greatexpectations | (open) elektra natchios (black sky)

Her voice startles him, gaze bouncing her way with relief embedded within it. Frank can't say she doesn't have a point. Leon gets up off of Frank and barks once like Mom and he uses the dog's tail to get himself up after the fact. Frank pats Leon's head to shush him before moving to Elektra's bedside and sitting gingerly on the edge of her comforter so as not to disrupt her wounds. "Nope. First time I'm hearing it. Go on."

Elektra groans irritably. She wants her dog, but that isn't wise with a wound like this. She channels her irritation into ranting. "It leaves the door open for these slimy little thugs to bother me. Since Matthew has effectively guilt tripped me into being a good girl I didn't kill him after I beat his sorry ass. Now I get to relive the joy of being stabbed. Again. Because of course his gimmick is good aim. I fucking hate this city. Everyone. has. a. thing." This is downright embarrassing for someone as powerful as her.

Leon puts his snout on the bed next to Frank, somehow sensing that he can't jump up to be with his mom. But he wants to be near her too. Frank can only sigh at everything else, a tinge of bemusement amongst the frustration he feels on her behalf. If he had been there that man wouldn't have lived. Which is probably why Matt didn't beg him to join in this one time. "I'm just glad you're safe." It's startlingly sincere for him, really, and he reaches out to place a gentle hand on Elektra's knee in solidarity.

His hand on her knee is what gets her to open her eyes and stop bitching. She's no less humiliated, but it occurs to her that this isn't just about her. Frank and even Leon are worried. The last one makes her chest ache. He whined and clawed outside the door while she struggled to get in. He knew something was wrong and couldn't help her. She is sorry to have put him through that.

"Thank you for helping me- us. I won't forget it."

He hears David's voice saying the same thing, sees the expression on his face after they'd brought Sarah and Zach home. Frank lets out a shallow breath through his nose even as he lets go of her. But rather than retreat like he usually might, he lays his head down on the pillow next to her and curls onto the very edge of the bed. The message is clear: he's here for her through thick and through thin. "I won't either." The terror he'd felt at the thought of losing her -- that familiar feeling of being alone again.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what he's getting at. Between that and the clear message he isn't leaving, she feels a different kind of shame. Elektra frowns deeply as she admits, "I was selfish. I wanted to make him happy and took an unnecessary risk. I didn't think of what would happen of what would happen to the two of you if it blew up in my face." She gets now that she should have. After all, who is here for her now?

Frank slowly processes what she's telling him, but it's something he's always known. That he'll always play second fiddle when it comes to Matt and Elektra, but that doesn't erase how he feels about her. What he'd do for her. Leon whines suddenly, startling him before he has to laugh, though it's breathy and mirthless, turning his head to check on the dog. He's just trying to get both of their attention, that drama queen, so Frank turns all of his focus back on her. "We're here, El. We're always gonna be here." He reaches out for her again, this time calloused fingers wrap around her slim wrist as he searches her eyes deeply, imploring her to see what's on the surface of his expression. What's always waiting there just for her, close enough for her to pluck the meaning even if he didn't wear his heart readily on his sleeve.

She smiles at the whining. She knew that was coming. Elektra has to remind herself that this won't take very long. She'll heal in a few days. This will all be behind them. The present isn't so easy to dismiss when he's looking at her like that. Her expression softens further. In Frank she finally found a kindred spirit. She finally didn't have to worry about rejection or losing his favor over something outside her control. With him she finally had some idea of what it was like to be cared for unconditionally; perhaps even loved if she ever let herself fancy that she could be by anyone for longer than a few minutes. She always pushes that thought down before it can get too far.

"Good because I don't want to be alone anymore." Her eyes brighten tellingly. That's what it comes down to. Why else would she be so stupid? She's so scared of being alone she rather get stabbed than risk losing what affection she's managed to get.

"You're not," he insists, even while he's still holding himself back. That's not going to work for either of them anymore and he knows it. His hold on her wrist remains, curling gently around with his thumb on her pulse as if in constant reminder that she's alright. She's going to be fine, actually, right as rain in 72 hours or less. But even remembering that is difficult now, and Frank isn't sure how much of a comfort that really is in any case. He shifts forward suddenly, not stopping until his forehead rests against hers; and shuts his eyes.

Her pulse jumps when his forehead rests against hers. It's less to do with it being unexpected and more to do with the memories it dredges up of Stick and Alexandra. It's only until she reminds herself of the important difference, that he isn't forcing this the way they did, it isn't a manipulation, that she settles down enough to shut her eyes and let her pulse slow down. She's already let one bad memory get her hurt today. She isn't going to let others make her pull away from the one person who is trying to be there for her in an honest way.

"Will you still be here when I wake up?"

The question makes his chest tight even as he squirms closer. If she weren't injured he'd be holding her tightly now. He tries to imagine what it would feel like and take comfort from that, but it's beyond cold. "Like you could get rid of me," he huffs near her ear, settling in for the long haul. Frank isn't even sure it's wise to sleep here, but he can't bear the thought of leaving her tonight. He won't even entertain it.

Elektra smiles. Now that she's shut her eyes, she can feel herself slipping away into cold, dark sleep. It makes her appreciate having him close all the more. If the reminder of her parental figures isn't enough to spook her, the dark will do it. Thankfully she's been spared. "I suppose I can't." Not that she wants to. Her voice makes it clear that she wants him to stay. Shes likes having him near even if it vastly complicates things. "Goodnight, Frank."

