#billy russo reader

You knew from the first second of Billy stalking through the front door with a scowl. Whatever work he’s had to do that day has left him in a mood, stressed out, and needing to release all that. He already knows that you’ll let him use you to do exactly that, and that’s how you end up where you currently are. Thighs spread, and your soaking core rubbing against the top of his boot on his order.

“Look at you, so fucking desperate.” Billy leans back against a table, looking down on you, and sneering cruelly as you drag your dripping core over the leather of his steel toe boot. Around your throat is his belt, fashioned into a makeshift leash that he keeps pulled tight to cut off your air flow. You know how you look, but you can’t stop the way your hips rock desperately and spread your slick over his boot until the leather is shiny and almost as glassy as your lust blown gaze. Your hands grip against Billy’s thigh, nails biting into the tactical fabric until your lack of air has you feeling faint. The moment Billy feels your grip go even the slightest bit slack he let’s the belt loosen around your throat.

You suck in a greedy breath, tears streaking down your cheeks as you pant and your pace quickens against his boot. “Please, sir. Can I cum?” You know he’s going to say no, he’s denied you twice already and you know how much he loves to watch you struggle with holding back when he knows you’re teetering right on the edge.

“My good little slut wants to cum so bad doesn’t she?” Billy taunts, the smirk on his lips dripping with predatory intent. He yanks the belt taut again and you choke with a straining gasp, and your fingers grip so tight against his thigh that they ache. “Pathetic. You cum when I say you can cum, and not a second sooner you little slut.” You let out a choked sob, hips stuttering against the steel toe of his boot. “Ah ah ah, didn’t say you could slow down, slut.” Your strained whimper is barely a sound on your lips, but the desperation behind it has Billy grinning. Choked out moans, and whines tumble past your parted lips as you pick up the pace at which you ride against his boot. Your lungs burn with the need to take in air, and you can see the dark spots starting to dot your vision and again you let your grip go slack on Billy’s thigh to let him know you need to breathe.

You press your forehead against his leg, sputtering at the sudden rush of air filling your lungs. Glassy eyed you look up at him, tears burning behind your eyes and slipping down your cheeks from the frustration and the stimulation, and the overwhelming nature of just how much control and trust you put in Billy’s hands to let him do this to you. “Please, sir. Please may I cum.” You ask again, and you see the dark glint in his eyes as he nods.

“Go ahead, cum all over my boot like the desperate slut you are.” His words are cruel but you can’t deny how they make you clench around nothing. You grind yourself against his boot faster, hips bearing down to add just a little more pressure right where you needed it most. It takes you all of a few seconds to cum with a trembling cry, creaming on the man’s boot and shuddering against him as you clung to his leg to steady yourself. You pant out your thanks, sated mewls sounding in your throat before you chirp in surprise when you feel Billy nudging you roughly off of his boot. “Now clean up after yourself.” He orders, and you already know exactly how he wants you to do that. You feel the wave of shame washing over you, but you slide back enough to bend and let your tongue lap away your essence from the steel toed boot.

You hear the sound of a zipper coming down above your head, and a glance upwards confirms that Billy has a hand around his cock and stroking as he watches you lick up the mess you’ve made until the top of his boot is spit shined clean. He hums in approval, pushing off from the table with his fist pumping around his cock as he gives the belt around your neck a tug that has you jumping to your feet when he motions for you to bend over the table. You’re buzzing with anticipation, seconds away from begging the man to fuck you when you feel his spearing into you roughly. A strangled cry tears out of you, your walls clenching around him like a vise and it has him hissing through his teeth at how good you feel on his cock.

Your nails drag against the table, each stroke of his cock hitting deep and rocking you forward just for him to use the belt around your throat to pull you right back onto him. You don’t have it in you to try and form words, and the only thing that you can get out are ruined moans and sobbing cries of pleasure as the man behind you spears into your quivering cunt. He’s rough with you, and the stretch of his cock hitting so deep has your eyes rolling back and your thighs shaking.

You’re still so sensitive from the first that it doesn’t take you long until Billy’s pushing you dangerously close to the edge. He can feel it too, the way you flutter and squeeze around him makes him groan loudly and fold over your back as he pulls the belt tight and cuts off your air again. “I can feel you squeezin’ me, better not cum until I tell you to.” Billy’s command is easier said than done, and he knows it.

You try to fight off the inevitable regardless, wanting to please him despite how easily he’s tempting you to disobey. The feeling of his shirt brushes against your back, reminding you of how very dressed he’s been for this whole thing while you’ve been vulnerable and bare to his every whim since he’s walked through the door. It just sets you more on edge and you try to eek out the words but no sound comes out of you. Billy knows what you’re trying to say and he chuckles dangerously in your ear as his eyes keep a careful watch on your hands against the table. You know he’s looking for you to tap out if you need him to stop, and when you don’t he husks against the shell of your ear with a growl.

“You better cum if you wanna breathe, slut.” His hips snapping harder into you until the sound of skin slapping against skin is echoing loudly off the walls. You don’t hear it though, the blood rushing loudly in your ears as the black spots dot your vision and you feel the euphoric high and lightheadedness settling in. You shatter around Billy’s cock after another particularly vicious thrust, you tap twice against the table then to let him know to let you breathe. Sucking in air when he immediately does, and crying out hoarsely as you tremble against the table. “Fuck...gonna fill you up, give that greedy little cunt what it needs.” He grunts in your ear, and you nod eagerly.

“Please...please. Need you to fill me up, sir.”

The sound of you begging him tips him over the edge, your body milking his cock for every drop of his cum as he cums with a loud curse. Billy takes a moment to let you both catch your breath, and you can’t help but smile when you feel the soft brush of lips over the back of your shoulder. “You good?” He questions, hands slipping his belt from around your neck. You nod, hissing quietly when you feel him slowly withdrawing out of you. “You sure, honey? I wasn’t too hard on you?” He presses, and you grin at him from over your shoulder.

“I’m good, Bill.” You promise, letting him turn you in his arms so he can properly look you over. “A little tired, and hungry, but I’m good.” You tell him, going up onto your toes to peck him on the lips. You already know he’s about to spend the rest of the night catering to you now that he’s worked out whatever stress he was feeling earlier. He responds with a firmer kiss, scooping you up into his arms and carrying you off towards the bedroom with a grin.

“Alright, then let’s get you in a bath, get your neck iced down, and I’ll order your favorite.” He rattles off the list, pressing a kiss to your temple.

You laugh softly, nuzzling into him with a soft hum. “Sir, yes sir.” You tease, giggling at the heavy breath he takes in response.

“You could open your eyes,” he pointed out with a flat tone.

“I could,” you agreed, eyes still comfortably closed.

“You could even get out of bed.” His voice sounded closer and you imagined him taking a tentative step into your room, never having set foot in the space since you arrived.

“It’s Sunday, Russo. I’m not getting out of bed until absolutely necessary.” Your laziness was met with anticipated silence. Billy, for all his going out and working late into the night, never approved of your ability or desire to sleep in whenever possible. After too many quiet moments, you spoke again. “In or out, Bill,” you said before another yawn could cut you off.

The room fell silent again and you assumed that Billy had vacated the moment you announced your plan to stay in bed. He had no patience for games, not even on Sunday. You curled tighter into your pillow, dragging the corner down until it lay in front of you to wrap around. The quiet was welcomed and as you felt yourself drifting back to sleep, your mind did not register the movement around you. Billy was naturally quiet, never letting anyone know where he was until it was too late. Like a damn cat. Those catlike movements pulled him into the room without alerting you to his presence until you felt the mattress collapse under the weight of body landing next to yours. That’s not what I meant.

“Hey,” you said quietly after your eyes shot open to find Billy, flat on his back and mere inches from your face. He mumbled a reply, while staring up at the ceiling, one arm tucked under one of your pillows and propping his head up slightly. He looked good, as he usually did, but he looked surprisingly comfortable. It was the kind of scene you could easily get used to seeing in the morning. Billy with his t-shirt sleeves pushed up over his biceps and his hair in a state of adorable disarray. It was the ultimate behind the scenes look and your eyes flit over his body frantically, committing his posture to memory as you realized this wouldn’t be the norm. It couldn’t. That wasn’t Billy. That wasn’t what you had with him.

“You’re in my bed,” you pointed out against your better judgment. Obvious statement, but it felt warranted. There were so few scenarios in which your soulmate joined you in your bed and a Sunday morning chat certainly wasn’t one of them. Just when you thought you had him all figured out-

Billy turned his head slightly, narrowing his eyes as he took in your appearance. “What are you wearing?” He asked, using two fingers to pull the comforter away from your chin and reveal the olive green shirt beneath it.

