Blindness gave me perspective

Grace had no idea who she reminded him of, but she could tell that this person meant a lot to him by the way his features softened and got hard again. He must have lost them, which sent a chill running through her body. Hopefully that wasn’t some kind of foreshadowing. “I-I won’t… most guys don’t look at m-me that way anyway, or any way at all.” Grace mumbled. “I’m not gonna let some d-dead creep ruin my life… he’s gone now…” Grace shrugged, looking up as a waitress walked over and ordering herself a latte.

Frank couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity girl’s words, and gave a shake of his head. “Trust me, there’s no way in hell that guys aren’t looking at you. You probably just don’t want to notice it when they do, and hell, I can’t really blame you for that. Guys are kind of idiots. Especially guys in high school. Know I was. But they definitely are looking” He said with a nod, meeting her eye and giving her a hint of small smile, before he cleared his throat hastily and looked away upon realizing how inappropriate he was being; She was definitely too young to be interested in him, and he was probably freaking her out “But anyway, I really shouldn’t be staying in one place to long and I’ve gotta get back to work. So try to drink that fast, and then I’ll make sure you get home alright”

Grace kept her eyes on him as he pulled on the baseball cap and walked inside, following him to the corner booth and biting her lip as she sat down. She crossed her legs up on the seat, giving him a shy smile in return. He really did have a nice smile, it made him look so much less scary though Grace knew how lethal he was. Her face flushed at his question and she looked down shyly. “I l-like school I guess. I usually stay in the library until I-I get kicked out.” Grace shrugged. “I was w-working on a project and they let me stay until th-the last second… then I was on my way home. I live k-kinda far from the school, so that doesn’t really help that I-I was out so late.” Grace sighed with a small shrug. “The library’s nice when there’s n-no one else around… it’s quiet and serene and p-peaceful. I never have a place like that.”

Frank nodded his head in understanding, his smile spreading a little farther across his face at her words. “You kind of remind me of someone I once knew” He acknowledged, his features taking on an almost serene reminiscing expression for a brief moment, before he sighed and they hardened again. Thinking about her, about the way she was before her death, was nice, but it inevitably led right back to the moment that seemingly replayed in his head over and over again. “Anyway, don’t let what happened tonight stop you from doing your thing” He said with a serious nod of his head. “Peace is not an easy thing to find in this world, and if you’ve got something that gives it to you, don’t ever let go of it”   

Grace nodded slowly, biting her lip. A Marine, that definitely explained why he knew what he knew. He must have had lots of practice killing people… which Grace never would have thought was a good skill to have until today. Apparently being nearly raped and traumatized did something to a person. She frowned as he blocked the way into the coffee shop, looking up at him curiously. His warning made her feel a bit scared, but she felt safe around this beast of a man. He wouldn’t let anything hurt her, or anyone in that coffee shop unless they did something bad. “I p-promise.” Grace told him quietly, biting her lip and glancing past him. “But maybe it’ll b-be okay. Come on… let’s get that coffee.”

Nodding his head at her words, Frank reached into the pocket of his jacket and took out a baseball cap, pulling it low over his eyes before turning and heading into the coffee shop. Taking a seat at a booth in the corner, Frank fidgeted with his hat for a moment before his eyes met the girl’s and he managed a small smile. “So Grace, you wanna tell me what in the holy hell were you doing at school this late?” He asked with a short laugh and a small shake of his head. “I know it’s been awhile since I was in high school, but back then kids used to try to get out of there as quickly as they could.  And something tells me that hasn’t changed. So what’s your deal?”

Andi chuckled softly, arching a brow as she touched their foreheads back together. “I guess things are somehow more beautiful when you can’t see the world around you…” Andi murmured poetically, her hands coming down from his neck and cheek to smooth down his chest, her eyes closing in content for a brief moment. She opened her eyes, glancing towards the folder and taking a deep breath. “I’m almost scared to open that file…” Andi admitted. “What if they’re bad people?” She asked quietly.

