The soft green hypnotic hue to Cordelia's eyes were encased is blood burst red. Her usually sunny rust colored hair was drab, matted down over her face, still dripping wet. "Thank You." She could see how every one of Frank's muscles bucked against the idea of staying, of not acting, not retaliating.
"Out with it." Frank's words were not soft nor were they comforting, but Cordelia hadn't expected them to be so, this is what she had asked for, someone to pull her by the hair, drag her from where she was stuck.
'100,99,98,97-'
"Cord?! Is the kid-"
"Dahlia's fine! I checked on her before I came home!" She was both shocked and offended by Frank's accusation that Dahlia would be in any type of peril while Cordelia moped around in her apartment.
"Home from where? Just tell me where. This isn't on your hands." Frank didn't understand why she was dragging her feet, did she feel guilt over what he had done to Rocky? "Why are you protecting them? It the bikers wasn't it?" His scowl etched deeper into his features as he heard Cordelia chuckle.

"What a one track mind Frank." Cordelia was wringing out her hair, watching as Frank paced, slamming a fist into his palm over and over again. "Seems like I wasn't the only who had a date night go wrong. Lover's quarrel?" As jarring as Cordelia's injury appeared, Frank had her beat in both quality and quantity. His bruises had bruises, he could feel the queasy beginnings of a concussion and with each breath a different rib ached. There was a distinct difference, at least in Frank's head, he deserved this pain, had earned it, was built to endure it, in Cordelia's mind there was no such distinction.
"Date night? You're still turning tricks?" Frank would not get duped again, he didn't take the obvious bait, staying laser targeted on this issue at hand.
"Turning tricks? What is this 1986? I can't just have a one night stand go wrong? I can only pick up johns? Do you think I'd need to work at-"
"Lover's quarrel? That's what you want me to believe? Don't pull that! You wouldn't get that wrong, you always know what people want" Again Frank would not allow her to flood his brain with options and scenarios, he was after one simple answer.
"Lapse in judgement?" Cordelia was able to muster not only a shrug but a smile. It was working, he was her steady metronome, he was getting her unstuck.

"Might have a one track mind but you're a one trick pony Super Girl."
"Was that a hooker joke Frank?" Cordelia chuckled whereas Frank was barely blinking. He had cracked her code, figured out her combo attack. She would cue into to the exact moment when he was on the edge of blind rage and pry, turning said rage inward, both on his own vulnerabilities as well as Cordelia's threatening need to gobble up those nuggets of humanity.
"Stop fighting it alright? I'm not your fucking enemy here. Why won't you let me help-"

"Because you're not the 'helper' Frank. You're the punisher." Her tone was just as sarcastic as the air quotes she used.
"You tellin me you don't think the sick bastard that squeezed your throat so hard your eyes popped like a god damn pinata deserves punishment Cord? That make sense to you? He could've killed you! You want him out there? So what he can finish the job? Do it to someone else?" Frank was irate, she was being careless. Would she really do that? Would she go and get herself killed, what was he supposed to do then?
"I . . . " It was complicated, and Frank plus complicated would lead to a hailstorm of bullets and possibly casualties Cordelia couldn't afford. She had wanted him to stay, but as it dawned on her that she hadn't thought this through, it became obvious, for the collective safety of their misfit group of man and beast alike, she needed him to leave. Since she knew it would be impossible for Frank to just look the other way, that simply wasn't the man he was, she would make him leave, force him out. "Bad consensual sex is not punishable by death Frank. Half of New York would be in line for the electric chair if that was the case." She began to form her aggressive push, taking out the big guns sure to send Frank away seething.

