#friskeyheads

There it goes. She obviously needs something though it is not clear what. He may have an inkling that it has to do with the mission they had just finished, about what happened between them. Scratch that. Nothing happened between them. They just kissed so that Michelle would walk away and not remember who he really is. His heart did flutter for a moment because there was something there and he knew that Frankie noticed it, too. He tried to make her open up a bit more by letting her tell of her adventures in Europe when she was young. Obviously, there was a moment there. Instead, she ran away.

He doesn't even sees the tender look she's giving him. Or he does but he's choosing to ignore it.

So, he takes the beer from her and sets the cue stick on the table.

"Thanks for the beer."

He walks away and doesn't notice Frankie's reaction. He thinks that he doesn't need to know because that's her, that's who she is. She doesn't do emotional attachments. She already made sure of that when they met. So whether or not he stays and does what she wants, she'll be Frankie doesn't need emotional attachments. He doesn't notice that Frankie is hurt by his actions.

FRANKIE

She wants to talk. Nothing else. Yes, they had an argument a couple of days ago because she got scared; she never told Will that. She is still a chicken when telling someone, especially Will who she thinks just vomits rainbows and sunshine on them all, about her emotions. Only Jai knows more about what she feels. She realises now that the moment she kissed him, her heart opened up for a possibility of something - with him. And yet, two days ago, she ran in the other direction, to another man's arms, because she was too chicken to admit to her partner that there was something there. She fears now, seeing him walk away, knowing that she wants to talk, that that something is gone. She ruined something that hasn't even begun. And it hurts.

She watches him talking animatedly with the others, laughing at whatever joke Standish had said. She turns her back on them and fiddles with the cue stick that Will had left on the pool table, contemplating on continuing what he had started. Two days ago was when it all started. She hurt Will then and when he turned away from her a moment ago, it hurt her, too. It was what she did in France, didn't she, and he'd done the same just now?

She doesn't notice that Will turned his head back in her direction and telling the others he needs to talk to her.

WILL

He watches her as she picks up the cue stick and sets it back on the table, a couple of times. She's fidgety and he hasn't seen her like this before. He knows that she wants to discuss France and whatever happened back there. He certainly knows that he hurt her. He saw in the corner of his eyes when he turned to talk to the team. He wanted to get back in there but then what? His conscience slowly ate at him, asking him what if he stayed and just listened to what she wanted to say, her disappointed and hurt face swimming in his mind. And he doesn't want to hurt her, not intentionally but that was what happened.

She returns the cue stick on the table for the umpteenth time. He jumps at the opportunity to make his presence known.

"Hey," he says, just above a whisper, not wanting to scare her. He closes the door behind him.

She turns and "Hey"'s him back, softly.

"Look," he starts at the same time she says, "Will".

They share a look and they smile, somberly.

"Can I go first?" he asks.

"The floor is yours," she replies in the most Frankie way: waving her hands, nodding her head, holding a beer. Her eyes don't meet him - she is looking at invisible dirt on the ground as she shuffles her foot - and it's too obvious what that means.

Will fully enters the pool room, walks over to Frankie, and stays beside her. She starts to move away but he touches the hand that is on the table and this time, she looks at him.

"I'm sorry," Will says. "About a while ago. It was never my intention to...leave."

Frankie's breath hitches; she exhales but is still silent, her eyes still on him.

"I'm sorry," Will says again. And he starts to open up, as he always does. "To be honest..."

"I hurt you," she interrupts. "I know."

She never takes her eyes away from him. He knows it's quite challenging for her and he knows that she's tempted to look away but she holds her gaze. The blocks that he saw she's put up in the past few minutes starts to fall although for security, she is still behind the standing pieces of her wall.

"Yeah," he agrees. "Honestly, I don't even know why I did. We were just pretending to be married, weren't we? I mean it shouldn't but seeing you with that scumbag Vasheelii..."

He looks at her and stops.

There's a hint of a smile on her face, those perfect doll lips curving up, until she finally gives in at whatever it was that crossed her mind and laughs. He loves it when he sees and hears her laugh. It is very rare for Frankie to laugh in front of him when they're alone except if she's with their other team members and they're laughing at him. She always looks annoyed. But this is a different Frankie he's seeing.

"Did I say something funny?"

He's confused. Here he is telling his partner why he was mad at her and she just laughs at him.

"You are," Frankie answers, almost doubling in laughter. "Vasheelii."

She composes herself, coughs a little so she drinks the now semi-warm beer she doesn't realise she's still holding. She's still looking at Will, eyes twinkling a little. After taking a swig and sets down the bottle, she turns serious.

"I'm sorry," she utters, whether it was for laughing at him or for what happened in France. Either way, she still wants to talk to him.

Will looks at her, reading her. There is something in her eyes that genuinely says that she regrets whatever it was she did with Vasily. But it is a little uncharacteristic of her or what he knows of her. He is tempted to do it, that thing they did in France. Or she did. Continue whatever it was to begin with. He's just sceptical at what Frankie is about to say. Plus, he is wary because from the way she talks, or doesn't talk, about her past that he is actually afraid that whatever he is thinking of doing, it will scare her away more.

"I just want you to know that," she continues, taking a deep breath, fidgeting with the felt of the pool table. "I never had..."

Whatever she is going to say doesn't go out. Will closed what little gap remains in their position, the temptation overpowered him the moment she said the word "Never".

