ready for his lecture now. ]

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[Her mouth forms a well practiced tight line as she watches him deal with the rag. Eyes glance down at it, then back up at him. There's a lot of intense staring as she tries to figure out what to do, what she wants to say. She could slap him, yell at him. There's a lot of things she can do here, when it's obvious that he knows he's fucked up.

What she chooses to do is lean in and kiss him, slow and gentle.]

Good.

[She says it as soon as their lips part, and she rests her forehead against his.]

But you realize you're going to have to explain it to me, right?

[oorah]

[ she leans in and he's anticipating the blow, a shrill yell. anything but what he gets. frank barely has time to kiss back, but he does anyway, as desperate as it is brief. his face leans against hers, already out of breath from the short contact, only registering belatedly that it didn't hurt at all. ]

He just... showed up. Like everyone else does. Except he was real bad off so I took him upstairs and-- [ oh. she's not asking him about matt, is she? ] Sorry. [ it's lame and nowhere close to an explanation, but it's all he has for now. ]

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[She's definitely not asking about Matt, but it's amusing that he thinks she is.] Are you angry that I hurt you?

[Because that's what she's been thinking. Over and over she's replayed that morning in her mind, and it still makes her sick that she unintentionally caused him so much pain. She hasn't even been sure that he wasn't still in that kind of pain, not until just now.]

Scared that I did? Talk to me, Frank.

[oorah]

Angry? [ he repeats, brows knitting together in concern. every fiber in him fights against it but he lifts his hand to her cheek and presses anyway. it doesn't hurt, it's like elektra cured him. another sharp pang of guilt stabs through his chest but he pushes past it. he owes this to her, and so much more. ] Karen, you'd know if I was mad at you. Subtlety isn't really my thing.

[ maybe she'd noticed. it's escaped his notice how crazy they must look now, pressed together in front of blood stains lining the deck. max gives up and just lays down at their feet, carefully avoiding the red as he flops to the floor dramatically. ]

I'm just... dumb, that's all. [ it isn't until he's looking into her eyes from this close that he realizes how much he'd missed her. how much he'd maybe even missed needing her. ]

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Hell yeah, you're dumb. [She readily agrees with him, smiling and managing a dry laugh at his expense. She doubts he'll mind it. Her head turns just enough to press her cheek into his touch, trying to read what he's feeling or thinking.

He's not mad at her. Not afraid of her, she doesn't think. Then what is it that makes him continually so stupid?]

But you can't keep promising we'll stick together just so you can pull away at the first minor inconvenience. If we're in this together, it's all or nothing.

[Karen apparently is only ride or die these days.]

[oorah]

[ he nods. she's right, as usual. he still can't stop himself from selfishly soaking in her warmth. ]

I think I lost myself for a while there. I should've trusted you to find me. [ it's as close to an apology as she's likely to get 🤷‍♀️ ]

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I'll always find you, Frank. [Only she would be able to make something a stalker would say sound romantic. But here she is, killing it.]

As long as I'm sure you want to be found.

[Which this time, clearly he did. It makes her smile in a self-satisfied kind of way, because she knows that he needs her. The look in his eyes and his body language tell her that he's missed her, and the way he isn't pulling away says plenty about the fact that he's happy to see her.]

Do you want help finishing up here?

[oorah]

[ he could almost laugh because she does always find him and it's usually not a good thing for either of them. but he can put off the morbidity with her this close. he has to. ]

If I'm not taking you away from your doors.

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[She pulls away, crouching down to pick up the rag he's discarded. A little blood doesn't bother her anymore.]

We're going to get into the hangar soon. Someone's working at the door nonstop, so I think I'm going to start work on gaining access to deck seven next.

[Burying herself in work is an understatement. It's all she lives and breathes, but she knows that he understands just how important it is to her. Just as important as cleaning up Matt's blood, apparently. She gets right to work on that because if he's their friend they might as well clean up his ridiculous messes.]

[oorah]

[ friend is a strong word, but frank crouches by her with pride shining in his eyes. ]

I've been following you, on the Network. I said you were gonna crack this whole thing.

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[Sometimes her ambition runs away from her. But it hasn't this time. His words make her pause in scrubbing at the wall and she ducks her head to try and hide her smile.]

I guess even Frank Castle gets to be right every once in a while.

[She slides over the rag across the wall, giving him a nudge so he can take over.]

[oorah]

Yeah, savor the moment 'cause it won't be coming back around again for a while.

[ he jokes at his own expense, fingers brushing hers as he takes the bloody rag and keeps working away. ]

...How is he? [ he has to ask, right? it doesn't mean he cares!! ]

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Alive.

