keep the pressure on
Frank Castle x Reader
No use of y/n, gender neutral reader
Slight blood warning
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God dammit.” You’d stepped into the bathroom to grab some tissues, thinking that your fall allergies were settling in for the season. Unfortunately, red was blooming across the paper as you pressed it to your face.
You’d had fairly regular nosebleeds since childhood, something with a sensitivity to temperature, you didn’t really know. That didn’t make it any less annoying or inconvenient, especially when it made you miss out on movie night with Frank (you’d somehow convinced him to watch Seven Things I Hate About You, and he’d been tolerating it surprisingly well so far). You pushed your hair back as you held onto the tissues with the other hand, trying to soothe yourself. Nosebleeds had always made you feel a little stifled, claustrophobic, but you could handle it. You always did.
“Hon? You’re missing the part with the paintball, you said this would be the only part I’d like!”
“Just a second!” Your response was slightly muffled.
The movie paused. One second, two seconds, then his voice was at the door. “What’s goin’ on, baby? Are you feeling ok?”
You huffed a breath. “Yeah I’m fine! Just bleeding a little-“
You hadn’t locked it but even if you had, that doorframe wouldn’t have stood a chance. Immediately he was turning you to face him, bracing your jaw in his big hands.
“-from my nose. Frank, honey, it’s ok! It just happens sometimes. It’s no big deal.”
“How long has it been bleeding for?”
“About five minutes. I really wouldn’t worry about it until we get to like twenty, though. That’s what the doctor told me last time.”
“What the hell do you mean, last time? Is this a regular thing for you, bleeding out of your face?”
You sighed, stepping away and leaning your lower back against the counter. “Frank, how many times have I seen you stumble in here with a broken nose? I’m no stranger to blood, I promise. “
Your arm was starting to get tired, but as you went to switch hands, more red started running down your chin and neck than you anticipated.
Frank went still, eyes trained on the path your blood was making down into the top of his sweatshirt that you’d “borrowed”.
“Shit…” you looked down to check the damage, but Frank stepped into your space, gripping your jaw again and holding your head level.
“Don’t tilt your head down. Or back either. Just look forward and keep breathing for me, ok?”
You went to adjust your grip, but this time Frank’s hand took your place, applying gentle but solid pressure. Your arms hung beside you until you moved to rest them against the edge of the sink.
His gaze was boring into you, almost like if he could just look at you hard enough he could make it stop. You looked back at him, trying to give him some comfort, to cut the tension.
“I didn’t take you to be the squeamish type, Castle.” You smiled and gave a halfhearted laugh, only to make yourself cough on the blood that had inevitably started running down the back of your throat.
If Frank’s face was stony before, it was an earthquake now as his eyes trained on your lips. You reach up to touch them and found more red on the tips of your fingers.
“I’m calling 911.”
“Frank, no, oh my God. You are not calling an ambulance over a nosebleed.”
“I’m gonna do what I damn well please.”
“No, you’re not, because as much as you want to threaten to throw me over your shoulder like a sack of potatoes and drag me out of here, I probably shouldn’t be inverted.”
“Quit trying to be cute with me. I’m not gonna watch you bleed out into the sink.”
“Well, I could get into the shower if that’s what you prefer, it’s easier to -“
“Would you just shut the fuck up and listen to me for once in your goddamn life?”
It was your turn to be silent. Frank was still holding your nose, so that had been a very loud and very close response, and if the sink wasn’t behind you, you would have flinched away even harder.
You looked away from him and you knew your eyes were watering. “I’m sorry”, you said in an impossibly small voice.
He dropped his head down, tilted away. “Fuck, no. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled.” He looked back at you, regret and discomfort coloring his hard features.
You slid your hand underneath his, taking the tissues and turning back toward the mirror. Frank stood behind you, looking to be at a total loss for words.
Minutes ticked by, and Frank went to sit on the edge of the tub, holding his head in his hands, knee bouncing.
Eventually, you pulled the tissues away and sniffed experimentally.
“It’s over.”
Frank’s head shot up, eyes wild, a cornered animal.
“The nosebleed, Francis. Not us.”
He collapsed back in on himself, roughly scrubbing at the back of his neck.
“I’m sorry. I know I went too far.”
You nodded gently.
“I know you are, honey. It’s ok. We’re both ok.”
“Thought you weren’t.” He mumbled.
“What?”
“I thought you weren’t ok. I know you said you were and I know you would tell me if you weren’t but…I don’t know.”
You crossed the bathroom to sit next to him on the edge of the tub.
You didn’t know what to say, so you just did what felt right - holding his hand and tracing along the scars crossing his knuckles. Slowly, his shoulders started to come down, and he gave your hand a small squeeze as if to say that he was ready to talk.
“The last woman I saw with that much blood on her was Maria.”
The pain in his voice lanced through you. You sat quietly, waiting to see if there was anything else he was willing to tell you.
“I just…can’t feel like there’s something I could be doing to help you or protect you and not be able to do it.”
You leaned back into his line of sight.
“You do help me. You do protect me. And you do keep me safe. I’m sorry that I put you back into that moment, I just wanted to prove that I could take care of myself.”
He nodded, fingers coming up to brush your hair back. “I know you can, doll. But I dunno, if I’m not doing those things for you then what’s the point?”
You furrowed your brow. “What’s the point of what?”
“Of being with me. Of putting up with my bullshit. If I’m not giving you something that you need.”
You slid off of the edge of the tub, coming to crouch in front of Frank’s bent form. Your hands gripped his knees as he stared down at you.
“Frank, I love you. I love your strength and your courage and your sense of justice. And I love that you’re willing to do anything to protect me and make me happy. But I don’t love you because I need you, I love you because I want you. I’d love you if you were an insurance agent instead of a vigilante.”
He let one side of his lips quirk up.
“An insurance agent, yeah? With the polo shirt?”
“Well obviously, you’d have to take that off at the door. I do have some standards.”
A full smile this time.
“Are you done scaring the shit out of me for the night?”
You nodded.
“Let’s go, baby. I need a warm drink after all of that, and that’s one thing I’d love to let you do for me.”
He stood, bending to kiss your forehead. Whispering in your ear as he guided you back into the living room, “I can think of a few other things.”
Your face flushed blood red.