It seemed as though nothing in the world could ever be wrong again as Xavier listened to Andi speak a truth that he knew all too well. It was as though she had read his mind and extracted his thoughts, turning them into something that sounded truly beautiful. After all this time they were still so in sync, and that fact alone almost made Xavier feel like this could be the moment of happily ever after people so desperately wanted. However he knew better then to really believe such a thing, and at her next words, her admittance to being afraid, he wasn’t even taken by surprise, and sighing softly, nodded his head in understanding. “I would probably be scared too” He admitted. “But whatever you find out by reading that file, it’s not going to change who you are. An amazing, beautiful and strong woman. The strongest I’ve ever known” He smiled slightly, and placed a hand on her cheek. “And plus, if you’re not ready to open the file yet, then no one is going to force you. It’s yours now. You can take as much time as you need”

Harley gave her a grin as she lifted up her sunglasses, pushing her blonde hair out of her eyes as she giggled. “Me? A stranger? I think you’ve been gone too long.” Harley told her, clasping her hands together and swaying adorably on the spot. “You really have been away for too long. It’s been half a minute and I’m not being swept off my feet in an embrace!”

Lily laughed and rolled her eyes at herself once she realized that this stranger was no stranger at all. “Oh shut up Har! It was a long flight, so you should like, give me a break or something” She said with another laugh and a shake of her head. “And to be fair, I only just now realized it was you. Otherwise I obviously would have hugged you sooner. Duh.” Dropping her bags in her hands, she stepped toward Harley and wrapped her arms around her in a tight embrace. “I do have to agree with one point you made though; I have been gone too long” She added softly.

Andi bit her lip as he pulled away, about to speak when his lips ever so gently covered hers. It was one of the sweetest kisses they had shared. It was shy and it was sweet and it conveyed so much emotion that it made Andi want to cry. Andi kissed him back just as sweetly, just as timidly for once, and she never wanted the kiss to end. Of course, it had to once Andi needed to breathe again. She broke the kiss, smiling a little as she tried to steady her breathing. “I forgot how good of a kisser you were…”

Xavier felt that he had to be dreaming. That was the only explanation for how such sweet bliss could be happening to him. Yet kissing her felt real, and felt familiar, and yet different from how it had ever felt before.  It was sweeter, and softer and more tender than it had ever been with them in the past and if it was a dream, Xavier could only pray that he would never wake up from it. When she pulled away from him, the feeling of her lips against his still lingering for a moment, Xavier smiled at her words. “If you think I’m good you should really try kissing yourself some time” He said with a hint of a chuckle. “I don’t think I ever really appreciated just how amazing at it you are until just now. Must be the blindness. I can really feel it now”

Andi swallowed hard, closing her eyes tightly as tears threatened to escape. Not tears of sadness, but tears of joy. He still loved her. Her baggage wasn’t baggage. He found her parents. He fought for her and he found her parents when she never could. Andi took a shaky sigh, tears trickling down her face as she held herself to him. “I love you too…” Andi sniffed. “I love you so much it hurts.” Andi confessed, gripping at his hair on the back of his neck tightly so he couldn’t slip away from her again. “I’m always going to love you.”

Biting his lip hard, Xavier fought back the tears that threatened to engulf him. She loved him too. Even after everything he’d done, even after all the hate she had in her heart for him, she still loved him every bit as much as she always had. Pulling away slightly from her embrace, he placed a kiss on her lips. It was soft, and gentle, and a little hesitant, as though he was waiting for her to give him some indication whether or not she wanted to kiss him back.