[That's...probably not a good enough answer, is it. She sighs, the smile on her face turning to a frown. Things with Matt are always so frustrating that she isn't sure how to answer that.]

I didn't stay with him long. But I made sure he got back in bed and was sleeping before I left.

[oorah]

[ frank just nods at that. he can hear the terseness in her voice, but maybe it's not his place to ask? he really isn't sure if they have boundaries at all though, anymore, or more truthfully if they ever did. ]

Good. Thank you.

[ for taking over. he needed her to. just like he needs her here now. ]

He's a real dick, but I knew you and Elektra would be pissed if he died on my watch.

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[That makes her laugh as she shrugs her shoulders. Crouching like this in heels is starting to hurt, so she kicks them off and stays barefoot.]

He can be a pain in the ass.

[But so can Frank. It's something they have in common. And all of a sudden, comparing the two in her head makes her realize she might need to say something, given the history between her and Matt.]

You know that his being here doesn't change anything between us, right?

[oorah]

[ can be. he doesn't have to say it, lifting his eyebrows looking at the wall. but when she kicks off her shoes, he can't help the way he glances over his shoulder, eyes drawn down her long legs to her feet before he can put himself back on task. he's so distracted he almost doesn't hear her, but then he's trying to make sense of the words the way she'd said them, his fist crumpling the rag in his hand and resting against the wall for a moment, immobile. ]

I kind of figured that out when you kissed me.

[ his heart beats a little quicker, to lay it out like that. it also helps that matt had asked him about elektra like 50x before she even showed up, but really: it was the kiss. even frank castle isn't that dim. ]

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[Stop making her laugh, Frank! Her head ducks again and she just grins, because this weird little moment makes her happy. Almost like he's picking up on that, Max lifts his head and scoots across the floor on his belly to lick at Karen's knee. She gives him more affection before slipping her hand over to rest over Frank's. She's not trying to wipe the wall at the same time he is, she's just giving him some support. They're basically done, anyway.]

We should go get cleaned up.

[His room is close by. They can use it.]

[oorah]

[ the touch to his wrist has his belly doing flip-flops, still remembering how it hurt before but able to separate it better now after so many days had passed. and after his friends had helped him past it, like elektra and kamala and rogue. he isn't sure what he did to deserve this veritable support panel, but he's realized he can't reject them on principle anymore? baby steps. ]

Okay. [ his voice sounds a little rough, distracted maybe, but then he's getting up from the mostly clean (good enough) wall and snagging a hand around her waist to yank her up alongside him. ]

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[She grabs her heels on the way back up, not bothering to put them back on. After glancing at his hand on her wrist she slips her hand up so she can take hold of his. The contact makes her stomach do a little flip, and because of it she blurts out a stupid sounding Okay in return.

Nothing else is said as they walk the short distance to his room, Max close on their heels. Her eyes look around his space as they enter it. She's been here before, but the circumstances around her being here are a little different this time around. ]

When did the pain go away?

[Now that they're in private, she can ask him about this.]

[oorah]

[ he doesn't think it's stupid-sounding, especially when her hand secures his around her middle, more-or-less forcing him to walk as close as he can, holding her against him as they go. he's careful of her bare feet though, his boots and max's making up the difference in the sound her shoes aren't making.

frank reluctantly lets go of her to unlock the door from his communicator, but apparently he'd forgotten to lock it in all the excitement anyway and the door slides open for the three. he ducks inside, immediately going to remove max's boots and rub his doggy legs in sympathy before going to remove his own. ]

It's... Now, looking back, I think it was only a few hours. But at the time, it felt like it would never stop. [ he swallows, glad his face is turned down and away from her. how does he explain the weird psychosomatic trauma that lingered far after the physical pain ended? that he had to be alone to figure it out because he couldn't stand the thought of her hating herself for hurting him. ]

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[She makes a vague, non-committal sound. Only a few hours? Way to make her spend days filled with self-loathing and worry, Frank. Her hands flex before dropping her heels to the floor, and she chooses to watch them fall rather than look over at him.]

You're better now. That's all that matters.

[The words are tense, and forcibly measured. She's not angry with him, but also isn't sure how to further express that what he did was really shitty. She also doesn't want to admit that she's bothered by the fact she wasn't able to help him. That whatever happened, she wasn't the one to make it better. ]

Will you be there tonight?

[She's not dependent upon him, she just likes his being there. Karen Page doesn't need any man to get through the night. The time he was staying was the happiest she can remember being in a long time though. Is there anything wrong with wanting to feel that happiness on a regular basis?]