Summary: Ezra Wayne is one of the original “disruptors” but started to become estranged as he started to transition into the man he always knew he was. Years went by, his daughter got older, and he hadn’t thought about his old friends until a mysterious box showed up in the middle of the pandemic. Miles Bron was someone he’d seen many times since their last real interaction but to be invited to his home out of the blue? Ezra didn’t expect that. Especially since the last time he’d seen the “disruptors,” they didn’t approve of his transition.
General Warnings: heavily based on Glass Onion, lots of misgendering (cause i think it'd be in character for some of them), trans dad biological has kid, 18+ themes, swearing, possible smut, murder, slight gore, and violence.
A/N: so i watched glass onion and the overwhelming urge to write a fic about benoit just like.... happened. so here we are. this should be relatively fun !!! i think.... didnt want to make too many chapters since i plan to make them pretty long.
A/N: Was I inspired by The Many Saints Of Newark ... Yes yes I was
Reblogs Likes Comments are all appreciated !!
"Did any of these assholes mess with ya..." Jason asked. His revolver pointed against the victim's head. "No, but you've marked your territory so hard he's gonna be scared shitless when you know who walks in," Dick mumbled, "Who... you mean Ezra?" his sleeves rolled up. Jason Todd was known as the loyal weapon to the Wayne family mob. Seeing him was almost like seeing "Bruce... please I!"
"Downstairs now." was all the brooding don said, snapping his fingers to alert his sons. Bruce Thomas Wayne wasn't your usual don. Sure he had his cover-ups, Bruce had his family who he didn't want in doing some of his jobs, but he never killed, though it's not to say that those who crossed him had better wished to be dead than feel the fury of the batman. Walking down the halls of the inherited Gotham New Jersey mansion, Dick and Jason could hear the walls talking, and by that, they meant the secrets behind them.
"No, you were being possessive," Dick could hear Tim say. He must've been talking to Barbra, who was an informant. Tim was the brains of the family. He could plan a hit faster than the man of the hour Bruce himself, probably even considered to be Bruce's unofficial underboss.
"Aye, Tim." Dick beckoned.
"What..."
"Bruce wants us all downstairs."
"Be there in a minute Richard." he rolled his eyes and the cuffs of his sleeves.
"Now..."
"You're a monster!"
"Eh, I'd say an animal you can't put down but sure," Ezra said. Ezra was Bruce's second daughter. Ezra was the animal, the messenger, a bad omen if you will, the reason the Waynes should have stock in present box ribbons. Although her father had the no-kill rule, she wouldn't lie and say that she hadn't achieved what he wouldn't do, or else she wouldn't have gotten her title. As one of the floorboards creaked, Ezra pulled a pistol out of her pant pocket, pointing it toward the door.
"Aye, don't shoot. Bruce wants you downstairs." Jason held his hands up.
"What's for dinner." Ezra pulled her gun down.
"I suggest you think before ya speak..." a melodic laugh coming from behind the butler. "Why should I listen to you, huh you ain't nothing but a dumb broad..."One of Maroni's men said,
"Oh. Because the last person who didn't ended up losing more than his tongue." bashing his head into the marble countertops. Looking at her chipped Arden pink manicured nails, Yonah took a fist full of the Maroni mobs soldier bringing his head towards one of the stove eyes, "Ms. Wayne..." Alfred grabbed her by the arm. Yonah, the eldest daughter in which she; was born only a minute before her sister Ezra. Yonah was the honey pot and a con-woman, but it did help that she had a law degree. She could talk herself into anything as much as she could talk someone out of it. All while wearing her pencil dresses and Audrey Hepburn Breakfast at Tiffany's updo. "Yes, Alfred..."
"The Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca..." he gestured to the bubbling pot, "Shit..." she mumbled under her breath, "Could you handle him..." she asked, seeing that the man was unconsciously on the ground.
"Can you handle plating the main dish?" he asked,
"If it's Lobster Thermidor, I can plate it in my sleep." she winked.