"Night, El," he murmurs, content to watch her sleep until his claims him hours later. For once, the nightmares stay at bay as if they know he's expending his energy helping her tonight. He wakes before her, afraid to leave bed in case she needs something even if he should get a jump on his morning routine. Eventually, it's Leon who makes his decision for him, giving a displeased bark and clamping his strong jaws onto Frank's pantleg to try to physically drag him out.

It's the bark that wakes her. Her sleep had been that rare and perfect combination of dreamless and deep enough that there's no dark to frighten her before waking. She might have stayed asleep awhile longer if not for Leon. She groans in frustration.

"I think the baby needs his walk." Elektra murmurs before opening her eyes slowly. She's both surprised and not that he's still around. She couldn't see Frank abandoning her when she's most vulnerable, but on the other hand it's her. Abandonment is inevitable. She smiles at him despite that somber thought chewing away at her brain. "Best not keep him waiting."

"Shhh, shhh," he murmurs as she comes to, even as Leon tries to bodily take him away from her. He pushes the dog away gently, trying to assess if she's any better today. He knows he has to look under her dressings, and concern shows plain as day on his face. "You come first. What do you need?"

She almost comments that she doesn't need to be coddled until she glances at his face. This is how she died once upon a time. Elektra supposes it's right for him to be worried in this situation even if the substance has changed her significantly. As soon as the question comes, her body reminds her quite painfully at the lengths it went to keep her alive. Her throat is burning.

"Water."

He nods, grabbing onto Leon's collar so he can use the dog's strength to get him up. "More tea, too. You should eat, if you can. I could make something." Frank stands up, looking over her bed with a scowl now. He feels paralyzed, helpless. There's so little he can really do now but wait for her body to mend itself.

"I think enough of me is on the inside for a meal." She jokes before she catches that scowl. Oh that could mean a lot of things mostly because she's projecting. Being stuck in bed like this makes her either sweet or defensive. Right now she's defensive.

"You're worried? Sweet, but don't be. I don't think a group of mass murderers were leveling cities to get something that can't handle a little stab wound. They weren't stupid monsters." Her brow furrows. "Unless you're worried I'm helpless which let me assure you that I am in fact angry enough at this point that I will strangle that man with my bare hands and leave him outside Wilson Fisk's door as friendly advice. You'll need to move the body for me naturally." Two swings, two misses.

He starts to smile, expecting her to make light of the situation and she delivers on that just fine. But as she goes on... of course he's worried. Frank knows she's angry, but so is he, and his heart beats faster and faster as she nears the end of her speech. His fists clench at his sides, unswayed by Leon's attempts to butt into him for attention. "You're never helpless," he croaks out, his voice hoarse and crackling from rough sleep. "I'll help you kill them after you've healed." His eyes are tellingly wet, chest rising and falling harshly with every breath. He's already lost everything multiple times over, he's not losing Elektra too.

She watches him like he's a puzzle to solve. He is to her in this moment. Everything and everyone, but him has impressed upon her repeatedly that she has no value as a person for any extended period of time. Elektra is a weapon. She may have been from her very conception. She will always be lacking in those answers. One thing she does know is weakness. For better or worse, she knows this one. She wielded it effectively enough for years against the Hand.

"You're afraid." Which confuses the Hell out of her now that she's realized it. His affection towards her will always be this mysterious thing she'll never quite understand. Elektra knows she needs to start accounting for it. She lifts her arm out of the covers to hold out her hand for him to take. It's the best peace offering she has to give.

"Terrified," he admits without skipping a beat, though he hears that wonder in her voice. The confusion that comes with someone giving a shit about her. He takes her hand like a lifeline, moving around to the other side of the bed so he can loom over her more effectively. His hand grips hers as he lifts it up to his face, closing his eyes and leaning his stubbled cheek against the soft backside. With the blink, a lone tear is squeezed out, tracking down his face hotly.

Her face softens in response to what seems to her like an outpouring of affection. Regret is plain to see. She doesn't want to hurt him. Once again she's reminded that her carelessness and efforts to please Matthew have done just that. "I am sorry." She reminds him. She means every word of it. She wishes she was strong enough to show him. The impulse to get up to wipe his face and hold him until the fear goes away is impossibly high. She only resists because ruining his efforts to help her heal to satisfy herself would be incredibly cruel. She squeezes his hand firmly and tries to think of what could be done about all this.

"Let's compromise. I'll stay on the phone with you while you walk Leon. By the time anyone gets past that door, you could circle back with him and handle it. What do you think?" That's the best she got. As much as Elektra actually doesn't want to be left alone here, it is necessary.

His breathing stutters at her solution - brilliant for its simplicity - and he finds himself nodding against her skin before he's fully processed the words. Leon is pressing between them now, giving a little Rooo noise, somewhere between a conversational howl and a bark, to announce that he likes this plan too. "Okay," he agrees belatedly, more tears falling even as they're immediately caught by her skin. "We'll be right back." Then he can take care of her the way he's longing to, and that he knows on some level she's wanting too.

He definitely has her number on that. As much as Elektra is used to caring for herself, this is nice. She truly hates that she hurt him inadvertently. A part of her likes to have that evidence that someone cares enough to cry over her quite literally. She smiles sadly at him and their strange little furry baby.

(It never ceases to amaze her how smart he is.)

"I'll be waiting." She reminds him. It's for the best really. She can stand being alone in silence if Frank is around in some form with Leon.

"You have your phone?" he asks, making sure even as he relinquishes her hand and wipes the tears away with the sleeve of his hoodie. Leon is already running to his leash in order to bring it to Frank, a well-practiced move. But Frank isn't going anywhere until he's certain they'll stay in contact.

(open) elektra natchios (black sky)

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