and page!

[andp4ge]

murdock, nelson, ... & page!

this is just a place i link my kastle fanfics / ao3. askbox is open to request shorter prompts to be posted here, if you wish! this is a sideblog to my karen page roleplay blog. if you stumble upon it, please do not interact with my posts there ... it messes with my notifications. you are welcome to follow, just please do not like or reblog posts. I will block you in order to keep my notifications clean.

[andp4ge]

first kiss.

karen stood in the alleyway,  her back pressed against the cool brick wall,  the weight of the world somehow suspended in this small,  forgotten corner of the city.  the noise of the world beyond seemed to fade,  each heartbeat louder than the hum of distant traffic.  it was just the two of them,   &  the air between them was thick with everything they had never said — everything they had never dared to touch. 

frank stood in front of her,  still as a statue,  his gaze unyielding  &  full of something more profound than words could convey.  his silence spoke in volumes,  a language they both knew all too well.  ten years of longing,  ten years of waiting,   &  here they were,  standing on the edge of something they’d never had the courage to reach for before. 

her breath was shallow,  a tremor in her chest,  the rush of emotions bubbling up like a storm threatening to break free.  she had imagined this moment — this exact moment — countless times,  but now that it was finally here,  the reality of it was almost too much to bear.  the desire,  the yearning,  all the years of keeping her distance,  keeping herself contained,  suddenly felt so distant,  so trivial. 

 &  then,  there he was,  so close,  yet still untouchable,  as though waiting for her to step forward,  to close the distance they had spent a decade carefully keeping between them.  frank didn’t move — he didn’t need to.  he waited,  patient,  as if giving her the time to bridge the gulf of silence that had stretched on for too long. 

his hand reached out,  slow,  almost hesitant,  but sure as it cupped her face.  the touch was a balm to the rawness inside her,  a familiar ache that she had never quite known how to soothe.  his fingers were gentle,  almost reverent,  as if she were something fragile,  something he was afraid to break.  she closed her eyes,  leaning into the warmth of him,  feeling the electricity of his presence flood through her. 

a thousand things ran through her mind,  but only one truth rose above them all,  clear  &  undeniable: she had always been waiting for him. 

❝i’ve been waiting for you,❞ she whispered,  the words tumbling from her lips like a confession,  fragile but honest.  the sound of her voice felt like the breaking of a dam,  a release of everything she had kept buried for far too long. 

without another word,  frank leaned in,  his lips brushing hers with a tenderness that almost made her shudder.  it was soft,  cautious,  as if he,  too,  was tasting the reality of what had been denied for so long.  the kiss was tentative at first,  just the gentle brush of his lips against hers.  it was a question — a plea,  as if both of them were asking,  is this finally real?

 &  then,  like a flood breaking through a dam,  everything shifted.  karen pressed into him,  hands moving to his neck,  fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt as though pulling him closer could somehow erase the years that had kept them apart.  the kiss deepened,  turning desperate,  urgent — full of all the time they had spent apart,  all the things they had left unsaid.  the years of wanting,  of longing,  surged between them,  pouring out in every touch,  every press of lips,  every frantic breath they shared. 

when they finally pulled apart,  breathless  &  tangled in each other’s arms,  karen’s heart still raced,  wild  &  untamed.  her forehead rested against his,  their breaths mingling in the stillness that had settled around them.  for a moment,  there was nothing else.  just the soft thrum of their hearts,  the quiet understanding between them,  the years of hesitation fading into the past. 

frank didn’t speak.  his hands remained on her face,  his touch grounding her in this new reality,  this new beginning.  she could feel him there,  steady  &  real,  the man she had always known was waiting for her,  even if she hadn’t known how to reach for him. 

karen opened her eyes,  meeting his gaze,  her heart still racing with the remnants of everything they had just shared.  there was no more fear.  no more hesitation.  she had held onto the past for so long,  but in this moment,  she finally let go. 

❝i was always here, ❞ she whispered,  her voice steady now,  wrapped in certainty.  ❝i just couldn’t admit it until now. ❞

 &  as the city continued to hum quietly around them,  the weight of the world lightened.  the distance between them,  the silence they had carried for so long,  had finally been erased.  this was the beginning of something real,  something they had both been too afraid to touch until now.   &  in that instant,  karen knew that it had always been him — &  always would be. 

[andp4ge]

Frank goes to San Francisco to see Karen after foggy's death and finds out she is actually hiding him and foggy is there

I love this idea! I hope you don't mind me dropping a credit into the post, as i've decided this should go on ao3 rather than just here on the blog. if you'd like me to remove it, please let me know! there's some real potential for it to be longer than just a single prompt response! thank you! READ HERE.