"Spoken like your mother. Rest her soul," he mumbled, escorting the body out the back. Around the table were Dick, Jason, and Tim, all dressed in their Sunday best for dinner. Bruce had been upstairs finishing a meeting with Salvatore Maroni about some property in New York. He had heard about the rage of everyone going over the bridge, and he wanted in, but he wanted something that could prove the worth of his potential successors. Yonah and Ezra.
"No, he's gonna pick me," Jason said, crossing his feet on the table, his black Chelsea boots still shining.
"You're a trigger-happy măgar, Todd. He's not going to pick you." buttering up the warm rolls that Alfred baked. "It would be neither of you," Tim smirked,
"How the hell would you know?"
"Yeah, how would you know," Yonah asked, setting down the pasta. "Let me spell it out for you, Timothy Wayne." a smug look on his face. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she grimaced at her adopted brother.
"Think about it." he winked, and suddenly his green eyes were punchable.
"It's 1967. A woman can do the job as an underboss," she stated,
"Name one," Jason said as Dick drank his wine,
"Ma..."
"She doesn't count Bruce didn't appoint-"
"Careful she might-"
POW!
"Next one to say something gets-"
"Gets what..." the heavy presence of Bruce looming through the room. "Nothing at all, Daddy." she straightened up, "What happened to Jason's nose," he asked, sitting down as Yonah sat next to him on the right-hand side.
"Talking shit, and Yonah hit him." Dick shrugged, "He deserved it." Tim responded as Jason only rocked, back his feet off the table. With the napkin on his nose. Bruce only glared at his daughter, "Where's your sister..." he asked, "Checking out locations for some bar." she shrugged, "I told her it'd be a waste to buy one here in Jersey." she sighed as Alfred brought on the main course, taking her seat, "But we live in Gotham City New Jersey," Tim stated as Bruce only listened,
"Yeah, you can't throw a rock without hitting us, a Cobblepot, a Dent, a Falcone, or an Arkham," she stated as Bruce nodded, eating his Lobster.
" And if we plot outside Gotham. You got the Dimeo crime family in Newark." Dick sided with his sister,
"So, what was your solution," Bruce asked as she sipped lemonade from her wine glass. "I conned Maroni, told em I'd give one of his men a good time for a nice sized spot in Hell's Kitchen." twirling the noodles with a fork and spoon, "Did you get the money?" Jason asked,
"I got the money first. You know that." watching as Bruce looked uninterested in the conversation.
"What else happened?" Dick asked, poking at the lobster thermidor.
"He chipped my manicure, so I chipped his face. But hey. I got a pink Cadillac out of it."
"Yonah!" Bruce nearly growled,
"Alfred took care of the rest." she sighed. If it was one thing he could never forget, just like her mother and him, she was unpredictable, much like the weather.
"So when do you leave for Hell's kitch-."
"She leaves tomorrow." Bruce deadpanned. If his daughter wanted to play big boy games behind his back only for him to clean up the mess, she had to learn the big boy way. "Is that so," Yonah asked. There it goes, the storm behind her blue-green-colored eyes. Sometimes when he looked into them, he could see remnants of Yazela through them. But tonight, he only saw himself. Her brown skin began to boil over in small splotches of red,
"It is. I suggest you pack heavy winters there aren't like here."
"Oh, A fanabla," Yonah growled as her brothers laughed at her outburst, "I hope you three choke on your pasta," she grumbled, going upstairs, Bruce following her.
"So, what did I miss?" Ezra asked, hands in her pockets.
"Yonah had a meltdown. Where'd your hair go." noticing long curls cut into a bob.
"Got it cut."
"You look like a boy."
"Vai da puttane e fatti fottere stronzo." Ezra stuck her tongue out at Jason, the two chuckling.
"You just can't admit that what you did was wrong, can you!" Yonah shouted at her father, packing her clothes, "Neither can you." handing over her fur coat. "What did I do wrong this time, huh," she asked,
"You bought a building behind my back."
"You signed off on it." packing her heels, "And weren't you just saying last week you wanted more cover-ups in other areas." Bruce grew silent,
"We can't grow as a cartel if we don't branch out. Mother was right. We can't just stay in Goth-"
"And where did that get her." he asked as she looked at him, "That wasn't what killed her, and you know it!" taking the keys off her dresser,
"Yonah Shanel Wayne..."