“This old thing,” you said, bolder and more playful than you’d allowed yourself to be around Billy. You rolled back slightly, revealing the black block letter across your chest. ANVIL. “I’ve had it for years,” you joked, but Billy’s lips pursed immediately in response.

He didn’t say anything for a few moments and you watched as his eyes were fixed to your chest, his face contorting into an expression so unreadable, you didn’t bother guessing and waited for him to speak again. “Is that mine?”

“No,” you said quickly and his eyes widened, flying up to meet yours in surprise. “It’s my other soulmate’s. He’s some hotshot security guy,” Billy’s eyes rolled back and he returned to his back, failing to conceal the grin that was tugging the corners of his mouth up. “When his shirt ended up in my laundry, I figured he wouldn’t miss it, what with being one of Forbes’ favorite entrepreneurs this year.”

“Oh is that so,” Billy scoffed, though it sounded more like a chuckle than he probably meant it to.

“Why are you in my bed?” you asked.

“Why are you in my shirt?” he shot back and you sucked your lips. There wasn’t a universe that existed wherein Billy was in your bed for the same reason you were in his shirt. He couldn’t miss you when you weren’t around. He couldn’t feel better just knowing you were near. Touching something of yours didn’t make him feel like he belonged to you, even though he knew he didn’t. No. Billy always had a reason behind his actions, but they weren’t your reasons. When you didn’t answer, Billy changed the subject. “Technically,” he grinned, turning his head to the side so he could face you again, one cheek mashed against the pillow, making his already full cheeks look even sweeter in the early morning light. “It’s my bed.” His smile faded too quickly and he sighed, turning away again to stare at the ceiling. “You’re right, this is too…let’s just go s-“

“Nah, this is nice,” you assured him quickly. Probably too quickly. Not wanting to sound overly sappy, you clarified, “You not making me stand up to talk to you. It’s nice.”

Billy exhaled quickly, the sound like a concealed chuckle, as he wiggled against the mattress, digging his heels in and lifting his hips to shift around until he found a more comfortable landing for his body. “My mattress is better.”

You scoffed and pulled your blanket up under your chin, still watching his movements carefully. “Have you even slept in here?”

“Yeah,” he said with an unrecognizable fondness and your frowned instantly. Of course. Instinctively, you scooted backwards away from Billy, but hoped he wouldn’t notice the ill-timed retreat. “Not like that,” he shook his head before turning his neck to face you, the slightest smile making his lips twitch at the corners. “I just-it’s a long story.”

“I’ve got time,” you smiled back and settled in.

Upon buying the apartment in which you currently lived, Billy didn’t immediately feel like he belonged there. It wasn’t the sleek penthouse he thought he’d purchase in the wake of Anvil’s success, but it was his. Not wanting to throw the money he earned in buckets of blood and sweat on a room with a view, he found something that felt more like a place he could relax. The brick and the high windows reminded him of the warehouses Anvil was renting out for their training exercises and Billy felt it was an appropriate surrounding, given how secure he felt whilst running simulations in the dark. His reasons were uniquely Billy and you appreciated the apartment for what it was, not a status symbol like the Wraith or the Armani, but a genuine piece of Billy that he shared with few, even less now that you were a part of the environment. You assumed that he had no problem impressing the dates he used to bring home and that the décor was the least of their priorities while having their minds blown over and over. Besides Anvil, though, that apartment was the first place just for him and still the voice in his head told him that he still didn’t deserve it. One cursory glance around the master bedroom, with a closet spacious enough for all his worldly possessions at that point, reminded him that he had no business being in a place like this. Living like someone who hadn’t lived out of a duffle bag for most of his life. Billy confided in you his insecurity in the vaguest possible terms, unwilling to cast too much light on even this nearly imperceptible weakness. He confessed that for the first month of his residence, he slept in the guest room, your room. The size was much closer to what he expected himself to be able to afford, the squeaky window much closer to what he thought he deserved. For little over thirty days, Billy slept on a mattress on the floor, ignoring at least 200 square feet of his apartment while keeping his path straight from the door through the kitchen to the bed. Until he made his first payment on the space, balancing his checkbook that night and noticing that it hadn’t bankrupted him. Not even close. The pride he felt equated to earning the space he’d purchased and soon Billy was sleeping soundly in a massive bed in the middle of a bigger room, cursing every foster home bunk with poorly angled slats and sheets yellowed with age. In that room, Billy could convince himself that he’d made it. Really made it.

“So this was your room first, huh?”

“They’re all my rooms,” Billy reminded you, a chuckle escaping in a hiss through his teeth, before he sniffed and turned to look at you, having spent the last ten minutes spilling his secrets to the ceiling fan and graciously letting you listen in for free. “Look, I-“

A coworker with impeccably poor timing interrupted Billy’s words and his jaw snapped shut as he waited for you to roll away from him to answer your phone. A shift that needed covering and one of the few people at your new job, courtesy of Billy Russo, that you couldn’t say no to were going to pull you away from whatever Billy had on his mind and you turned back to him with an apologetic look. He was already on his feet and standing in the doorway again by the time you hung up, looking disinterested and ready to leave your presence immediately.

“I’m sorry,” you said, standing and pulling your scrubs from the chair next to your bed. “I have to go in.” Billy nodded as if he understood, but you knew that your departure wouldn’t be that easy. “We should do this again soon,” you said, watching Billy’s eyes widen before his brow furrowed in confusion. “Talk,” you clarified. “You had something to talk about…we should talk. Soon.”

“Yeah, ok,” he agreed before leaving your room and closing the door behind him to grant you whatever privacy you needed in order to dress for work.

Whatever Billy had to say remained in his head. Shortly after you made it to work, Billy texted you that he’d be spending the next week overseas, making sure the owner of the convoy his guys were currently protecting knew that Anvil was and always would be the best company for the job. You thanked him for the heads up and told him to be careful, but Billy never responded to those texts. Less lately, now that the team was functioning like a well-oiled machine and would continue to do so without Billy’s direct supervision, but when Anvil was first gaining traction in the private security realm, Billy spent a lot of time with foreign clients, procuring contracts in some of the most dangerous places you could imagine. It was just another day at work for Billy, who’d served three tours in Iraq and one final tour in Afghanistan. You could see it all over his face when he returned, taking you out for breakfast after celebrating his homecoming with someone else the night before. He was practically glowing and it only partly had to do with the sun. Billy loved the action, loved getting his hands dirty, and loved making good on Uncle Sam’s investment, doing what he did best in environments that just wanted him gone.

Though it wasn’t the first time he’d been gone, something about this trip felt off. You kept expecting Billy to call or text or email, somehow communicate with you, though he’d never made an effort to in the past when he was away. Selfishly, you’d hoped that sleeping down the hall from him warranted a little extra effort, but that clearly was not the case. On the one hand, you knew that Billy was more than capable of taking care of himself and his guys, no matter what war they stepped into. On the other, you knew that Billy didn’t have experience with someone waiting at home for him. On his tours, Billy had a small group of girls he knew would pick up on the first ring and no matter how many times Frank told him that quality was better than quantity, Billy enjoyed the only form of excess he could afford at the time. That was different, you told yourself. They were there, but they weren’t waiting for him. That was your job.

The signs of Billy’s return were present without him. His go bag was back in its place, safely tucked away under a bench by the front door. The last of your apples on the kitchen counter had disappeared entirely. The subtle hum of the washing machine, rinsing what you could only believe was blood, either Billy’s or someone else’s, but it was always blood. His bedroom door was open again, signaling that he’d been in and out sometime before you made it home. Another day then, you thought to yourself, glancing around the still empty apartment, despite the one you’d been waiting for being back on American soil. With a sigh and a decision to not spend another night alone in your room, you grabbed a bag and headed out. It had been a longer than usual shift, but the bright hospital lights and buzzing activity you’d been surrounded with had you on edge, even in the late evening. So as you probably would have, if Billy had been around, you made your way down to the bar. Your bar.

The hole in the wall with the neon lights and the staff that couldn’t give a shit if they wanted to. It wasn’t clean, but it wasn’t expensive. It wasn’t anything special, but it was where you and Billy grew closer…where you started to really fall for him. Not as your soulmate, but as a person. He wouldn’t show that place or the man he was within the rough wooden walls to just anyone, but he showed you and despite yourself, all the nights had added up to some of your favorites. You didn’t necessarily want to go alone, but asking someone else to join felt wrong. The stools, the lights, the music, the drinks, the experience was just for you and Billy and you liked it that way.