[andp4ge]

the rain wasn’t a storm,  not yet,  but it felt like one.  it fell in steady,  cold sheets,  soaking the pavement,  running like quiet rivers through the gutters,  carrying with it the weight of everything that had gone unsaid.  karen found him standing there,  his back to her,  shoulders hunched,  face hidden under the shadow of his hood.  she knew he could hear her footsteps,  but still,  he didn’t move.  frank castle never moved for anyone,  least of all her.  she took a step closer,  then another,  as if each movement was a question,  a plea she couldn’t put into words. 

❝you shouldn’t be here. ❞ he said,  the words a command,  but there was no anger in them.  no fire.  just exhaustion — like he was already mourning the conversation they were about to have.  like he was already grieving her before she even spoke. 

karen swallowed,  her throat tight.  ❝you always say that, ❞ she whispered,  the familiar ache in her chest spreading with each word.  ❝but it never stops me. ❞

he clenched his jaw  &  turned his head ever so slightly,  just enough to let her see the muscles in his neck tense.  his silence was a weapon,  cutting deeper than anything he could’ve said.  but she wouldn’t let it break her.  not yet.  not when it hurt so much to be near him  &  yet impossible to walk away.  not when she still saw him — saw who he could be,  not who he believed himself to be.   

❝why do you keep doing this?❞ he asked,  voice low,  raw,  like it was a question he had been carrying for too long.  ❝you think it’s gonna change? you think this — this — ❞ his words stumbled  &  fell,  weighed down by everything he couldn’t let go.  ❝this ends any different?❞

she felt the sting of his truth,  the blade of his words cutting deeper than the cold air between them.  ❝i don’t know, ❞ karen admitted,  voice breaking,  the jagged edges of it a stark contrast to the calm demeanor she fought so hard to maintain.  ❝but i can’t stop trying,  frank.  i — i can’t leave you like this. ❞ she knew the risk.  knew the pain.   &  yet she kept reaching for him,  even when the world told her it was futile.  even when the man in front of her pulled away with a desperation that made her heart crack. 

he stared at her then,  but his gaze didn’t soften.  it never did.  not for her.  ❝you should. ❞ his voice was rough,  almost pleading.  but there was something more,  something hidden deep in those words — regret,  maybe.  or maybe it was the fear that kept him from closing the gap between them.  fear of the damage he knew he would do,  fear of what she would lose if she let him in. 

❝i can’t, ❞ she whispered,  the words raw,  the confession tearing her open.  ❝i can’t walk away. ❞ the truth hit her like a tidal wave,  the weight of it pulling her under.  she didn’t just want him.  she needed him.  she had needed him from the moment he stepped into her life,   &  now,  even knowing how this would end,  she couldn’t leave him to drown in his darkness alone. 

frank closed his eyes,  the pain radiating from him like heat from a fire.  he wanted to push her away.  he wanted to scream,  to tell her to go,  to save herself.  but the words wouldn’t come.  the walls he had built around himself had crumbled the moment she stepped into his world,   &  now,  all that was left was the devastation of knowing that he couldn’t give her what she deserved. 

❝you deserve so much more than me, ❞ he said,  his voice cracking,  the weight of the words pushing him down,  as if they were stones,  dragging him into the ground.  ❝you deserve someone who can give you — everything. ❞

❝i don’t want ‘someone' …  ❞ she said,  her voice barely above a whisper,  but there was nothing soft in it.  ❝i want you,  frank. ❞ she took a step closer,  but this time,  he didn’t back away.  he didn’t have the strength to.  he was already lost,  already too far gone,   &  there was nothing he could do to stop it.  the irony stung,  but it wasn’t funny.  it wasn’t anything at all.  it was just the way things were: broken,  doomed,   &  all the more painful for the things they could never say. 

he finally met her gaze,  his eyes hard,  stormy — filled with the kind of fury that only came from a man who had learned the cost of love,  who had lived through its destruction so many times he no longer remembered what it felt like to be whole.  ❝i don't deserve you, " he said,  the words choking on the pain of it,  his voice hoarse with the weight of the truth.  ❝ &  i can't be the man you want me to be.  not for you.  not for anyone. ❞

karen reached for him then,  her fingers brushing against the rough fabric of his jacket,  the heat of his body seeping into her skin.  ❝you don’t have to be anyone, ❞ she said,  voice breaking,  a tremor in every word.  ❝you don’t have to change for me.  i’m here,  frank.  just — please,  don’t shut me out. ❞

but he stepped back.  not because he wanted to hurt her,  but because he had to.  because he knew that if he didn’t,  she would break in ways she couldn’t come back from.  ❝you don't understand, ❞ he said,  his voice a low growl,  his chest tight with the unspeakable sorrow that filled him.  ❝if you stay,  i'll ruin you.  i'll make you as broken as i am.   &  you — you’re too good for that.  i’m too far gone. ❞

karen closed her eyes,  the sting of his words like a blade through her heart.  ❝then let me be broken, ❞ she whispered,  but he was already walking away,  already disappearing into the night like he always did. 