"Tell Ezra we're leaving tonight."
"Where the hell are we going..."
"To paradise. Pack warm and heavy if you're not out of this house in ten. I'm leaving you here." she brushed past her father.
Frankie Valli Can't Take My Eyes Off You played on the radio as their hour-and-a-half drive to New York began. "You know, Yon. I was thinking we get a place we get girls to make em informants and-" taking a puff from her cigarette as her sister sighed, "Bad idea," her eyes on the snow-filled road, "Bad idea?" Ezra asked, "Look, last time I tried to let you run your tit bar, you fell short on the girls. " Ezra scoffed, blowing the smoke out the window, "I did not..."
"I kept with the finances, and you did come up short. You got jealous every time they did their jobs." she laughed as her sister got quiet,
"I-I..."
"Harley, Ivy, Dinah, should I keep going."
"I get it, jeez..."
"Good, "
"Where are we staying." Yonah groaned as if her sister was an instant reminder of birth control. "With a friend for a bit until things clear for the penthouse in Midtown Manhattan."
BANG
BANG
BANG
"Who's there..." the bible, playing from the other side of the door. "It's me, Father Murdock," Yonah said,
"Me who." she could hear the smug grin on his face.
"Yonah, your little favorite sinner." she batted her eyes as he laughed, "And Ezra's here too." Matthew (Matt) Michael Murdock, the crooked yet devoted catholic so devoted he became a priest and informant, "Aren't priest not supposed to drink?" Ezra mentioned, drink in his hand.
"He turned water into wine."
"And that's scotch, Matty boy," Yonah smirked, taking a sip of it as she kissed him on the cheek,
"Still charming."
"Still having sex with some of the nuns."
"Still ripping fingernails out from your sister's fingers."
"Just grew the pinky back last month," Ezra said, setting down her suitcase. Matthew and Yonah had gone to school together. Of course, he was supposed to be a lawyer, but he instead went to be a man of the cloth. Yonah still couldn't take her eyes off him. He was still as handsome as ever, with slicked-back hair and the way his crucifix dangled over his chest. He was never one to sleep in a shirt. "You're staring," he mentioned. Just below the tip of the cross was a deep cut from Elektra, the last fight he was tied to before Matt had become an informant. "Yeah... kinda hard not to." she laughed, "I still remember that night," she murmured, his hand under her chin as he leaned in, still wearing his dad's favorite aftershave.
"So. uh, I'm going to take the bedroom... am I interrupting something..."
"No... not at all." the two said, hearing his bedroom door slam. "I guess you and I got the couch like old times?" he joked, "Minus the touching and cuddling," she mentioned digging in her suitcase for her sheer nightgown.
"I'd never."
"I can hear your shit-eating grin."
"And I can hear the pink Cadillac downstairs. How'd you manage to get it."
"Stole the keys from a lady named Fish, left the money in return, used the money in the trunk of it to buy a bar." peaking out the bathroom, knowing Matt could sense her presence. "Is it a wise purchase?" he questioned,
"What did Bruce say?"
" Oh, vaffanculo..."
"Language." he chastised like a nun in a catholic school, "He upset you this time, huh..." he asked, sitting her down in his lap. "Yeah, how could you tell..." she asked, "Don't say you can hear the blood rushing through my body." she playfully chirped as he rolled his eyes, "No, I just know your temper." he laughed.
As the morning crept closer, Bruce began to contemplate whether or not to follow his headstrong daughter down to New York. Of course, he had other engagements like the family business and keeping the other crime families at the bottom where they belonged. "Dick..." Dick stood by his side. "Yes, Bruce, See to it; that Ezra and Yonah are okay," he commanded as Dick gave him a nod and left.
"So where are we going..." Ezra asked, watching her sister flatten out her low-cut red velvet pencil skirt dress, her fur coat wrapped around her body. "It's a surprise." she smiled,
"I don't like surprises."
"You'll like this one." she winked, teasing her hair into her mother's signature beehive,
"You're making me sound like a goomah," Ezra said, the two of them doing their cat eyeliner in the mirror, Ezra with her perfect edge and Yonah using the edge of Matt's shaving razor. "Takes one to know one," she commented. Ezra fixed her capri pants. The cuffs tucked in her gogo boots, arm garters around the sleeves of her button-up as she then straightened her tie,
"Can you present yourself feminine at least once in your life? After all, this isn't Gotham."