You pushed in the door, squinting in the dim light, expecting to grab a beer and maybe a basket of the onion rings that Billy only indulged in once in a blue moon before heading home and hoping that he’d reappear sooner rather than later. Billy reappeared even sooner than expected when you spotted him sitting at the bar, hair pushed back and sleeves of a deep red sweater pushed up to his elbows like they usually were there. He looked relaxed, after an extended trip and a presumably long day at work. He also looked extremely occupied and after a longer look, the reality of the situation hit you harder than it should have.

Billy was back.

Billy was in your bar.

But Billy wasn’t alone.

Bad Habit 1

Characters: Billy Russo x Reader, Karen Page

Summary: Unexpected encounters happen in unexpected places.

Warning: Explicit language

Word Count: 1662

Bad Habit 2 - We Are A Fever 

Characters: Billy Russo x Reader, Karen Page

Summary: Dates are complicated

Warning: Explicit language, cussing

Word Count: 2657

Bad Habit 3- We Used To Be Bad

Characters: Billy Russo x Reader, Karen Page, Matt Murdock, Foggy Nelson

Summary: Second dates can be way better than first dates.

Warning: Explicit Language, Cussing, Violence

Word Count: 3001

Bad Habit 4- Unnatural Selection

Characters: Billy Russo x Reader, Karen Page, Matt Murdock, Foggy Nelson, Claire Temple

Summary: Dark alleys are dangerous, and that’s a well known fact.

Warning: Explicit language, cussing.

Word Count: 3330.

Bad Habit 5 - Guardian Devil

Characters: Billy Russo x Reader, Karen Page

Summary: Some gifts are better than others.

Warning: Explicit language, cussing, violence, guns.

Word Count: 3569

Bad Habit 6 - Trainwreck

Characters: Billy Russo x Reader, Karen Page, Frank Castle, Matt Murdock, Foggy Nelson.

Summary: Sometimes, a gun can mean many things.

Warning: Explicit language, cussing, mentions of sex, guns.

Word Count: 3524.

Bad Habit 7 - Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

Characters: Billy Russo x Reader, Matt Murdock

Summary: Late night romance can be sweet. Or sarcastic.

Warning: Explicit language, cussing, mentions of sex.

Word Count: 3862

Bad Habit 8 - Riverside

Characters: Billy Russo x Reader, Karen Page, Matt Murdock, Foggy Nelson

Summary: Pinky promises are meant to be kept.

Warning: Explicit language, cussing, mentions of sex, kissing.

Word Count: 4286

Bad Habit 9 - Bloodstream 

Characters: Billy Russo x Reader, Karen Page, Matt Murdock

Summary: Different life styles may lead to difficulties.

Warning: Explicit language, cussing.

Word Count: 3525

Bad Habit 10 - Build A Fire  

Characters: Billy Russo x Reader, Karen Page, Matt Murdock

Summary: Sometimes, bliss follows the shock.

Warning: Explicit language, cussing, violence

Word Count: 4055

Bad Habit 11 - Tiny Vessels

Characters: Billy Russo x Reader, Karen Page, Foggy Nelson, Matt Murdock

Summary: Past doesn’t stay in the past.

Warning: Explicit language, cussing.

Word Count: 3412

Bad Habit 12 - Snap Out Of It 

Characters: Billy Russo x Reader, Karen Page x Frank Castle

Summary: Double dates never go as planned.

Warning: Explicit language, cussing.

Word Count: 3461

Bad Habit 13- Some Princes Don’t Become Kings

Characters: Billy Russo x Reader, Karen Page x Frank Castle

Summary: Jealousy leads to arguments.

Warning: Explicit language, cussing.

Word Count: 3305

Bad Habit 14 - Love Will Tear Us Apart

Characters: Billy Russo x Reader, Matt Murdock

Summary: Things aren’t always what they seem.

Warnings: Explicit language, cussing, mentions of sex. 

Word Count: 2622

Bad Habit 15- Finding Trouble

Characters: Billy Russo x Reader, Karen Page x Frank Castle

Summary: Surprises can be good or bad.

Warning: Explicit language, cussing, mentions of sex, mature themes

Word Count: 2749

Bad Habit 16- Cold Blooded

Characters: Billy Russo x Reader

Summary: Danger comes closer.

Warning: Explicit language, cussing, mentions of violence.

Word Count: 2261

Bad Habit 17- Cycles 

Characters: Billy Russo x Reader, Frank Castle.

Summary: Danger leads to revealing feelings .

Warning: Explicit language, cussing, violence.

Word Count: 2549

Bad Habit 18- Taste in Men

Characters: Billy Russo x Reader, Frank Castle x Karen Page, Matt Murdock, Foggy Nelson

Summary: After the betrayal comes the anger .

Warning: Explicit language, cussing, violence.

Word Count: 3133

Bad Habit 19- Runaway

Characters: Billy Russo x Reader, Matt Murdock

Summary: Conversations after breakups are difficult.

Warning: Explicit language, cussing, violence.

Word Count: 2779

Bad Habit 20 - Good News, Bad News

Characters: Billy Russo x Reader, Frank Castle x Karen Page

Summary: Things get complicated due to unexpected news.

Warning: Explicit language, cussing, violence.

Word Count: 2859

Bad Habit 21- Future Starts Slow

Characters: Billy Russo x Reader, Frank Castle x Karen Page

Summary: Sometimes, anger fades away.

Warning: Explicit language, cussing, violence.

Word Count: 3275

Bad Habit 22- The End

Characters: Billy Russo x Reader, Frank Castle x Karen Page, Matt Murdock

Summary: Then, happiness follows.

Warning: Explicit language, cussing, mentions of violence.

Word Count: 2875

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Matt shot the police a curt smile, “May I have a word with my client, officer?”

The police eyed you up and down and pushed his chair back, then left the room while you ran your fingers through your hair, bouncing your leg. Matt heaved a sigh as he heard the door close.

“Please tell me you didn’t say anything.”

You shook your head, then scowled at yourself in your head.

“No.”

“Did you sign anything?”

“I know what not to do.” You muttered, “No. I just waited for you.”

“Thank God…” Matt muttered and crossed his arms, “Karen and Foggy are outside by the way. He’s speaking to the cops and she says she will kill you with your own gun as soon as you walk outside.”

“Because I haven’t suffered enough today?”

“Well, it is still afternoon,” he stated and ran a hand over his face, “We leave you alone for like 5 minutes and you start shooting guns? Seriously?”

“I didn’t shoot anything!” You lowered your voice, “Besides, what the fuck happened to lawyer-client professionalism?”

“You don’t pay me.”

“I got you a round of shots last night, you ungrateful asshole.”

“Also, your fleeing the scene doesn’t exactly help.”

“I didn’t flee!”

“Usually, after an accident you wait for the police.”

“Oh really, Matty? You wait for the police?” You mimicked his deep voice, “It’s Hell’s Kitchen, who the fuck cares about that shit anymore?! New York has been invaded by the fucking aliens twice by now, Devil of Hell’s Kitchen runs around and saves people at night, there is a superhero in every corner and people flip over a gun shot? Jesus, priorities!” You leaned back, sulking, “Wasn’t even my gun.”

Matt closed his eyes, “I know you think it makes it better, but it actually makes it worse,” he said “Are you telling me you fired a gun you weren’t even allowed to have with you in the first place?”

“I didn’t fire shit!” You lowered your voice and Matt frowned,

“I don’t get it.”

“I-“ You cleared your throat, “I-um… someone was trying to hurt me last night.”

“Who?”

You bit inside your cheek, scratching at the table and Matt made a face as if he could hear it.

“Y/N,” he insisted, “Who?”

“My brother.”

Matt paused “I didn’t know you had a brother.”

“That would be because I wish I didn’t have a brother.” You mumbled and he drummed his fingertips on the table,

“Care to elaborate?”

You covered your face with your hands, then rubbed at your eyes, “Well …” You looked at him, “Okay, so, long story short. I have a brother, who’s a very, very dangerous psycho. He set up this mechanism in my apartment which looked like a booby trap and it’d basically… It’d shoot me as soon as I opened my door. But um… thankfully Billy was there, so the bullet didn’t hit me.” You pulled at your sleeves, “I can’t go to prison, Matt, I haven’t even watched Orange Is The New Black yet!”

That seemed to make him smile but only for a moment, “So no one was hurt?”

“No, it hit the wall.” You flinched in your chair as the door opened but Foggy walked inside.

“Any problems?”

Matt shook his head, “What are they saying?”

“I have some good news and some bad news.” Foggy said, “Good news is that, they’re gonna let you go. You’re welcome.”

You let out a breath and leaned your head to the table, “Can anyone else hear the Hallelujah Chorus, or is it just me?”