 &  as she stood there,  alone in the rain,  the sound of her own heartbeat louder than any words,  she understood.  he would never let her in.  not fully.   &  she would never stop loving him,  not even knowing that love would be the thing that,  in the end,  destroyed her.  

[andp4ge]

Frank finding out about Foggy and going to see Karen (up to you if she’s already decided to leave New York)

frank doesn’t hear about it the way most people do.  there’s no phone call,  no obituary someone leaves clipped to his door.  instead,  it finds him in the quiet way grief always does,  slipping through the cracks when you’re not looking. 

it’s a name said too softly in a bar,  the bartender lowering his voice out of respect.  it’s the way the paper sits untouched on the counter,  the headline too cruel to be real.  it’s the silence on the other end of a burner number he never calls but always keeps,  just in case. 

foggy nelson is dead. 

frank reads the words twice,  then a third time,  as if they might rearrange themselves into something different.  but they don’t. 

he doesn’t ask how,  doesn’t ask why.  the details don’t change a damn thing.  foggy’s gone,   &  karen—

karen. 

it’s late when he knocks. 

the building is quiet,  the hallway empty,  but he knows she’s inside.  he hears the shuffle of movement,  the hesitation behind the door,  like she’s deciding whether to open it at all. 

then,  after too long,  the lock turns. 

she looks like she hasn’t slept. 

her eyes are red-rimmed,  dark circles pressing into pale skin.  her hair is a mess,  like she’s been running her hands through it over  &  over.  she’s wearing some old sweatshirt that swallows her whole,  the sleeves pulled past her knuckles. 

she looks at him for a long moment,   &  he looks right back,  neither of them speaking.  he should say something—sorry or i heard or you okay?—but none of it would mean anything. 

“frank. ” her voice is barely above a whisper. 

he nods.  “yeah. ”

she steps aside,   &  he walks in. 

the apartment feels hollow.  like all the warmth has been drained out of it. 

there’s a glass on the table,  half-full of something dark,  the bottle nearby.  the air feels thick,  weighed down by everything unsaid,  everything she won’t let herself say. 

she doesn’t sit.  just stands there,  arms crossed over herself,  staring at nothing. 

“he was my best friend, ” she says,   &  her voice doesn’t waver,  but it’s close. 

frank watches her,  the way she won’t look at him.  how she keeps swallowing hard,  like she’s trying to keep it together.  he’s seen people break before.  he knows what it looks like. 

but karen’s not breaking. 

not yet. 

“i don’t know how to do this without him, ” she admits. 

he doesn’t know what to tell her.  he never does.  so he says what he knows. 

“you just do. ”

she exhales sharply,  like it’s not the answer she wanted but the one she expected.  her hand comes up,  pressing against her forehead,   &  for the first time,  she looks at him—really looks at him.   &  there’s something in her eyes,  something raw  &  aching,  something that hasn’t faded despite everything. 

the space between them isn’t much,  but it feels heavier than it should. 

they don’t talk about it.  they never have. 

instead,  karen moves first.  sinks down onto the couch,  pulling her knees up,  curling in on herself like she’s trying to disappear. 

frank hesitates.  just for a second.  then he sits beside her.  close,  but not too close. 

a long silence stretches between them.  the tv hums low in the background,  but neither of them is paying attention. 

then,  finally,  she shifts. 

it’s small—just enough to lean into him,  just enough that her weight presses in,  warm  &  familiar.  he feels her exhale,  slow  &  shaky,   &  he stays perfectly still. 

he doesn’t move away. 

he doesn’t pull her closer,  either. 

even though he wants to. 

even though he shouldn’t. 

instead,  he just stays. 

because sometimes,  that’s all you can do

[andp4ge]

She sees frank for the first time but slaps him and tells him her version of the hospital goodbye, but then lets all her repressed emotions out from foggys death

the dim light of the alley flickered above them,  casting sharp shadows across the grimy sidewalk.  frank castle stood there,  his dark figure looming against the broken city,  the remnants of a war he couldn't escape etched into his every line  &  scar.  the air was thick with the kind of tension that could only build over time,   &  there he was,  still a ghost of the man she used to know. 

karen page had seen him before,  of course.  but this time was different.  this time,  he wasn’t in the hospital bed,  broken  &  battered.  he wasn’t fighting for his life.  no,  this time he was standing in front of her,  tall  &  strong,  wearing his own brand of pain like a second skin. 

