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[oorah]

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[oorah]

[ ...oh. god, he's stupid. he feels that familiar sinking feeling in his guts as he looks down at his beer and tries not to look miserable. even he's aware he probably fails. he tries for a joke, glancing up at her though his gaze is too sharp and maybe a little tellingly wet. ]

Yeah, when's he getting here? [ her company. ha-ha. ]

[shittier]

I've been asking myself the same thing.

[ her gaze is forward facing again. an empty drink usually does that. she thinks about whether or not she should keep drinking, or if she wants to here. it seems pretty safe all things considering for the both of them, but. she doesn't know. ]

And what about you? You find what you're looking for here? [ it's asked as a direct question this time, no innuendo or hidden agenda behind it. not like it mattered. not like he really caught her drift in the first place. ]

[oorah]

[ he snorts at that, conceding that that, too, is fair. but then she asks him what he's looking for and he's confused again. she really doesn't get just how simple a creature frank castle is yet, but she will. ]

Yeah, I think I found some company.

[shittier]

[ she laughs out her nose, but it sounds more like a scoff at his response. both things are equally acceptable with how she feels towards it. either way, from a man with little words she'll take it. ]

I can only assume with you sticking around that makes me somewhat enjoyable company. And my response to that would be you need better taste.

[oorah]

[ frank takes a long drink like he's savoring it, gaze catching along her profile like he's savoring that too. ]

Right back atcha, Jones.

[shittier]

To be fair, that was never really up for debate.

[ her fingers motion for the bartender, inspired by his own throw back of his bottle. ]

But here we both are.

[oorah]

Yep. [ he turns a little to watch her order and get her drink, then his eyes are on her face again. ] You still haven't told me why you called me here.

[ company, she says. but look at him. hell, look at her. even he's not that stupid. ]

[shittier]

[ he gets an eye roll because jesus christ, he's really gonna make her say it, huh? ]

Sex. Clearly.

[oorah]

[ that was obviously not clear to him at all if the way he blinks owlishly is any indication. ]

With me? [ probably a stupid question, but he's serious because huh? ]

[shittier]

[ this bitch... ]

No, asshole, the dude in the corner who's so drunk he's probably sitting in a pile of his own piss and vomit. Yes, you.

[ she turns, surprised to see her glass filled to the brim. at least someone was looking out for her. ]

Jesus... [ it's the only thing she whispers to herself before throwing her head back and taking a generous shot. thank god for alcohol. she wasn't drunk enough for this kind of sloppiness. ]

[oorah]

[ he glances at the man in question and thinks his face looks better than his right now but - whose doesn't, right? frank turns back to her, still confused, but maybe looking at her differently this time around. ]

I assumed you had something to ask me. About a case, or... I dunno, it's a small town.

[ hell's kitchen that is. jessica jones doesn't seem the gossiping type, but frank castle sure as fuck is. her reaction to the state of him makes more sense now, he probably couldn't even hold his intestines inside long enough to fuck her at this rate. give him a few weeks, he's terrifyingly resilient. ]

Sorry to waste your time. [ he takes a sip - what? he's at least going to finish his drink. ]

[shittier]

No, [ her head shakes once at an angle, sounding a little irritated at i all. ] I should have said something, I guess. [ asked for a picture? fuck, who knows. what a mess. ] I don't know.

[ she definitely feels a little dumb right now, and normally things like these don't bother her, but... man, when the hell did she start caring about what frank castle thought of her? ] If I'm being honest, I'm not used to these things not working out in my favor.

[ it probably came off overconfident, but that's the nice thing about jessica. it is what it is with her. ]

[oorah]

[ he laughs outright at that. he's not sure if it's the arrogance that strikes him or something else, but damn, that's funny. she's funny. he's enjoying this, he realizes a little too late, just spending time with her. ]

It's not like I'm not flattered. [ she's a good-looking woman, it's not like he's blind. just fucked up and super ultra bad at this. there's something else, too... jessica jones might just be the one person in this city who has nothing to lose. that he couldn't bring his own bullshit down on because she's already buried under her own. maybe that was the appeal for her when she called him? things are slowly clicking together in his mind and he gives a thoughtful hum as he turns towards the bar to place his second empty down and gesture for another. ] Since we're already here, may as well get a little shitty, right?

[shittier]

Ugh, don't. [ she stops him right there. that is the last thing she wants out of him right now, some kind of compensation or a comment that'll make her feel better. no, all she needs is a drink. ] Don't make this sound any more pathetic than it already is. I can handle rejection just fine, thanks.

[ she slumps forward, heading back for another drink. when she takes a glance at him, she begins to wonder if his face looked like that, how bad did the rest of him look? even if he was up to it, he probably... wouldn't really be up to it. especially with her, of all people. ]

We're pieces of shit. Other than ruin peoples day, what else are we supposed to do? [ other than strike out miserably, apparently. ]

[oorah]

[ people usually reject him not the other way around so he's just kind of... staring at her as he realizes that's exactly what happened. it would be really stupid to say he didn't mean it, but... well, no, he did. he's going to revisit it though, even if he doesn't tell her that. ]

See, that's the spirit.

[ he likes that, so he clinks his bottle against her glass again and takes a long sip. ok... now he's ready to say something about the actual topic at hand. well, maybe. (probably not.) ((frank shut the fuck up)) ]

So you thought... hey, the Punisher probably isn't doing anything important and he's kind of a loser so I'm gonna hit him up for...?