“Bad news…” Foggy trailed off, making you raise your head, “Now you’re also in debt to the police department.”

“Oh Jesus…”

“And um… You might want to pick up some extra shift at the café.” He put the document in front of you and you skimmed the lines, your eyes widening as you saw the number.

“Oh fuck!”

“That’s what irresponsibility gets you.”

Matt shook his head again, “Wasn’t her fault.” He muttered as you picked up the pen and signed the paper.

“Now, can we leave?”

After leaving the police station you decided you at least owed your friends a cup of coffee, so you, Foggy, Matt and Karen -who was still stubbornly glaring at you- made your way into the café. Vicky ran to you and hugged you tight.

“Vicky- Vicky my stitches-“ You coughed and she pulled back, her eyes filled with tears.

“I thought you’d get a life sentence!”

Foggy turned to stare at her, then elbowed Matt who looked like he was ready to burst into a laughter. Karen crossed her arms, biting inside her cheek.

“Vicky, you do know I didn’t kill anyone?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell her.” Liz said after squeezing your arm in an assuring manner, “You okay?”

You nodded, “Is the boss here?”

“Nope. Sit down, I’ll bring you all coffee.”

Matt smiled at her politely and he and Foggy sat down, while Karen looked at you silently, her brows raised.

“Okay, let’s just get coffee and then you can fuck me up.” You said as you both sat down. Karen clicked her tongue.

“So let me get this straight.” She started, “You got attacked, -again, if I may add-, and after you got attacked, you decided your house wasn’t safe anymore-“

“It’ll be safe once I get the door fixed,” You said and Foggy got his phone out of his pocket and started typing something.

“On it. I know a guy who owes me a favor.”

“And then,” Karen continued as if no one had cut her off, “Then instead of calling me- your best friend- you decided to go and crash at a guy’s place whom you’ve known for a little over a week?”

“Um…” You swallowed and turned to Matt, “A little help here?”

“You’re on your own.”

“Shit- Okay, Karen-“ You took a deep breath, “I know how that sounds like and in my defense...” You cleared your throat, “He seduced me with his hair and his facial hair.”

Karen rolled her eyes, “You know what, I’m gonna shoot you and this time you could just crawl your way to Billy’s apartment, since he’s the guy-“

“Oh my God, I was almost shot, okay, show some compassion woman!”

“And I had to learn about you getting arrested from your friend, not from you-“

“What the fuck was I supposed to do, Karen? Was I supposed to text “Tfw police comes to pick you up, hashtag yolo?”

Karen raised her brows, “Yeah? What did you text Billy when we left the police station?”

You sulked, “Straight outta prison, hashtag badass.” You muttered and Matt snorted,

“One would think you weren’t shaking in fear when I walked inside.”

“Do you have any idea about how I felt?!” Karen snapped as Foggy slid down in his chair, his shoulders silently shaking with laughter. “You don’t go to a stranger’s house after you almost get shot, you come to your best friend-“

“My best friend would drag me to a hospital-“

“Fuck yeah I would drag you to a hospital, because that’s where people go when they get hurt!” She lowered her voice, “They don’t go to a guy’s house to play doctor.”

“She has a point.”

“Whose side are you on?!”

“Hers.” Both Matt and Foggy pointed at Karen, who looked smug and leaned back, you on the other hand crossed your arms.

“Fine, Karen, I’ll crawl and bleed on your couch the next time I get shot, I promise.” You muttered and turned to Matt and Foggy, “Thanks for saving my ass today, traitors.”

Matt waved a hand dismissively “I’m pretty sure you can pay us with shots.”

You snorted, “I’ll be lucky to have money to get food.” You grumbled and Karen’s frown deepened.

“What?”

“I’m supposed to pay this huge amount of money, because of the whole getting arrested thing also, I should just find a dead animal and leave it at my neighbor’s doorstep for intimidation like we do in Chicago, snitches get stitches-“

“I don’t really think that’s a thing, what part of Chicago did you use to live in?”

“Dangerous part of Chicago.” You answered Foggy and he shrugged,

“Why don’t you ask fancy boy?”

You snorted, “I’d rather shoot myself. Do you guys know any loan sharks?”

“Not funny.” Karen said as Vicky walked to your table with coffee cups.

“There you go.”

“Thank you.” Matt said politely and you took your cup, then took a sip.

“You’re feeling alright?”

“Prison changes a person, Vicky.”

“You stayed in custody for two hours.” Foggy commented and as if on cue, your phone started ringing. You lowered your glances to see Billy’s name flashing across your screen and you took a deep breath, then took the phone to your ear.

“You’re speaking to Al Capone?”

Karen rolled her eyes, shaking her head slightly and Billy heaved a sigh.

“I can’t tell if you’re serious or not on the phone, what’s going on?”

“Got arrested.” You sipped your coffee and Billy paused,

“I’m sorry?”

“Do you want me to make you an offer you can’t refuse?”

“I’m gonna be so pissed if I find a horse head in my apartment.” He said, “Are you serious?”

“Dead serious.”

“I left you alone for about an hour,” Billy stated incredulously. “How did you get arrested in an hour? For what?!”

“Discharge of arms last night.”

He groaned, “Fuck…”

You bit on your lip, trying to keep your mind off the gutter “Yeah so, I’m like extra dangerous now.”

“You’re extra ridiculous, that’s what you are.”

“Boy you’re really pushing your luck with the horse head-“

“Where are you? I’m sending a lawyer-“

“No need, we handled it.”

“We handled it?”

“Yeah, Matt and Foggy saved my ass.”

There was a pause and he clicked his tongue, “Did they?”

You nodded, “Anyway, I was gonna ask you out tonight. My treat, even if I can’t actually afford it. Consider it my thanks for last night.”

Foggy’s head shot up and he made a face, “Oh wow.”

You flipped him, “So?”

“Sure,” Billy’s voice was distant for some reason, “I could be a bit late though, is that okay?”

“Oh yeah, no problem, I can start before you.”

“Great. Will Matt be accompanying you until I get there?”

You pulled your brows together, “Huh?”

“Never mind.”  He said, “Listen, gotta catch a meeting, send me the address.” With that, he hung up and you stared at the phone, frowning.

“The hell just happened?”

You drummed your fingernails on the counter of the bar, playing with your phone. You were already on your third drink and somehow, it didn’t help the way you felt. You had no idea why Billy had reacted that way, but you could already tell that you didn’t like it.

As soon as you finished your drink and put the glass on table, somebody took the seat beside you.

“Hi.”

Great. Now you had another problem.

“Hello.” You smiled politely before turning back to your phone but the guy didn’t seem to take the hint.

“What’re you drinking?”

“Nothing special.” You said curtly and he smiled slightly.

“I’m Lucas, and you are?”

“Not interested.”  

“You’re this rude to everyone who’s nice to you? Wouldn’t kill you to smile.”

That got you to raise your head from the phone and you glared at him, “Buddy, I don’t know you, okay? I’m waiting for someone, so please…” You waved a hand dismissively and he shrugged.

“Just trying to make conversation.”

“I’d try my luck somewhere else.”

“Maybe I’m nice once you get to know me.”

“Jesus Christ-“ You started but before you could say anything else, your phone started ringing. It was a number you didn’t know so you frowned slightly, automatically distracted from the guy, and you held the phone in your hand for a couple of seconds before answering.

“Hello?”

“Hi sis.”

And just like that, all the buzz in your head was gone. Your breathing got way faster as you felt the familiar panic filling your system and you stood up from the seat, suddenly it had become way too hard to breathe in the bar. You pushed open the door and walked outside, holding the phone tightly in your hand.

“You still there?” The familiar drawl made you grit your teeth and you kept walking without knowing where you’d end up, in hopes to find somewhere calmer and more silent.

“Yeah. I’m here, asshole.”

“Good. Missed me?”

You stayed silent and leaned your head back to the brick wall of the alley, taking a deep breath.

He wasn’t here. And you were completely safe.

“The fuck you want?”

“That’s no way to talk to your brother.”

“You know what, I’m getting really tired of this shit where everyone tells me how to talk to someone. The fuck do you want?”

“I waited for you.” His voice was enough to send a chill down your spine, “In the hospital. You didn’t show up.”

“Yeah, sorry your plan for shooting me didn’t work exactly the way you thought it would.”

“Courtesy of your boyfriend I’m sure.”

Your grip around the phone tightened and he chuckled.

“What? Didn’t think I’d find out? I’m offended, my baby sis not telling me shit about her man. I should get to know him to see if he’s a good fit-“

“You don’t get close to him, dickhead,” You tried to keep your voice stable even if your eyes were already filled with tears, “You hear? If you do, I swear to God-“

“What?” his voice was taunting, “You’ll do what, lil sis?”