"Consensual? Bullshit. You must think me a special kind of stupid huh? We're just going to pretend I didn't hear you Cord? You might just take shit as is, but not me I-" He was calling her out on her lie so white it was downright translucent. He knew what he had heard, the crying was secondary to the counting, she had been terribly shook, definitely hurt, that was crystal clear. Cordelia took a deep breath as she launched a shot bellow the belt.
"Jealous?" She cringed at the disgust and loathing that word coaxed from him, he had stopped his pacing, pouring all his energy directly into that stare.
"What?!" He was boxing her in, engulfing her in an aggressive stance, his head tilted to one side in actual disbelief. "What did you say?"
"When was the last time you had sex Frank? What are you into? What gets you going?" Each word stung similarly to walking across glass, a dumb avoidable sharp pain she was steering herself right into.

Breath was stalling in Frank's throat, it was as if he was so angry he had forgotten how to breath.
"Cord if you don't shut your mouth I'll-"
"You'll what?" They both knew the worst he would do was leave and never speak to her again, that was a cut loss Cordelia was willing to make at the moment to keep everyone safe. 'Nothing much will change, barely talk as it is . . . we're not close . . . we're just neighbors, it's easier that way, Frank doesn't need friends like me.' Cordelia rationalized, willing herself to continue poking the bear that was Frank. "I must've really touched a nerve. You must be scared."

"Scared?" It was apparent she was baiting him, waving a cape of red in front of his bullish face. She wanted him to fly into a fit of rage and uncomfortable emotions and storm out of her life. Instead Frank dried the last bit of patience out of his already shallow reserve. Cordelia had miscalculated how much discomfort he was willing to endure to win a battle. They were both no longer holding back punches.
"Of what huh? A whore?" There was a bitter bite to the scoff of dismissal at the end of that question.
"Of intimacy Frank. Of what you might do. With a name like the Punisher who knows what kind of wild stuff you might be into." She took one of his heavy hands, she could feel his pulse close to busting from his wrist. She laid that hand across the bruises on her neck. His palm didn't remain there long, his fingers snaked behind her head, weaving into her damp hair, clutching her, holding her attention in a vice like grip.
"I don't have use for shit like that. I don't have the time to just . . . sit around and get my rocks off. I don't want it . . . You don't get it Cord, I don't want to be happy I want to just . . . I had my shot at that, I had it all, and now it's . . . they're gone." He broke his stare for a moment as a wave of guilt crashed over him. He wet his lips slightly before forcing dry depressing words past them. "I have nothing Cord. Cept plenty of bullets and a hell of an aim. . . and I don't want anything else."

"But you do want to be happy! Fight and break and torture yourself all you want Frank, you're still only human and every human wants to be happy it's a law of nature. Now your scared . . . because all the things that made you happy only remind you of what you've lost. . . " Somehow when Frank grabbed her, the motive for dropping truth bombs changed. It was less about creating distance and more about having a breakthrough. He had unstuck her, in that one motion he had plucked her out of her wallowing abyss, she had to return the favor. "Now that part of you that wants to be happy . . . is searching around in the deep dark murky parts of you." She could feel Frank's hold loosen, she got lost, just staring at him in silence for a minute, awestruck that one could have eyes the size of saucers yet still somehow glare.

"Is that right? Is this where you tell me who I am Super Girl? Read my mind and tell me I'm just as bad as whoever-"
"No." Cordelia shook her newly freed head. "I just . . . I did that trying to get to you . . . can't just be a one trick pony. "
"So then what?" Frank was now desperately searching for answers, any answers, any definite, this conversation had lived far to long in the hypothetical realm for his liking.
"Hmmm" She paused as she tried to dig deeper than ever before. This was a topic he hadn't shown even a sliver of interest in, she was fairly certain he wasn't even interested now, this was a test of will, a game of mental chicken.

