A/N: Hello again. I guess this is the epilogue of sorts. I'll be posting the AoU compliant sequel sometime soon.

"..and here are the rest of your grenades." Maria Hill had gone through Stark's armory to make sure each of the Avengers had what they needed to storm Strucker's castle: Barton's arrows, Stark's Iron Legion suits, etc.

"Thanks Maria." Natasha Romanoff inserted the high-impulse fragmentation grenades into her belt, and made sure they wouldn't fall off. "You not coming this time? No doubt you're effective on the field as much as you are off of it."

"I'm taking a break from field operations. No use putting myself at unnecessary risk."

"Really?" Natasha gave a look of sarcastic disbelief. "I don't recall you telling me that my first year in SHIELD. Unless, of course, your boyfriend is behind this."

Maria tried to keep a straight face at the mention of Frank Castle, though she was rushing red. "He's not my boyfriend-"

"He is in everything but name," replied Natasha. "And if SHIELD's files on him are correct, he's fiercely loyal and protective to anyone who he thinks deserves it. You've got yourself a keeper."

"Whatever you say. And why have Tony and Clint place bets on how long it would take to sleep with him?"

Natasha laughed. "It sounded like fun. Men will be men. And yes, I went on a coffee date with Bruce Banner. No, that does not mean I'm dating him long-term. We were just discussing a new way to control his anger issues."

Maria rolled her eyes. "Banner? He doesn't seem your type."

"I would have said the same thing about you and Castle, except…" Romanoff trailed off. "Anyhow, I can add matchmaker to my list of accomplishments."

Maria sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, I think I'm in love with Frank Castle."

"That can't be a bad thing. Have you seen him, by the way?" Natasha pointed towards a table with Frank's arsenal, laid out in a neat and orderly fashion. Assault rifles, machine pistols, tactical body armor, and explosives of various kinds all ready for their designed purpose.

Maria thought. "He said he was going somewhere to gain closure. I can't think of anywhere that might be expect-"

"-where his family died," completed Natasha. "It's where I'd look. Just don't push his buttons while you're retrieving him."

"Like I didn't know that already."

She knew she'd find him eventually. Just not here. It was't first place she'd expect. But her gut instinct said differently.

When she came to the small wooden cross in a picnic field in Central Park, she didn't find him. Instead, she found some roses in a vase next to the cross. She frowned, then thought to herself, he's already been here.

Ten minutes later, Maria Hill was walking past the gates of the cemetery. It wasn't very far from Central Park. But that was expected. Among the deserted tombstones and memorials to the deceased, she found a calming quiet that one rarely got in the busy life of New York. The fact that there were few people at this time of day also helped.

Finally, after a short walk, she found him. He was kneeling, placing in another vase held down to the earth a bouquet of roses. In front of the vase was a memorial to the Castle family:

Maria Castle 1979-2010

Lisa Castle 2003-2010

Frank Castle Jr. 2004-2010

Beloved Mother, Beloved Children

She approached as silently as she could, hoping to let him have his silence. Frank Castle then took out a water bottle and began watering the roses.

"She always loved these," he said without looking back, implying he knew she was there. "Not those fancy overpriced flowers. Just plain roses."

Maria walked over to Frank and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm here to pay my respects-"

"Maybe, maybe not. I know you're here to fetch me for the next mission. One I won't lose you on."

She sighed. Even now, he was still a hard man to follow. "Well, yes, that's true. But you can't hold on to the past forever. I remember you telling me something along those lines."

He stood up and turned around to face her. "You're correct. I just like coming back here; to remember why I do what I do. I tell her things. What I do, where I go, whatever's on my mind. It's become something of a habit. I figure maybe she's listening somewhere. And maybe the kids too, I don't know."

This time, it was him who fell in her arms. He didn't cry, but Maria knew he was still pained, still troubled. He just rested his head on her shoulder, as if he was in some kind of deep prayer. She didn't know how religious he was, so she let him stay like that for as long as he needed.

Eventually, after some time, he put his head up and looked her in the eyes, brown gazing into blue-gray. "Sometimes I wonder if this," he gestured in a circle that encompassed both of them, "being with you, I mean, insults her down there." He tapped his foot on the ground where his wife had been laid to rest five years ago.

Her response was to give him a don't give me that shit look.

"I don't think that's true," she told him in an authoritative manner. "I think she'd be happy that you're finally making your peace. I know Adrian was when I made mine." And she meant it.

The man they called the Punisher turned his frown into something that wasn't a frown. Coming from him, it might have been the equivalent of a smile.

"You told me Adrian was your antidote to the world. Maybe you're mine."

Then he kissed Maria Hill for as long as he could. In reality it wasn't very long, but for them it felt like a lifetime.

When they broke the embrace, Frank was more relaxed than he had in months. "Alright. I think we can head back for that mission now."

Maria scoffed. "Oh, fuck the mission. That's another three hours away. Let's go on an actual date. There's a good shawarma place not too far from here. Then that leaves two hours all to ourselves." She raised an eyebrow at him, which was her way of prompting the question.

He returned the eyebrow, which meant a nod of approval from him. "That doesn't sound too bad." Taking her under his arm, they walked out the cemetery together, leaving the marks of the past behind them.

For now.

I think that's a good ending for this arc of the story. What did you think? I'll post a note here when I publish the first chapter of the sequel.