⊰ bravery in being kind ⊱

Frank didn’t know what he was expecting. Karen had always been hard to predict, had always been tough for him to figure out. He’d thought maybe, maybe she felt something similar to what he did. That pull. Maybe he’d been wrong. Maybe he really was as far gone as people said, unable to really read the people around him, unable to connect. It’s what everyone else seemed to think. Maybe Frank was the one guy who just didn’t get it. 

He didn’t see the apology coming, didn’t expect the excuses. (You don’t hear the bullet that gets you, he’d told Murdock once, and he hadn’t quite believed it himself but this felt like a shot to the gut and Frank hadn’t seen it coming, not for a second.)

“Yeah,” he said quietly, keeping the disappointment from his tone. Karen, she didn’t deserve any of that. She deserved to be happy, and Frank should’ve known that wasn’t really an option with him. Happiness hadn’t been in his cards for a while. “It’s okay. Nothing’s weird, don’t worry.” 

He looked at the wall, inspecting his work for a moment and gathering himself before turning back to Karen. “You, uh… You’ll wanna let that sit for a while. Try not to get anymore bullets in it.”

          “  good.  that’s...  thanks.  for understanding.  ”  there’s no resistance between the two.  they’d, for a brief moment in time,  been a  m a y b e.   AN ALMOST.  and just like that,  it had passed.   karen wouldn’t allow  (  couldn’t bare   )  dwelling on what was before.  friends.  she’d be his friend,  for as long as fate would allow.  hopefully,   she can make this be enough.

      “the amount of powered people in this city alone is incredible –– think of all the destruction we could cause.”

howl’s moving castle sentence pack  → accepting

howl’s moving castle sentence pack  → accepting

        “ i need about four more of these if this is a conversation we’re going to have. maybe one more for the hell of it. i can never quite go wrong on that front, after all. ”

ENTERTAINED, Matt relents. “You’re right. Karen Page, eternal voice of reason!!”

“I swear to GOD if you turn me in to those Registration dicks after I just saved your ass, we’re gonna FIGHT.”

send “beep” for a random text from my muse → scared text

send “beep” for a random text from my muse → comforting text

“That hurts, Karen. Can’t I put your articles up on my fridge?”

It was always nice, seeing Karen smile. If Frank was being honest (which usually took a few too many and a really bad night), seeing it brought back some of the warmth in his chest that he’d thought had died with Maria and his kids. Made him feel human again. It probably wasn’t a feeling he deserved, probably wasn’t anything he’d earned, but it was nice all the same. It was refreshing to be reminded that he could still feel it. “Red’s probably waiting by the phone for that call,” he laughed. “Hey, I’m all about trying new things.”

He felt her eyes on him, felt her watching him, but he said nothing about it. Instead, he focused on patching up her wall, let a comfortable silence fall between them. Karen was —- confusing. She trusted him, for whatever reason, understood what he did and why he did it even if she didn’t agree. And he’d be lying if he said there wasn’t something there. He’d be stupid not to see it, especially after the kiss. But there were so many factors. There was the life he lead, the kind that ensured he wasn’t going to die of old age. There was Maria. Karen deserved more. She deserved better than him.

And then, the spoke.

Frank stopped what he was doing for a moment, froze as the words sank in. “You did,” he said quietly, because he wasn’t sure how else to respond. Even before he’d lost his family, Frank had never been good at the big, emotional talks. Now, he was even worse.

        not quite a man of many words  --  she wasn’t expecting anything extensive.  ‘ you did, ’ it was plain,  and true,  and confirming.  his clipped response speaks volumes of the volumes he didn’t have to speak about the kiss.  still,  in the silence that lingers,  karen can’t help but feel a bubbling of something akin to disappointment tugging at her thoughts.  since when had she become so foolish ??  frank once had it all,  and he’d lost it.  even if,  perhaps,  he felt it too  --  the draw,  the pull  --  it wasn’t right.  how could it ever be,  with the weight of a family,  a soul mate and children,  forever sitting on his shoulders ??  with his damning himself to a punishingly lonely, violent existence  --  one that karen could NEVER accept him living and one that he’d never stop until he was imprisoned or worse ??  they were two ships passing in the night.  wrong time,  wrong world.  for all the parts of her that could let slip that she MEANT it,  that the crime was premeditated and that she would do it again if only he  a s k e d   --  her head grounds the blonde in reality.  for both their sakes.

        “You’re one of the few journalists I’d trust for the job,” Natasha replied with a small smile. Karen Page was good at what she did, she still had some integrity, unlike the majority of the vultures out there, desperate for a story. “How can I help you?” 

          “ thanks,  nat.  i appreciate it,  i really do. ”  she shakes her head,  “ just keep doing what you always do.  --  maybe let quicksilver know that blonde reporters named karen page are always up for a few drinks ?? ”  the reporter offers with a laugh. 

         “I signed,” Natasha stated to the person beside her. It was better to get the news out herself rather than let the press, more control over the narrative. 

          “ —— the green’s natural. ” 

    “oh come on karen you said you wouldn’t.”

   ‘ WHAT ? never seen a lady with green hair before ? isn’t america supposed to be liberal like that. ’ eyebrow raised for a second, ‘ you can judge me all you want, but all you’re doing is giving me attention.’ 

“i feel your judgement is necessary. this is how you use these  ―― sticks? you cannot actually chop with them, yes?”