As she placed both her hands on his bruised cheek she felt his whole body tense, he began to pull away out of reflex. "Don't worry I won't hurt you." Frank didn't seem impressed by her promise but still he needed answers, he would endure. He stood completely motionless, waiting for this moment of trust to be abused. "I guess we can take control related kinks off the table. I don't think control is something you very much like playing around with. . ." Frank snorted at the obvious statement.
"When do feel . . .you know close to happy?" Cordelia waited patiently, feeling Frank's hand drop from it's hiding spot in her hair to precariously over her lower back, his fingers hovering close but never quite touching her, instead they slowly curled into a fist.
"When it's quiet you know?" He finally spoke after a long dragging silence, even getting those few words out was a struggle. "When I'm done . . . I'm never done really though right?" He corrected himself with a tired chuckle. "I'm always on Cord, have to be. I can take a whole lot of em down and there's still more . . . always more." His free trigger finger twitched as it always did when he thought too hard.
"But those few seconds you feel done?"
"I can breath, really fill my lungs you know? I'm just gaspin all the fucking time and . . .And breathing that's fucking enough . . . that's close enough." He couldn't bring himself to say the word happy. His eyes were weighted, exhausted even, this conversation was taking everything out of him.

"That wasn't so hard was it?" Cordelia gave the war weathered cheeks she'd been holding a playful tap before finally letting him go, freeing Frank from her prying gaze. He had expected her to look sad or even appalled by his statement, but she had nothing but mild smile on her face. It wasn't joyous by any stretch, more a content grin.
"What? You gonna get me an oxygen tank?" Frank didn't even understand what he had been going on about how could she have taken anything away from it? As it always did, it took Frank by surprise that amidst all the heaviness Cordelia could find a way to laugh.
"What a sight huh? Big bad Punisher lugging around a tank of air like a geriatric? Maybe I'll throw in a walker, tennis balls and all!" When she finally stifled the giggles at the image playing in her mind she shed light on her true point. "Goes without saying Frank but you're goal oriented . . . you like having purpose, something that you can achieve and that gratifying finality of a win is . . ." She thought she always knew what made people happy, but this explanation was weak and slipping through her fingers like sand as she tried to add more, tried to figure him out, he was a puzzle with a few missing pieces. "I don't know . . . you're not the easiest guy to read! I'm trying here." Was it possible that Frank was right? There was nothing left in the world of the living to make him happy? 'No he can be happy I know it . . . try harder Cordelia. He has your back . . . you're letting him fall.' She squinted as if was trying to trigger actual telekinesis, trying to get any sort of reaction out of Frank, who still hadn't moved a muscle other than following her eyes with his own. "You're swimming against the current all the time Frank, you're spent you're tired, battered and bruised yet you keep swimming and can't stop, there's no end. To be happy you need something that is obtainable, something tangible. You want to come out on top, and a chance to be the victor is as important as breathing. Play twister with Dahlia if you need a guaranteed wining streak in your life. And at some point when you're ready there are plenty of lovely ladies out there with hoops for you to jump through, trials to endure to win their affection." She spoke slowly and thoughtfully, not wanting to lead Frank astray or worse yet upset him any further, she had pushed him far past his breaking point already .

It made sense, the terribly vague yarn Cordelia was spinning, as much as Frank wanted to dismiss it as bunk, everything she said was sinking in, hitting home, burrowing in that little spot carved out for his neighbors and Frank did not like that one bit, it felt like a betrayal to his family. "Cord I can't-" Wide eyed and shaken to his core he began to take long backwards strides, trying desperately to claw that spot out of his chest, begging for forgiveness.
"Relax." In her most brazen move yet she trapped Frank, denying him his retreat, hugging him, nestling her face against his chest. "Relax ok? I'm not putting you on tinder as we speak. You're not ready to be happy . . . and that's ok." She gave him a reassuring squeeze, herself relaxing slightly as she felt his heart rate level out. "Just as long as you know . . . a little itsy bitsy part of you wants to be happy . . . eventually. that's all ok?" She pried her face from its comfortable resting spot, craning her neck slightly to lock eyes with him.
"Ok." He wrenched the simple word from deep inside of him, tearing apart his insides on it's way up. He placed a paw like hand atop Cordelia's head, tussling her hair slightly. "Ok I tap out . . . you win." It took surprisingly less effort to allow himself to smile.

