they shouldn’t have covered up jon bernthal’s “lil bird” tattoo for the punisher. having a tattoo dedicated to his wife over his heart is the most frank castle thing ever
they shouldn’t have covered up jon bernthal’s “lil bird” tattoo for the punisher. having a tattoo dedicated to his wife over his heart is the most frank castle thing ever
to love me is to suffer me — frank castle x reader
summary: frank’s nightmares intensify around the anniversary of maria and the kids’ deaths. you try to bring him some comfort.
contains: sad frank, comforting gf!!!!, mentions of death and grief
the clock read 2:34 am.
this was the third night in a row that you had woken up far before yours or frank’s alarms to him tossing and turning in his sleep.
moonlight poured in through the bedroom window, allowing you to see the sheen of sweat across frank’s forehead down to his chest. his breathing was fast and frantic — it was another nightmare.
it was early april, and frank had been having these nightmares for nearly two weeks. you knew why this was happening. it was the anniversary of maria and the kids’ deaths. april 4th, 2015. today marked 11 years since frank’s whole world was torn apart in minutes.
he had told you early in your relationship that if he was having one of these dreams, you could wake him. he didn’t keep a gun under his pillow anymore, not since you moved in with him. he now kept it in his bedside table, meaning if you were to wake him, he wouldn’t have immediate access to a weapon.
as you were contemplating shaking your boyfriend awake, you heard a gasp beside you and saw frank shoot up in fear.
“it’s okay, baby. it was just a nightmare. you’re safe. you’re here with me,” you whispered softly, reaching out to hold his hand. tears were falling down his cheeks silently as he looked around the room.
“damn it!” frank grunted and grabbed the framed picture of maria and the kids from his bedside table, throwing it across the room. the wooden frame hit your dresser and the sound of glass shattering echoed throughout the bedroom. frank ran his hands through his damp hair in anger or frustration, or maybe even sadness — you couldn’t tell right now.
“frank, you can talk to me. it’s okay.” you scooted in closer to him and rested your head on his bare shoulder in an attempt to ground him and bring him back to reality. you heard faint sobs from the man beside you as he stared at the broken frame of his wife and kids frozen in time, sitting on a park bench on a sunny day. he had told you that maria sent him the photo right before he came home from his final deployment, just weeks before her murder.
frank’s wet cheeks settled in the crook of your neck as your arms wrapped around him. “they were right there. i was so close…. god, they were right there and i couldn’t save them.” frank’s muffled voice rang in your ears for the third time this week.
“you know something, frank?” you mumbled into his hair before pressing a light kiss to the top of his head. “i think lisa and frankie are always with you. maria, too. my mom always used to tell me that when you saw a butterfly appear, a loved one is near, and the other day when we were outside of the coffee shop, i saw three butterflies sitting on the table next to us.” you quietly explained to frank.
his breathing had slowed by now, but you could still feel the hot tears rolling down his cheeks. even though it had been over a decade since they passed, frank mourned his family like they were taken from him yesterday.
suddenly, his raspy voice cut through the silence of the room. “i bought flowers yesterday. took ‘em to maria’s grave. i saw a yellow butterfly sitting on- on lisa’s grave. my babygirl. she was there. i know she was.” you felt frank shake his head as you ran your fingers through his hair.
“yeah, frankie. i think she was there with you. she always will be,” you whispered to him, reassuring him again.
“can we go visit them today?” frank asked, his voice weak and crackling.
“yeah, baby. we can go see ‘em today. maybe we’ll go get one of those pastries you said lisa used to love and bring it to her.”
“i’d reach into your body and fix you if i could” but it’s frank castle x reader who wakes up in the middle of the night to find frank after he had a nightmare about maria and the kids again