You only paused for a second,

“I will end you.”

“See, that might not work the way you want.”

You gulped and tried to see through the haze of anger and panic, and bit inside your cheek, ignoring the burning in your eyes.

“Why are you doing this?” Your voice came out as a whisper and you heard his chuckle before he took a deep breath.

“Told you,” he said, “Family over everything, sis.”

With that, he hung up and you looked at the screen, trying to pull yourself together and dug your fingernails into your palms, closing your eyes for a second.

No. It wasn’t the time for this.

You were gonna go inside, and have some fun with Billy and everything would be fine-

“Hey.”

Or not.

You threw your head back, adrenaline still pulsing through your veins and turned around to look at Lucas, who had his hands in his pockets, watching you.

“You seem stressed.”

“Jesus, what is this, a joke?” You snapped, “Dude, get the fucking clue, not interested.” You took a step to walk past him but before you could, he grabbed your arm, smiling at you.

You should’ve been scared. You knew you were supposed to be scared, but somehow, as the anger filled your veins, you were way too furious to feel any fear.

“Let go of my arm before you lose that hand.”

“Or what?”

Before you could open your mouth, your fist had already flown forward and as soon as he stumbled back, someone yanked him from behind and turned him around before punching him hard.

“Can’t say she didn’t warn you.” He said calmly as Lucas tried to find his balance, and lunged himself at Billy, but even you could tell it was a lost fight even before it began. Billy grabbed his wrist and twisted his hand before the sickening crack reached your ears and Lucas let out a scream of pain, which made you smile only for a second before you snapped out of it, shocked at yourself.

You couldn’t. You weren’t supposed to find this satisfactory in any way.

“Billy- stop, okay, enough-”

He didn’t seem to hear you, instead he threw another punch at Lucas and you heard another crack, then saw the blood coming out of Lucas’s nose before he gripped it tight.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry-“

“Doesn’t work like that, asshole.” He threw him towards the brick wall and Lucas hit the wall like a rag doll before he stumbled on his steps, still trying to find his balance before you got between him and Billy and Lucas used that opportunity to run away from him, getting out of the alley as fast as he could.

“Get out of the way.”

“No!” You snapped at him, “You need to stop- that’s- that’s enough.”

He turned to look at you, and you could see the wild fire burning in his dark eyes as he panted.

“That’s enough?” He repeated, his voice barely holding back his anger, “Do you have any idea what that fucker-“

“I know, okay? It’s not the first time, won’t be the last, but listen to me- Billy!” You raised your voice as he took a step and you pressed your hand to his chest, feeling his fast heart beat against your palm, “I’m fine.”

“Y/N-“

“Just some creepy guy, being creepy. Okay? I’m fine. Nothing happened.”

“Like fuck nothing happened, I’m gonna-“

“You’re gonna do nothing.”

“I’m gonna kill him-” he tried to walk past you but you pushed him back.

“I don’t have any idea about how conjugal visits work in New York, so you’re gonna chill the fuck down!”

But your snapping at him seemed to have no power on him, because he turned his back to pace in the alley, running a hand through his slicked back hair, breathing hard as if he didn’t know how to come back down from the high the anger gave him. It was as if it was all out of his control and you were witnessing a side of him neither you, nor he had any idea about how to keep in check.

And it was all too much. It was as if your brain had suddenly gone numb, all the panic, all the fear, everything was swallowed by this strange feeling that you couldn’t quite put your finger on.

“I-I don’t want you to leave, okay?” Your voice dropped a bit “Screw the guy, and stay, for me.”

Billy turned to look at you as you walked to him, and cupped his cheek.

“Please?” Your hand balled up into a fist as you held his shirt and stood on your tiptoes, planting a soft kiss to his lips, then wrapped your arms around his neck, scratching the back of his neck slowly. You let out a soft whine when he pressed you against the wall and pulled you into a deep kiss, your hands slipping to his chest.

“Y/N-“ He let out a breath when he pulled back, sounding physically hurt from being unable to decide what to do, and when you looked up at him, you were sure that your pupils were as wide as his, as if you both were high on something.

He held you tight on the back of your neck, the darkness in his eyes focused on you.

“You want me to stay?” he asked hoarsely, and you gulped, then nodded fervently as soon as it dawned on you.

Desire.

That was what you felt. That was what suffocated every other feeling in your mind. You couldn’t even think about anything else anymore, not the threats coming closer, not the asshole from the bar, nothing.  All you could feel was that you needed him, with you. In any way possible.

In a very specific way if possible, thank you very much.

“And then what?”

Your eyes snapped up to his, to see the gleam in them “W-What?”

“I can stay here…” He taunted, “But what do you want me to do?”

You were at lost for words, especially when he planted a kiss to your neck, holding you still. You arched your back, pressing your body against his without knowing what the hell you were doing.

“Billy-“

“What do you want us to do, Y/N?” Billy insisted and you tried to speak through the haze in your brain.

“An-anything?” You offered shakily, making him chuckle.

“Anything?” he repeated and you nodded, trying to silence the voice in your mind saying; Not anything, I don’t want to do ‘anything’ in a dark alley. Your hormones turned out to be stronger than your ration so you just waited until Billy spoke again

“So if I told you…” he dragged his fingertips on your arm “That I want to have you right here, right now…?”

“Billy-“ That didn’t come out as a sob, nope, not at all. His hands went under your shirt to feel your skin against his fingertips, but as soon as his grip tightened around your waist, pain shot through your wound and you held your breath, a yelp of pain escaping from your lips. That seemed to have the same effect on him as fire, because he pulled back as if you burned him.

“You okay? Did I hurt you?”

You tried to catch your breath and shook your head,

“No, not you- the stitches hurt.”

He nodded curtly and licked his lips, as if trying to control himself.

“I-um…” For the first time since you’ve met him, he stammered, “Do you want to go inside?”

That made you snap out of the bliss and you thought for a second, remembering why you were outside. Your hand involuntarily went to your pocket to check your phone as the panic dawned on you once again, out of nowhere and you shook your head.

“I need some fresh air.” You said, “Walk with me?”

Your walk to riverside was silent. Billy seemed to understand when you wanted to talk and when you didn’t, because he didn’t even open his mouth to attempt to start a conversation. When you reached the bench by the riverside, you uncapped your beer that you both had got on the way, and took a sip as you sat down. Billy sat down next to you and you inhaled the cold breeze, leaning forward, resting your elbows on your knees.

“I need to talk to you about something.”

“Okay.”

You took another sip from your beer, and gulped, biting inside your cheek. You could feel the burning behind your eyes but you blinked fast, desperate to keep the tears at bay, at least until you were done saying what you needed to say.

“I haven’t been completely honest with you,” You started, “I told you I left Chicago because me and my brother had a fight. It’s actually… It’s a lot complicated than that.”

He nodded silently, waiting for you to keep going.

“My brother, he’s-“ You cleared your throat, “I don’t need to tell you he’s dangerous. I think you’ve seen that. What you haven’t seen is…that little booby trap? That’s just the beginning of what he could do.”

“To you?”

“To anyone.” You stated and licked your lips, “But yeah. Especially to me.”

“Why?”

A bitter chuckle escaped from your lips as the cold breeze whipped your hair, and you swirled the liquid in the bottle, deep in thought.

“I’ve done something bad,” You said slowly, “At least… at least he thinks it’s bad. And then all hell broke loose.” You kept your eyes on the calm, still water. “The reason why I left Chicago wasn’t our argument. It was because of his revenge. I had this… I had this boyfriend.” You tried to swallow the lump in your throat, “Around the time I did what I did. My brother hurt him, very badly. In front of me.”

Billy frowned, “What did you do?”

You bit on your lip hard, ignoring his question,

“So um… I wanted to say-“ You tried to keep your voice from cracking, “This is, uh- This is my heads up. I’m in some really fucked up shit, so if you wanted-“ You forced yourself to shrug, “If it’s too much for you, you could leave. No hard feelings, I promise.”

He stared at you for a couple of seconds, and shook his head,

“I’m not leaving.”

“Are you listening to me? I’m dangerous-“

“No, I am listening to you. I just find it ironic that you beat me to it.”

You blinked dumbly “What?”

“This whole speech.” He waved a hand, “Never occurred to you, not even once, did it? That I might be bad for you?”

“I’m not talking about heartbreak.”

“Neither am I,” his voice was way too calm and you turned to look at him, “You really think you’re the only one with enemies here?”

That caused you to fall silent, and you licked your lips, looking him deep in the eye.

“You have enemies?”

He nodded and sipped his own beer,

“Yeah. I’ve got quite a lot, to be honest. And I’m planning to make more.”