Being snapped from his nervous thoughts by the sound of a voice speaking to him, Xavier smiled and nodded as he heard her say his name, and her introduction, and shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly at her apology and question. “Nah I haven’t been here too long” He replied with a small shake of his head, before he burst out into a fit of laughter, unable to hold his bluff. “Okay, actually I’ve been here for about two hours, but that’s my own fault. I couldn’t remember whether we were meeting here at Three o'clock or Five o’clock and I didn’t want to be be ridiculously late. So I went with the earlier time” He admitted with a sheepish grin. “So don’t feel bad about running late, because at least you didn’t forget the time and have to show up crazy early. It’s great to meet you Kassidee”

Andi looked up into his unseeing eyes adoringly, caressing his cheekbone with her thumb. He really did never stop loving her, even though what he did…. he did it. And oh she loved him too. She loved him so much it hurt. Him finding her parents just amplified that feeling. Her baggage wasn’t baggage to him after all… even though he had said it, he must not have meant it. “You’re an amazing man…” Andi said softly, stepping closer to him and slowly touching their foreheads together, breathing him in and carding her other hand through the hair on the back of his neck, holding him to her. “You still love me…” Andi swallowed hard. “Even with my baggage?”

As she stepped closer to him and pressed her forehead against his, Xavier’s breath caught in his throat. He wanted her so much that it was unbearable. “Your baggage was never baggage to me Andi. I only said that because at the time I was a selfish prick who had gotten caught doing something I shouldn’t have, and it put me on the defensive” He explained with a sigh. “You have no idea how many times I replay that moment in my head and wish I’d fought for you instead of pushing you away even further than I already had” And it was true. As much as he knew that he hadn’t deserved her then, he still wished he had fought to keep her close. “I love you. I love every part of you, and I will always love you, even if you can never love me again”

Andi was touched. He really had been searching for two years for her, even though she had convinced herself that she hated him and that he was awful. He really was a good man after all… he found her parents. Even if they turned out to be awful people, she at least knew where she came from. Andi swallowed hard, watching as he walked to the door. “Stop!” Andi suddenly told him, rushing to his side. She stepped in front of him, looking up at him and taking his hand, placing it on her cheek like how she’d do all the time back when they were still together. She smiled up at him, wanting him to feel her smile, the happiness practically radiating off of her. ‘You really are a good man aren’t you?” Andi asked softly, setting the folder down on a nearby table to cup his cheek. “You did this for me… even though you thought I hated you?”

As she took his hand and placed it against her cheek, Xavier felt a chill. The feeling was so familiar that in his mind he could clearly see her face, her smile, the way he remembered it from before they had broken up, and before the accident. At her question he let out a shaky laugh. “I’m trying to be” He answered softly, nodding his head. The feeling in his chest was like lion, roaring with the ache of how badly he wanted to kiss her. They were so close “Well you may have hated me, but whatever I did or said to try and convince you, and myself otherwise, I never stopped loving you. So yes, I did this for you” He almost whispered. “And if there’s not enough there then I’ll keep doing this for you until you know everything you want to know.”

Andi looked up in surprise as the door opened, trying not to drop her glass as Xavier walked in. She sat her glass down, unsure of how she felt in this moment. She missed him so much, she ached for him… but the ability to forgive was gone. Or so she had thought. She frowned a little at his words, taking the folder slowly and looking down at it in confusion. He found her parents? How on earth had he managed that? Andi didn’t know anything about them, how on earth did he dig anything up? Andi wanted so desperately to leaf through the folder, but she stopped as he turned to leave. “Wait.” Andi bit her lip, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. “How… how did you find them? Why did you find them?” Andi asked quietly as she stood up, taking a small step towards him and holding the folder to her chest.

Xavier stopped and turned as she called out to him, and at her question he shrugged his shoulders. “I hired some of the best private investigators in the country to look into it back when we were together” He answered with a small sad smile. “You wanted information and I wanted to be the one to give it to you; even after we broke up. For the past two years they hadn’t turned up a damn thing; until two days ago” He sighed again and shook his head. “I shouldn’t have come though. I should have just got someone else to drop them off for you. I thought I should be the one to give them to you, because the whole time they’ve been looking  I wanted to be the one. But that was stupid. The last time we saw each other was hard enough and I should have known better than to come back in here after that. So I’m sorry. But I hope it helps you somehow; knowing who they are.” He turned and once again headed for the door