Frankie is surprised at Will's actions. She thought that he is mad at her because of everything that happened between them for the past couple of days. She doesn't know what to do, her mind is in disarray, that she doesn't realise that she has closed her eyes and melts in his kiss, the way he did when she kissed him as his wife in France.

They part for air. It actually seems like hours had gone by. Will stares into Frankie's eyes. The twinkle is still there but he sees more. Admiration, perhaps. He doesn't push.

Frankie also stares at him. He's right. He has green eyes and it looks amazing, like the colour Dorothy and her friends saw in Emerald City. She has always had a penchant for green eyes but never actually been with a man who has. She doesn't take off her gaze when she involuntarily licks her lips, trapping the bottom after. His eyes flicker to them, his lips curving into a slight smile. She knows he is tempted to ask her about this kiss but he doesn't. He never does and she actually feels a teardrop fall on her cheek.

Will is surprised - Frankie is crying. He raises his hand and wipes the tears away. She sighs at the touch, closes her eyes, and leans on his hand. He somewhat understands why the tears fell and again, even if he is enticed to ask to confirm, he doesn't because he feels it is something to do with him not asking. She takes that hand into hers. This is something she hasn't done before, not even when she is pretending. She doesn't do emotional attachments and yet, with Will... She can't stop getting attached to him, even if she tried not to, and he knows it.

"Frankie," he begins.

"I'm sorry," she says again, but she doesn't take his hand, or hers, off her face. It's comforting her, for some reason.

Will doesn't say anymore. He's waiting at what she's going to say.

"I shouldn't have done it," she continues, her voice barely a whisper. "I...got scared."

"I know," Will replies, finally lowering his hand and she lets go. "It's part of who you are, who you trained yourself to be. And I understand that."

He is not mad anymore but he still doesn't want to push. Frankie already has a door open and she may run again if he does. He lets her continue, if she will.

"It shouldn't be that way, seeing as we are working as a team," Frankie says. She goes back to what she had intended to talk about. "I never had sex with Vasily. Not in that way."

Will chuckles at her statement. "How the hell did you get intel from him?"

He's challenging her. So she smiles, that mesmerising curve of her lips she does when she is up to something. Will looks at her expectantly until she relents.

"We kissed and I brought him to his room," she starts. "His hands were all over me, lifting the skirt of the dress, and he started to unbuckle his belt and take off his pants."

A flash of jealously in Will's eyes. She sees her chance to tease him a little, knowing that he'll follow it up with more teasing.

"When he did, I put my hand in and squeezed his testicles. He took it as me being so into him. I told him that if didn't answer to my bidding, he'd never get what he wants."

Will looks at her incredulously. He never, in his mind, thought that she could do that: pleasure torture and never kill. She only tortures then kills. He laughs inwardly at his own mental image of Frankie torturing then killing Vasily.

Frankie continues, "So, he did. He passed out after he came. You don't know the amount of liquid soap I put in my hands and how long I held them under hot water."

She shudders and actually wants to cry even more at the thought. She's used to torturing people but never in the way that Vasily liked it that it was horrifying. Will sees this and hugs her. She accepts it, promising herself that it will never happen again. It's going to be their little secret.

"I think it's enough talking for the night," Will sighs, through her hair. "I think I understand everything. I don't want to hear more of that tale."

Frankie looks up at him and sees that he's smiling. It was a different smile. Everything actually seems different. Her heart skips a beat.

"Next time though," he starts. "Can you just tell me so I won't take it out of context and get jealous?"

Frankie stares at him and says teasingly, "Jealous?"

"Yeah, jealous, you know," Will realises that it is Frankie's way of telling him that she will tell him next time it happens. She has raised one eyebrow at him. "I hate you."

Frankie nods at him, "Yeah, you do," and murmurs, "Thanks."

"For what?"

"Coming back and listening to whatever I had to say. If I managed to actually say it."

"You're welcome," he responds. "So does this mean that..."

He pauses, unsure and scared of what to say next. This is Frankie he's talking to. Fiery Frankie and at the same time, Flighty Frankie.

She knows what he wants to say and for the first time in her adult life, she actually wants someone to say it to her. She actually wants Will to say it to her. She doesn't know why; she just wants it because it will come from him.

"Maybe," she grins. "Probably. Likely. Throw caution to the wind?"

Will kisses her again and she kisses him back. He knows that she will still run at some point, or maybe and hopefully not, but he agrees.

"Sure," he declares. "There's nothing much to do anyway so why not throw anything at the wind."

"Ah!" Frankie chortles, raising both her eyebrows. There goes the Will she knows, teasing her back.

"I mean, seriously, why not?"

"You know you can just shut up and not ruin the moment."

"We have a moment?" Will asks.

"Hmm," Frankie giggles and buries her face on his chest; it's firm and she kinda likes it. She feels him kissing her head. She lifts her face to him so he can kiss her forehead instead. Will feels a deep connection when she does it. He just discovered a Frankie quirk: she likes being kissed on her forehead.

"So," Will mumbles. "What now?"

"What do you want to do?" Frankie asks back.

"Well, I know of a place," Will starts, pretending thoughtfully. "That has a lot ice cream at this time of the night."

"Do you?" Frankie returns.

Will kisses her forehead again in acknowledgment. She closes her eyes and melts into it.

"I think I'd like some ice cream. Vanilla or pecan," she whispers.

"I think I have vanilla," he whispers back.