her hands trembled,   &  she was aware of every heartbeat in her chest,  every breath she took.  she was raw.  the weight of grief was so heavy on her shoulders,  it felt like it could break her.  foggy's death—the way he’d been taken so violently,  so senselessly—had left her hollow.  she had no answers.  no closure.  just an aching,  unbearable emptiness. 

but this? this was for him. 

for the man who walked away,  leaving her in the ashes of his promises. 

before frank could even react,  karen took a step forward,   &  her hand swung across his cheek in a sharp slap.  the sound echoed in the alley,  a physical release of all the anger,  hurt,   &  confusion she’d been carrying for so long.  the pain of watching him walk away after everything.  after that last moment in the hospital when he told her she needed to leave him.  after he told her he was a monster. 

the hospital room had been a mess of sterile white walls  &  the scent of antiseptic,  but it had been more than just a hospital.  it had been the place where she thought—maybe hoped—that they'd find something together.  but no. 

karen’s mind drifted back to that night.  the last time they had been this close.  he was lying there,  battered  &  broken,   &  she could see the pain in his eyes—the same pain that echoed in her own heart.  they had shared a moment,  something fragile  &  almost too real.  he had looked at her like he might let her in—might finally let her love him. 

she had leaned forward,  just barely,  her breath against his lips,  the moment hanging between them like an impossible dream.  but frank had pulled away,  his voice low  &  full of regret. 

the memory of that almost-kiss still stung,  just as fresh now as it had been then.  she had wanted him.  she still wanted him.  but now,  he was gone.   &  foggy—foggy—wasn’t coming back.  she was alone.  "you left me,  frank, " she said,  her voice cracking.  "you told me to walk away from you.  but why? after everything we shared,  you just left. "

frank’s eyes narrowed,  but he didn’t move.  didn’t flinch.  his jaw tightened,  but that was the extent of his response.  his eyes met hers with an understanding she wasn’t sure she wanted to see.  he knew.  he knew what she was feeling,  but she wasn’t sure if it mattered anymore. 

"you told me you were a monster, " she continued,  her voice bitter.  "that i had to choose.  but i didn’t want to.  i wanted to believe we could figure it out.  that we could have something. " her voice faltered for a moment.  "instead of you running from everything real,  frank. "

her breath hitched.  there was a deep,  aching pain inside her—a hole that only grew when she thought about foggy.  his loss wasn’t just another tragedy.  it was the loss of her foundation,  of the person who had always been there for her.   &  now,  she was standing here,  alone.  no frank.  no foggy.  no anything.  she was left with a world that felt a little darker,  a little colder,  with fewer people she could trust. 

frank didn’t flinch.  didn’t move an inch.  his gaze didn’t leave hers.  “you think that’s easy,  karen?” his voice was low,  rough—still carrying the weight of all the things he couldn’t say.  his eyes darkened,  but there was a sliver of something in them.  something more human than she had expected. 

karen’s chest heaved with the weight of the grief she couldn’t carry alone anymore.  foggy’s death,  the emptiness in the aftermath of the loss—they all led her back to this moment.  back to him.  to the man she still felt something for,  despite everything he had pushed her away from. 

 &  after a long moment of silence,  karen’s voice was quiet but piercing.  "why didn’t you stay,  frank? why didn’t you fight for us?"

frank’s expression faltered for a brief moment before he locked his gaze onto hers.  the battle in his eyes was clear. 

“i’m not a man who gets to have things like that,  karen, ” he muttered,  his voice carrying the weight of a thousand decisions he’d made to protect people he loved.  “ &  i never wanted to drag you down with me.  not when i was already a ghost. ”

karen’s face softened,  but the anger didn’t fade entirely.  her hands were shaking now,  but she kept her ground. 

“i’m not afraid of your ghosts,  frank, ” she said,  her voice barely above a whisper.  "i just wanted you to stay. "

the words hung between them,  as fragile  &  broken as everything else. 

[andp4ge]

wip

[andp4ge]

posting just to say ... if you send me kastle prompts, i will write & post them here.

[andp4ge]

LIKE REAL PEOPLE DO: an au where they leave everything behind, trading bloodstained streets for the quiet hum of upstate life. there are no gunshots in the distance, no shadows waiting around the corner — just the hush of the woods, the steady rhythm of a life they never thought they’d have. it isn’t easy, not at first. ghosts don’t vanish overnight, & neither of them are built for peace. but in the quiet — between morning coffee, fixing up their little house, & hands reaching for each other in the dark — they find it anyway. a life of their own. a love that lingers. a peace they never thought they deserved, but hold onto just the same.

[andp4ge]

ONE-SHOT: karen receives a surprise text from frank, leading to an internal spiral. based on taylor swift's "guilty as sin?"