@perspectiveroleplays​

When they had said their goodbyes a week before, Xavier had expected for it to be the last time he and Andi would see each other; or at least the last time for a very very long time. But of course, since he thought that, it was inevitable that fate would give him a reason to have to go back and see her again immediately. Before they had broken up two years ago, Xavier had hired investigators to look into Andi’s birth parents for her, and even after they had broken up, he had continued to pay them to look for the information. Of course it would work out so that after two years of finding virtually nothing, the investigators would finally find the information they were looking for right after Xavier had come to terms with the fact he wouldn’t be seeing her again. Getting out of the car as it stopped outside her bar, he hesitated outside with his hand on the handle of the door for a long moment before he pushing it open and walked inside. The bar was quiet apart from the familiar sounds of her breathing, and he stood there silently for a long time before he finally spoke. “I wouldn’t have come back unless it was really important” He justified in a soft voice, but firmly. Holding out the file folder he carried under his arm he sighed. “My investigators found your birth parents” He said, handing her the folder before turning to leave. After all, he hadn’t come to talk, not if she didn’t want to. He had only come to do what he needed to; to follow through on a promise.

He had a nice laugh too, she noticed. Maybe this monster of a man wasn’t as much of a monster as she thought. Or as everyone thought- of course she had heard of The Punisher. He walked the streets at night wiping out people who did bad things, like that man who had been following her. She nodded slowly, biting her lip and glancing up at his face. “How d-did you get into this sort of business? It doesn’t seem l-like the type of job you c-can just apply for online.” Grace bit her lip as she twirled a lock of dark hair around her finger, keeping her eyes on his face curiously.

Laughing at her question, particularly her use of the word “business” to describe what he did, Frank shook his head. “When it comes to the why, that’s not something I talk about. All you need to know is, I have a damn good reason for doing what I do” He said dismissively. “As for the how, I served as a Marine for ten years. That’s where I learned most of what I do” Zipping his jacket back up to hide the skull again, he headed towards the coffee shop across the street, but stopped and turned to face her right in front of the door, blocking the way inside. “Before we go in here we need to get something straight right now: Being who I am and doing what I do, people tend to come at me a lot. A lot of people want me dead. That means that it might happen while we’re in here. So if I tell you to run, or hide, you better make sure you do as I say if you wanna live to see tomorrow. You got me?” 

Pippa stared up at him in horror, before looking at the man she had taken care of this entire week in fright. She pulled away from him, hands and knees shaking so hard she could barely move away. She looked up at the other man as she pushed herself into a corner, swallowing hard as she looked back at the criminal, tears blurring her vision. She couldn’t even bring herself to ask for him to spare his life. The fact that she could have been the next victim terrified her. So instead, she asked in a very soft, very shaky voice. “C-Can you d-do it outside….?” 

Her question seemed to really enforce the reality of the situation Frank found himself  in. She was clearly scared, and just as clearly didn’t want to witness a murder right in front of her eyes. He pondered her for a brief moment before he nodded. Heading over the the filth that lay cowering on her couch, Frank lifted him over his head, and heading out onto the balcony, threw him off so that he fell to the pavement a couple floors below. Hearing him groan in pain, Frank climbed over the rail and carefully dropped down to the next balcony, then from the next balcony to the ground. Placing the gun to the man’s head, he pulled the trigger, leaving the man undoubtedly dead this time

Harley’s face flushed and she elbowed him gently. “You just look so elegant and dapper in that suit it’s throwing me off!” Harley stuck her tongue out at him and smiled bashfully. “Twenty-eight is still prince age.” Harley pointed out with a small chuckle. “I told you, I’m not going to ditch you to dance with some younger guy. I am your date. You and I are going to eat and dance and have fun and you will be my prince charming.” Harley smiled at him. “Now, end of discussion, okay?”

Although he still shook his head at her words, he didn’t argue any further. As the car pulled over and came to a stop, Xavier pushed open the door and stepped out onto the sidewalk, waiting for Harley to follow before offering her his arm. “Well then Miss Harley, shall we” He asked in a mock pompous voice before he laughed and shook his head sighing softly. “Nah seriously let’s go get this over with I guess”