“You’re planning to make more enemies.” You repeated, confused, “Why?”

He shrugged, keeping his eyes on the river,

“So, the same thing goes for you,” he stated, “You could leave. No hard feelings.”

For some reason, you could feel the goose bumps rising on your arm and a cold feeling running down your spine, but you ignored it and held out your pinky.

“I won’t if you won’t.”

That seemed to make him smile slightly and he eyed you up and down before entwining his finger with yours.

“Deal.”

“I’m pretty sure Matt and his ex are a couple now, so no.” She shrugged, “I’m telling you, we weren’t meant to be.”

“But I liked you with him.”

“Not again.” She warned me, “And no. I ran into Foggy other day though.”

“Oh, how is he?”

“He was actually on a date. With Macy.”

You made a face, “What’s wrong with men in Hell’s Kitchen and their taste in women?”

“She helped us a lot, she’s actually a nice person.”

“No one could be that pretty and nice, except for you.” You stated and she shot you a look.

“You’re nice.”

“My point still stands.” You shrugged, “So? What were you saying?”

“I’m supposed to write a piece on Billy Russo.” Karen stated “Ellison thinks it’ll be good for paper.”

“Who’s Billy Russo again?”

“He’s-uh…” Karen reached out to get some popcorn from the bowl, “He used to be in the army and now he runs a successful company called Anvil. He worked with Frank.”

“As in The Punisher?”

Karen nodded, “Anyway, Ellison thinks it might be good for his business and our business.”

“So you have to interview a rich prick?”

Karen shrugged, “He was Frank’s friend. How bad could he be?”

Neither you nor Karen had to wait so long to get an answer to that question. While you were cleaning the tables your phone was buzzing angrily in your pocket with Karen’s numerous messages about how Billy Russo brushed her off after making her wait for an hour, telling her he was busy. Thankfully, it was not a busy day in the coffee shop so you had plenty of time to text her back, trying to calm her down.

“Y/N? Can we switch?” Your coworker Liz asked you and you turned to her.

“Sure, what’s up? Asshole customer?”

“I have a date waiting for me in my break.” She motioned at her face, “Can’t mess up my makeup before that, and playing around with steam is a dangerous zone.”

You wiggled your brows, “Is he cute?”

Liz tried to repress a smile, “He has his moments.” She said and you handed her the tray which you used to pick up empty coffee cups from the tables.

“There you go. I can mess up my makeup as much as I want, hashtag single life.” You joked and she made a face,

“Your Prince Charming will come as soon as you stop with those jokes.”

“So never?” You said and walked to the counter as the tiny wind bell made a soft sound from the door and you pulled your hair up into a ponytail, then filled the foam cup for the customer in line and put it in front of her.

“There you go, have a nice day!”

The girl grabbed the foam cup from the counter

“You can keep the receipt.” She said and walked away as you rolled your eyes,

“Great, I’ll add it in my collection, how fucking generous of you..” You mumbled, scrunching up the receipt in your hand and threw it to the bin before hearing someone clear their throat.

“Welcome to Julie’s-” You raised your head and as soon as you did, you stopped talking. The guy standing in front of you looked like some sort of a model, jet black hair carefully styled, a mischievous light shining in his dark eyes. His suit was half covered by the long coat he was wearing, but you were sure that it was more expensive than everything in the café at the moment. His lips pulled into a small smile that allowed you to see his white teeth before he licked his lips, such a small gesture but it somehow made your heart beat faster, before you realized you were blatantly staring and shook your head slightly, your cheeks getting crimson red as you cleared your throat.

“How- how can I help you?” You stammered and he leaned towards the counter.

“Coffee, black. And I’ll take the receipt.”

You shut your eyes for a second, biting your lip hard enough to hurt and wondering if it was too late to ask God to send a sniper in your way so that you could stop dying of embarassment.  

“Sorry about that.” You mumbled and he shrugged,

“Hey, no problem. Wouldn’t want to be accused of being generous.”

“Ehm- That’ll be 4,5.” You gulped averting your eyes and went to prepare his coffee while he followed you with his eyes, making you clumsier than you naturally were and when you placed his cup on the counter, he placed a hundred on the counter. You pulled open the cash register but he waved his hand dismissively.

“Keep the change.”

You gawked at him, “You’re leaving me a hundred dollar tip?”

“Well, it’s less than a hundred.”

“People don’t drop 95,5 dollar tips.”

“What can I say? I really like good customer service.”

You felt the burning spreading from your cheeks to your chest as you blinked dumbly.

“Thanks.” You muttered, as he kept his eyes on you, making you gulp loudly, “Um- your- your coffee will get cold.”

“I know.”

“So why-why aren’t you-?”

“I’m waiting for my receipt.” He stated and you took in a deep breath, ripped the receipt from the register and placed it in front of him.

“Thanks.” He took out a pen from the inner pocket of his coat, turned the receipt over and scribbled something before pushing it slightly to your direction with a smirk.

His number.

You couldn’t help but to smile “I can assure you, the coffee isn’t that good.” You mumbled while you held the receipt as if it would disappear anytime and he sipped his coffee, leaning against the counter again silently.

“So what name will I save the number under?”

“Billy.”

You bit on your lip, feeling as giggly as a highschooler with a crush,

“You’re not gonna give me a surname so that I can stalk you on the internet and make sure you’re not a serial killer?”

That seemed to make him chuckle, “Honest, aren’t you?”

“That and mediocre coffee are the only things I can offer.” You tried to joke, “So? Billy what?”

“Billy Russo.”

You could almost feel your eyes getting bigger as you snapped out of the temporary bliss and gawked at him.

“Oh no.”

He raised his brows, “You have already checked if I’m a serial killer then?”

“No I-“ You took a deep breath “I was supposed to spit in your coffee or something.”

“You know, I’m beginning to think customer service is not really your forte, have you considered a career change?”

You shook your head slightly, “It’s just- my um- my best friend has been cursing your whole existence since the morning.”

He shot you a quizzical look and you heaved a sigh.

“Karen Page.”

“The journalist?”

You nodded “She says you stood her up, at your company- Advil?”

“Anvil, and it wasn’t intentional, a meeting came up.”

“So you stood her up in a professional way?”

He shrugged, as if it wasn’t a big deal and you licked your lips.

“You might want to take your phone number back.” You placed the receipt on the counter, already regretting it, but he made no attempt to take it back, instead he just sipped his coffee.

“You’re that loyal to your best friend?”

“That, and I don’t get along well with filthy rich people.”

“Yeah? How come?”

“As a principle.”

He nodded, deep in thought.

“I also don’t get along well with rich people, so we have something in common already.”

You tried to repress the smile pulling at your lips.

“You don’t get along well with your social circle?”

“You don’t even know if I’m filthy rich.” He mimicked you and you snorted.

“Uh huh- How much is your coat again?”

“That’s not very appropriate; you don’t see me asking you how much that hideous apron is.”

“It’s free, came with the job.” You stated, making him smile and he licked his lips.

“Tell you what.” He said looking you in the eye and you felt like you were going to melt from the intensity of his gaze, “Your friend will get her interview, if you call me back.”

You gawked at him, “Wh-what?”

“I’m free tomorrow between 2 and 3, she will have a whole hour.”

“No excuses?”

“No excuses.” He nodded “In fact, why don’t you join us? You and I can go grab a bite after she’s done.”

You gawked at him and he took one last sip as another customer walked inside.

“See you tomorrow, Y/N.” He said silkily and threw his empty foam cup to the bin, then walked out of the café. You pulled yourself together after staring at the closed door for a couple of seconds, prepared the new customer’s order, then grabbed your phone from your pocket and found Karen’s number.

“Hey,” You said as soon as she answered. “We need to talk.”

“Y/N.”

“Yeah,” You got on your knees to touch the bullet, then tried to pull it back using your fingernails, “My brother.”

“Your brother tried to kill you?”

“He didn’t try to kill me,” You pulled the bullet back and put it into your pocket, “He tried to hurt me.”

“That’s fucking-“

“Billy,” You cut him off, surprised at your own calmness, “Look at the wall.”

“What?”

“Look at the wall.” You leaned your back to the wall, “And look at my height.”

“I don’t follow.”

“So if you didn’t tackle me down,” you motioned at the hole in the wall, then pointed at your leg, “The bullet would go through here, my leg, instead of anywhere fatal.”

Billy frowned, and crossed his arms, “How do you know?”

You shrugged, “I know how he thinks. This-“ You held up the paper, “This just means he’s in one of the closest hospitals now, waiting there to-“ You paused, “To talk to me.”