Cordelia's own coy grin had blossomed into a full fledged smile. "Sit." She pointed at her forlorn couch.
"What? Why?" The change in mood was giving Frank whiplash.
"Jesus do your trust issues know no bounds? Just sit. If I'm making you babysit me I might as well feed you. Pizza ok?" She didn't wait for an answer disappearing into her kitchen to find a menu to order from whatever place was still open. Frank after pacing the apartment one last time for good measure, examining some sheet music on the coffee table eventually did sit. He would not, could not get comfortable though, it was still nagging him.

When Cordelia reentered the room Frank dropped the bomb on her that she might have won the battle but not the war. "I ain't an eleven year old boy you know?" He glanced up at her as he mindlessly flipped through channels on her T.V.
"What?" Cordelia again got lost in a small fit of laughter trying to imagine this hardened military man as any form of child.
"You can't distract me with pizza." There was no laughter in Frank's voice. "I'll find him." His dark eyes were now transfixed on her neck, committing each bruise to memory. 'It will hurt.' His knuckles flexed and clenched as he watched her red specked eyes grow nervous.
"Frank you don't-"
"I'll wait." He patted the space on the couch next to him beckoning her to sit, promising her he would stay. "You can stick to that consensual bullshit if that makes you feel better, but when you feel safe telling me . . . I'll find him O.K?" Frank's face was solid, determined, and a bit annoyed, he hadn't made a compromise in what seemed like an eternity and he was remembering why, it felt remarkably unsatisfying.
"O.K." Cordelia relented with a nod, taking a seat next to Frank, not thinking as she leaned her head against his shoulder. She sprang off of him before he could recoil from her touch. "Sorry."
"Sorries don't do shit for anyone." Taking her skull in his palm he placed it back in position. "Just . . . it's fine." Much like the knocking, Cordelia using Frank as a resting spot was becoming the organic norm.

They didn't speak for a good amount of time after that agreement, both lost in thought. Cordelia wondering if she should explain to Frank what had happened, why she had done what she had done, her reasons were sound, almost virtuous. 'It doesn't matter why Cordelia . . . Frank doesn't give a shit about why. You did what you did, now you live with it. . . forever. He's got plenty of shit going on without your drama.'

Frank was having his own inner dialogue. 'It's her . . . if it's anyone it's her. The hoops she's got me jumping through like a god damn show dog.' He recalled Cordelia's long winded explanation of what would make him happy. He wouldn't curb his appetite for vengeance for anyone else, just her, he was willing to adapt, to fight to stay in her life while he was content with the rest of the world passing him by. 'I won't ever be ready. Too much to make up for, she knows that.' He watched her yawn, her eyes dip then jolt alive. 'And she won't ever feel safe . . . but if we did, we'd be . . . something.' That notion should have brought him solace but all it did was cause guilt, grief, anger and that pesky hope to slosh violently around inside his concussed mellon.

They spent the rest of the night like that, dangerously close yet miles apart. Pizza came, casual conversation was had, Frank made as much room on the couch for Cordelia to lie down and sleep as he could and time passed. Things might have staid like that forever if they just remained hermetically sealed in that tiny apartment, but life had to go on and the door eventually opened. "Mr. Frank?" Dahlia's tiny mind was blown. "Where's Max? What happened to your face?Now you can meet Max!" Dahlia's priorities were firmly in order as her eyes shot up at a man who appeared far less enchanted by Frank's presence in Cordelia's apartment.

Paul Bell, son of Dahlia's babysitter, long time best friend of Cordelia was standing in her doorway, he had just been there to drop Dahlia off, and to read Cordelia the riot act for ditching him the night before. "I don't care who you are, just get the fuck out before I knock your fucking teeth in and call the cops." And now he was ever so nonchalantly showing Frank the door. Paul Bell was threatening Frank Castle, because to quote Cordelia, of course he was.

A/N: First and foremost thank you for all the positive feedback, it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Secondly I'm sorry for how kind of clunky this chapter is, it's a bit of a transitional chapter and was much harder to write than I thought. I didn't want to get stuck so I just pushed through it but I hope it at least made sense and that I will redeem myself shortly with bigger and better chapters.