[ oh god, two and a half beers on no food and very little sleep is a recipe for disaster, he's laughing again, laughing so hard he has to wipe his eyes. this looks bad. he thinks it makes him out to be way more pathetic than her but he knows he's being an asshole. ]

Sorry, fuck— sorry. I'm not laughing at you. It just honestly didn't... [ even occur to him, because...? ] Kind of assumed you were outta my league, you know.

[ he still 100% thinks that btw. ]

thank you for giving me a reason to actually use my smile icon

[shittier]

Holy shit, shut up. [ she says through his laughter, desperately holding back her own as she watches him essentially call her out and lose his shit over it. she doesn't even have a valid argument against it because... well, fuck. it's true. they're both pretty undesirable as far as normal standards go. ]

I tell you not to try and make me feel better so, what... You decide if you can't be nice you're just going to be the biggest asshole? [ the corners of her mouth are fighting back a smile that her lips are naturally curving into from all of this. ] Go to hell, Frank.

yes good yw

[oorah]

[ when she laughs at him laughing, he loses it all over again. it feels like a victory, honestly, since she doesn't seem like the type to laugh too easily. if he can do that just by being an asshole, well. she'll be laughing a lot with him around. ]

That's kinda just the way I was made, you know, but... if it makes you feel better, I guess that's a bonus, right?

[ she looks... younger when she smiles. lighter, somehow. it makes something flutter behind his breastbone and he has to look away, his own grin lingering as he leans his head over the bar. ]

[shittier]

[ he's not the only one who's taking note of smiles. as silence falls between them, she can't help but notice how different and how... normal he looks. despite all the bruising and gashes, from this angle, the punisher seemed like such a misleading title for the man sitting in front of her. ]

I don't know. Sounds like I dodged a bullet.

[oorah]

That I can't argue with.

[ possibly literal, you never know with the way things go for him usually. it takes a long time for his smile to fade even after a few more sips, but eventually he laces his hands against the counter to rest. ]

You're not workin' on anything interesting then...?

[ probably bad business to tell him anything, he realizes, but he's still a nosy dick-for-brains at the end of the day. ]

[shittier]

I'm assuming you've never heard of client confidentiality?

[ she realizes that's a rhetorical question with him, and also that she doesn't really give a shit, anyway. ]

No, nothing interesting. People live sad and boring lives. Most of the cases I get are cheating cases, so... I basically watch people fuck for a living.

[ a case is a case, but if she never had to spy on someone sleeping with someone else, she wouldn't be sad about it.

she looks over at him, thinking he probably has more interesting stories than anything she's ever worked on. between being in the military and being the punisher, he's probably loaded with them. hell, his face was a perfect example of that, but she tried going there and he wasn't having it, so she wasn't about to continue to pry. if anyone knew what it felt like to deal with your demons and walk away from it, it was her. she images he just wants to forget, move on. like she did. ]

[oorah]

I've heard of it.

[ doesn't mean he abides by it, or any other hard and fast rule not set about by well, himself. so yeah: 100% rhetorical despite his answer. her follow-up gets a loud laugh and a gentle shake of his battered head. ]

I guess you, uh, must see some pretty freaky shit. [ shit guys won't do with their wives, right? lieutenant vanilla over here wouldn't fucking know okay. he resumes drinking, a short sip as he turns to bottle in his hand. ] My job can get like that too.

[ he means boring. though occasionally... whatever. ]

Stakeouts are the worst. [ especially for an impatient piece of shit like frank castle. ]

[shittier]

Sometimes. [ his response gets another small chuckle out of her. ] But just enough to get what I need. I try not to get more involved than I have to. Everyone has their own shit they're into and their reasons for doing it, myself included. [ she wiggles her glass at him. ] So I try not to judge... Too much. [ because lord knows she's not perfect. ]

For you? I can only imagine. Patience doesn't really seem like a trait you excel in. No offense. [ there's a break in the conversation that causes her to reflect on everything that was just said. she couldn't be the only one to see the correlation, right? ] You know, if you ever needed something like that done you can always call me. I might charge you extra for rejecting me, but the prices are still pretty competitive, all things considered.

[ that gets him another grin and glance in his direction. ]

[oorah]

What's that phrase? T-M-I.

[ frank, stop embarrassing yourself. he starts to look like he might take her up on her offer before she brings up the "rejection" again, and he has to laugh again. she's never letting this go, is she? ]

Man, you really know how to kick a guy when he's down.

[shittier]

Oh, "when he's down?" Please. [ she scoffs at him, wondering what sequence of events he just lived through. ] Tell me again, out of the two of us, who was the one who made a complete ass of themselves?

[ she takes another drink, and maybe it's the alcohol kicking in--okay, who are we kidding, it is the alcohol--she decides to poke a little fun at him. ]

You know, the more I think about it the more I think you probably couldn't handle me, anyway.

[oorah]

[ two completely different ones?? because he still absolutely believes it's him. and her statement only gets met with further incredulousness. ]

Pretty sure that's exactly what I said, yeah. [ it's a bit dull as he takes a swig, but the amusement is plainly there also. don't beat a guy up for knowing his limitations, lady. ]