“Tough shit,” he said through his teeth, and his frown deepened as he eyed you up and down, “You’re bleeding.”

“I popped my stitches.”

A dangerous, almost feral shadow passed through his eyes, but it was gone so quickly that you couldn’t even be sure that you had seen it in the first place. He ripped the string off the door with an unnecessary force and grabbed his phone,

“Where is your stuff?”

“What?”

“Never mind, just get your meds, we’re leaving.”

“Leaving where?” You asked, completely confused while you grabbed the medicine bottle from the small bowl by the door as he texted someone, then turned to you with an impatient look in his face,

“You don’t really think you’re staying here tonight, right?”

“I’m not going to a hospital, I’d rather bleed out than see his face-“

“I’m not talking about the hospital,” he said as he tossed you a towel so that you could press it on your wound, “Go downstairs and get in the car, I’ll be there in a second.”

You snorted, “You left your car unlocked in this neighborhood?”

“Y/N,” he looked like he was at the end of his patience, “You’re losing blood, okay? It’s not the time to get smart, go downstairs and wait for me.”

You rolled your eyes “Only because you said please.”

“I didn’t say please.”

“I’m assuming you said it silently.” You shot back, and pressed the towel on the bleeding wound, then made your way to his car. Your hands were still trembling but you flexed your fingers, leaning your head back to the car seat and closed your eyes, trying to fix your breathing in hopes of calming yourself down and lessening the pain just a little. It wasn’t long until Billy opened the door to the driver’s seat and started the car.

“Now are you gonna tell me where we’re going?”

“My place.”

You sat up straighter and turned to him while trying to move as slow as possible, “Say what?”

“You don’t wanna go to a hospital, fine. You can’t stay in that dumpster after someone broke in and tried to shoot you.”

You shook your head fervently, “Just… just drive me to Karen’s, I’ll be fine.”

“Y/N-“

“I can’t stay at your place, don’t be ridiculous!” You cut him off, “What if- what if I rob you? What if I steal all your expensive suits and coats? Are you really sure you can trust me?”

He shot you a sideways look, “Jesus…”

“Billy, I’m serious!”

“So am I.” He said calmly, his voice didn’t waver, not one bit, as if you weren’t currently bleeding on his passenger seat, “We gotta patch you up.”

“Who’s we?”

“Me.”

“Are you secretly a doctor or something?”

“You really don’t know a single thing about the army, do you?” he asked, a note of disbelief evident in his voice as he made a turn, and you leaned your head back again, heaving a deep sigh.

“I like naughty doctor roleplay as much as any girl, but it doesn’t mean you actually have to do it.”

“Are you capable of saying anything that isn’t sarcastic?”

“No,” You deadpanned, with as much sarcasm as can be put into a word, making him shake his head a little but he kept his eyes on the road.

“I’m not paying for the car cleaning.”

“Oh no, how will I survive?” Billy said as he pulled over in front of a huge building and you let out a whistle, the throbbing pain in your stomach slowly reaching your head and you gritted your teeth as you pushed open the car door, and stumbled a little as a spark of pain shot through you as soon as you stepped outside.

“Motherfu-“

“Easy,” Billy rushed to help you and you pulled back slightly,

“I can walk.” You said through your teeth, still pressing on the wound and you both walked into the huge building. He steered you towards the elevator by placing his hand on the small of your back and the elevator doors opened with a small ding. He pressed the top button and you snorted,

“Why am I not surprised?” You mumbled as you leaned back to the mirror in the elevator, stubbornly ignoring your reflection. Why was it that every time Billy saw you, you had to be a mess?

The elevator opened and he walked to the door to unlock it. You stepped into his house, for some reason this felt way, way more intimate than anything you had ever done with him. You looked around with your brows raised, the huge living room on your right catching your attention immediately. It was minimalistic, but had an air of elegance still. The open kitchen was integrated with the living room, and to your left you could see a door that probably led to his bedroom.

“Get on the table.” Billy said, making his way to the bathroom and you walked into the living room, feeling out of your element.

“Can’t we just put a band aid on it?” You asked hopelessly as you pulled yourself over the table, cussing under your breath. The jet black table felt smooth under you and you dragged your fingernails on the surface, trying to ignore the sudden insecurity crashing down on you. Compared to your crappy apartment, this place looked like someone had pulled it out of an interior architecture magazine. Not that you expected him to live in a shabby apartment, but this…

This was way too much.

You were pulled out of your inner monologue when he walked inside with a wet cloth, and what looked like an army surgical kit, busy with the needle and you gawked at him, clearing your throat.

“You, um- you’ve got any chloroform?”

He looked up, biting the thin thread between his teeth, “Huh?”

“Nothing. You got booze?”

“You’re gonna go into a coma.”

“Fuck yeah I’m gonna go into a coma because you’re gonna be stitching me when I’m conscious.”

“It’s not gonna hurt that much.”

“Why do I feel like your ‘much’ and my ‘much’ are leagues apart?”

“Lie down Y/N.”

“You’re this bossy with every girl you bring home?”

He managed to shoot you a smirk for the first time in the last half an hour, still holding the thread between his teeth, “This is me being polite.”

You rolled your eyes and lay down to the smooth surface as he approached you and pulled your shirt up slightly so that he could pull the bandage and see the wound. As soon as his fingertips touched your skin, you felt goose bumps rising but you managed to bite your lip and looked at the ceiling, trying to distract yourself.

“Are you always this good at drawing danger to yourself?” he asked as he pushed the needle through your skin and you hissed in a breath, clawing at the surface of the table and tried to breathe through it.

“Hey, believe it or not, I actually had a boring life until you came along with your coat, being all mysterious and shit,” You gritted through your teeth  as you blinked back the tears, “I suppose I should thank you though. I could have a shot leg right now.”

He shrugged silently and you winced at the sharp sting, then licked your lips.

“Billy?”

“Hm?”

“I almost got shot, fine, are you sure you’re okay?”

He shrugged again, “Stop fidgeting.”

“But it hurts!”

“Almost done.” He drawled out and you took another deep breath, and exhaled in relief when he ripped the thread with his teeth, then pressed a small kiss to your stomach, making you giggle, your cheeks burning as he looked up at you, his eyes shining mischievously.

“Done.”

You reached out to run your fingers through his slicked back hair and he abstractedly leaned into your touch, closing his eyes as if he was slowly losing himself in the feeling.

“Thanks.”

“Anytime,” he murmured, “Just…not anytime soon, please.”

You scoffed, “I’ll try my best at not getting shot.”

He opened his eyes but this time, the look in his eyes was less fiery, may it be because of your touch or your low voice. For the first time since you had met him, he didn’t look smug, but somehow at peace, as if your mere presence calmed him down a little. You pulled back your hand to sit up on the table carefully, and looked down at yourself, making a face.

“Um- You have anything you can give me? I gotta wash these, I can’t go to work tomorrow all bloody.”

“You’re going to work tomorrow?”

You shrugged, “Don’t blame me, blame the capitalism,” you said, “A sweater or something? It’s gonna be big anyway.”

He nodded slowly and pushed his chair back before standing up to walk to his bedroom. You pressed a hand over your chest to calm down your heartbeat a little, then ran your hands through your hair, trying to make yourself look at least presentable. He came back with a gray sweater and handed it to you.

“Bathroom is right down the hall.”

You nodded and walked to the bathroom, and closed the door behind you, looking around. It looked cleaner that your own bathroom, and more organized. You slowly got out of your shirt and jeans before you turned the water on, and kept them under ice cold water, trying to rinse off the blood. You pumped soap into your hands and onto the clothes and scrubbed at the blood stain until you were satisfied and it was all gone, then twisted the fabric to get rid of excess water before you pulled back to look at yourself in the bathroom. Your knees were already getting bruised from falling on them too hard, the stitches were very visible on the side of your stomach and overall, you looked really messed up. You shook your head slightly and wiped your hands, then got into Billy’s sweater, the warm fabric feeling nice on your skin as his scent reached your nose, making you smile. Even if you knew you weren’t supposed to, you couldn’t resist the urge to snoop around and you grabbed his cologne, smelling it for a second before checking the cream pomade, touching it with the tips of your fingers. You put it back to the sink, biting at your lip before pinching your cheeks to get at least some color on your face, and opened the door.

“You okay?”

“Mm hm.” You nodded, rolling up the sleeves over your wrists “So how much cash am I wearing right now?”

He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, “You hungry, Great Depression?”

“Starving.” You said, “Escaping bullets makes you hungry I guess.”

“Pizza?”

“Oh my God yes.”

The following hours went in a blur, which happened a lot when you were with Billy. Before you knew you had eaten a whole pizza by yourself and you were arguing with him over nonsense.

“That’s bullshit and you know it, Russo!”

“Seriously, if you’re gonna be defending teenagers who think they’re in love-“

“Excuse you, did you just say think they’re in love?! It’s Romeo and Juliet we’re talking about, of course they were in love!”

“He loved Rosaline and the next second the dude is all over Juliet, you’d call him a manwhore if he actually existed-“

“That’s true love!” You cut him off and he shook his head,

“You’re impossible to argue with.”

“I’m not gonna let you badmouth the greatest love story in the world.” You yawned and he tilted his head to the right.

“Sleepy?”

“A little, what time is it?”

He checked his watch, “4 in the morning.”

You shut your eyes and groaned, “Jesus, I have work tomorrow…” You whined and stood up, “Okay so… do you have like a blanket or something, I’ll just curl there.” You motioned at the couch and he pulled his brows together.

“Don’t be ridiculous, you’re hurt.” He said, “You’re sleeping in my bed.”

Your heart beat sped up almost immediately, “Billy, I… um-“

“I didn’t mean it like that.” He said calmly, “You really need to be careful with those stitches so I didn’t mean…“ he cleared his throat as you gawked at him, “It’s not like we could, even if-“

“Wait, what?”

“Y/N, you can’t pop your stitches again, so you need to-“

“So no sex?!” You blurted out, “What?! Dude, are you serious?!”

He looked somehow amused by your outburst and you shook your head slightly,

“Unbelievable. No sex, at all? What am I, in high school?”

“You didn’t have sex with anyone in high school?”

“No one had sex with me in high school.” You corrected him, and let out a whine, “But I was really looking forward to it!”

“Yeah I could tell.”

“With you!”

“I could tell that as well.”

“So we’re- what, we’re supposed to wait like an 18th century couple?” The words left your lips before you had any chance to stop them and your head shot up as you realized what you had just said, “I didn’t mean- I didn’t imply we were a couple. I just- like two people, in a non-couply way, not having sex- are you sleepy? I’m sleepy. Like very sleepy, maybe we should go to sleep. We should definitely go to sleep and not have sex.”

He just stood there, enjoying your visible nervousness and stumbling over your words and licked his lips.

“You’re done?”

You gulped “Yeah.”

“So yeah, you’re taking my bed.” He said, as if you hadn’t just cut him off and made a fool of yourself, but you shook your head.

“Okay, I’m just pulling this idea out of thin air, but what if we both sleep in the bed and no one sleeps on the couch?” You asked, your heart pounding in your ears and he raised his brows,

“You sure?”

“We’re both responsible adults.” To that, he snorted and you rolled your eyes, “Moderately responsible adults, whatever.” You stated, “I mean, why not? We already…kiss and stuff, why don’t we roleplay an old, boring cou-ehm, people.” You changed your mind mid-sentence and he shrugged,

“We already kiss and stuff?” he repeated, and you glared at him,

“Offer going once, going twice-“

“Fine. That is, if the 18th century lady won’t be scandalized?”

You flipped him, making him laugh and turned to walk to the bedroom. “Shut the fuck up.”

“See, we already sound like an old boring couple.” He called out from the living room and you opened the door to his bedroom, taking a tentative step into it. It resembled the rest of the house, simple but luxurious. The bed in the middle of the room was huge, which meant there was more than enough space for both of you. You slowly got into the bed to hide under the covers and almost slipped off the bed but managed to find your balance as he walked inside.

“Silk sheets?”

“Satin.”

“There’s a difference?” You asked while he flung himself on the bed, making you laugh as he pulled you closer.

“Hey,”

“Yeah, fancy boy?”

“Any pain?”

You shrugged slightly “Just a bit. I’m getting used to it, I think.”

He nodded, his fingers brushing your hair off your face and you sighed as he kissed you softly, making you close your eyes and drag your fingernails on the nape of his neck before he pulled back to peck you on the tip of your nose, making you giggle.

“Why did he do it?”

You opened your eyes “What?” You asked, still feeling all giddy inside and he brushed his knuckles against your cheekbone, making it very hard to focus.

“Your brother. Why did he do it?”

And just like that, the warmth inside of you was replaced with an ice cold stake. Your smile faded and you pulled back slightly,

“Billy…”

“I know, you don’t want to tell me. Figured as much.”

“It’s my mess,” you said slowly, “I don’t want to drag you into it.”

“And if I want to be dragged into it?”

You shook your head again, “You can’t be a part of this,” You mumbled, “My brother… he’s the type of a person you need to stay away from.”

“I think you and I both know that I can take care of myself.”

You bit inside your cheek, “My brother can be worse than war.”

“You haven’t seen the wars I’ve been in.”

“Neither have you,” You could feel the tears burning your eyes almost instantly, “Listen I…” You cleared your throat, “The only thing you need to know is that, he’s a horrible person. He got mixed up in some serious shit, and he broke my mom’s heart. My dad’s heart.” You paused, “My heart, I guess. He, um… The last time we talked, he said he’d actually kill me the next time he saw me.”

His jaw muscle twitched as he clenched his teeth, the familiar fire starting to burn in his dark gaze, but when he talked, his voice was controlled.

“He can try.”

You let out a bitter laugh, “He’s not gonna kill me,” you pointed out, “He will just… hurt me. I guess you understood that very clearly, tonight.”

“Y/N…”

“So if he’s that willing to hurt me, his actual sister, I really don’t want to see what he would do to you.”

“Do you honestly think he could hurt me?” There was something in his voice, something much deeper and more dangerous than just arrogance, as if he would actually dare him to even try, and you took a deep breath.

“I don’t…want to see you getting hurt.” The confession left your lips in a whisper and a silence fell upon both of you, until you cleared your throat.

“I really don’t want to talk about this right now.” You mumbled, drawing shapes on his chest with your fingertips, “I can only take so much in a day, and I just- I need this day to be over.”

He looked like he wanted to say no, but in the end he looked defeated by the look in your eye and nodded,

“Sure.” He muttered and pressed a kiss to your forehead and you relaxed in his warm embrace, “Go to sleep. You’re gonna feel better in the morning.”

“Do you swear?”

His low chuckled vibrated through his chest, making you smile slightly.

“Cross my heart.”

“Fuck!” You cussed under your breath as soon as you woke up and grabbed your phone to see the time. You were supposed to be at work fifteen minutes ago, so you pushed yourself off the bed, ignoring the sting in your stomach and rushed to the bathroom to get your clothes. Billy wasn’t in bed, so you figured he must’ve gone out or to work. You quickly got into your clothes and left the bathroom in a rush but stopped dead on your tracks when two figures in the living room caught your attention. Billy and an older man both turned to look at you, and the man frowned slightly, looking between you and Billy, who seemed intent on ignoring him even though he was in his living room.

“Hi,” You tried to smile, catching your breath, “I, um… I’m late for work.”

Billy nodded slowly, “Yeah, sorry. Forgot to wake you up.”

“No problem,” You said, stealing a look at the man and even if you wanted to kiss Billy goodbye, you figured it would be awkward in front of the other man, so you just nodded at him, “See you later.”

With that, you walked out of the apartment and took the elevator. Even if Billy had warned you about the stitches, you figured it was better to have popped stitches than being unemployed, so you ran all the way to the subway, took the train and jumped two steps at a time on your way out, and when you finally reached the café, you were out of breath.

“Dude, you look like a mess.” Vicky commented as you shed your coat and walked to the kitchen.

“I spent the night at Billy’s.”

“Oh really?” Liz asked, walking into the kitchen as well, grinning and you rolled your eyes.

“We didn’t do anything.”

“Why not?” she asked, following you as you walked to one of the tables and you shrugged,

“I have stitches, so we’re supposed to be careful.” You used air quotes, “It sucks.”

“I’d jump on him, stitches or not.” Vicky commented and you scoffed,

“Hurts like a bitch,” You muttered as you walked back to the counter and two policemen walked into the café, looking around before approaching you.

“Can I help you, officers?”

One of them nodded, “Yes. Y/N, Y/L/N?”

You frowned slightly, “Yes?”

“We need you to come to the police station with us, ma’am.” He said, and you pulled back slightly,

“Um-why?”

“One of your neighbors said there has been a discharge of arms in your apartment last night.” 

You gulped, adrenaline filling your body before nodding and grabbed a paper and a pen, scribbling down the numbers as Vicky gawked at the police officers.

“What-“

“It’s okay.” You said, even if you felt far from okay and pushed the paper in her direction. “This is Karen’s number, and this is Matt’s. Call them after I leave.”

“Matt?”

“Matt Murdock.” You said as you walked towards the police “My lawyer.”