"When you stop trying to replace our mother, then I'll consider it." pointing at the sapphire necklace on her neck. Taking the extra apartment key off Matt's dresser, Yonah and Ezra began to head out the door; from Matt's place, the new bar was down the block, but from their soon apartment, 3 minutes away on a good day.
The outside was a bit run down, pavement covered by freezing snow. It made Yonah wonder how she spent the stolen money on this. But with love, care, and imagination. She'd have this place open and running in no time. "Is this ours?" Ezra asked, hearing her sister fiddle with the keys. "My name is on the lease, so it's my place and you." she pointed, "Will see to it that it runs." the door opening, cobwebs on the barstool, chipped tiled floor, and a few broken lights. She could see the low lighting, hardwood floors, paintings, the wait staff, and high class but enough to keep hidden.
"Why do you get all the power in this."
Yonah only looked at Ezra, "I'm not trusting you with the money. I can barely trust you to blend in." pointing at her clothes.
" Vaffanculo!"
"Oh, shut up." Yonah groaned, rolling her eyes. She knew a few places in Gotham that could have this place up and running in three days flat, enough time for her to discover what other wanders were around New York that wasn't just Hell's kitchen, taking a business card out of her bra, she handed it to Ezra,
" Call this number."
"And where are you going?"
"To get a meatball sub." Yonah turned to face her sister, car keys in hand, as she walked out the door.
"What's this number for!" Ezra mumbled, placing her hand on the dusty bar phone, "Do I have to do everything myself..." pulling at her tie.
"Hello, Cobblepot fashion and furnishings."
Astoria Queens was bustling with cars, businesses, and shops galore. The perfect place to quite possibly get a quick lunchtime sub.
"Aunt May says hi, by the way."
"M'sure she does, kid." black taper slick back hair framed the face of no other than the Capo of the Castiglione family. And a member of The Devil Dog gang. Francis G. Castiglione, but everyone around town knew him as Frank Castle, the owner of Castle cold cuts, a meat and deli spot. "Aye, long time no see, Rogers..." his voice carrying through the shop. "Where ya been?" patting him on the back, "Just got back from the war, figured I'd celebrate with the best cold cuts in town," Steve said, a laugh coming from the blonde man.
"Curt!"
"The usual?" Curtis Hoyle, one of many a part of The Devil Dog mob who'd die for Frank if he asked him to, they had both owned the shop as their main cover-up business."The Captain America special." Frank responded as Steve chuckled,
"You don't have to-"
Frank only shrugged, "Ah, don't worry about it." he smirked. Black heels, a mink coat, and a red velvet pencil dress walked into the meat shop as she removed her scarf with one hand and her sunglasses off her face. "Can I help you?" Yonah looked down at the meat selection for the day, " Told Castle's had the best subs in New York aside from Katz, at least I was told by a guy named Wade Wilison?" she pointed towards the door. "The one time I agree with that bastard..." he mumbled to Curtis.
"What'dya got a taste for?"
"Italian meatball sub, heavy on the sauce and the mozzarella, bread toasted."
" A bossy one, eh, Sweetheart..." Yonah balled up her fist as she slowly looked up to see the voice that said it." It's not bossy. A woman knows what she wants when she craves and sees it." her eyes glancing at his bloodied-up apron to his eyes. Yonah's repainted Arden's pink nails tapping on the counter.
"Makes my job easier." Curtis laughed, watching between the two as he got to work on the meatballs.
"So, where are you from," Curtis asked, already feeling the thick tension between the two.
"Jersey," she responded.
"The land of Italians and subs, huh."
"I wouldn't say all that." Yonah chuckled. "But if you threw a rock, you'd hit one of us." she shrugged."A fellow Italian then." Curtis nudged Frank as he groaned,
"On my dad's father's side." Yonah smiled, looking around the shop. She could smell the deli cheese and hear the sizzle of the meatballs on the grill. For a split moment, she felt like she was at home again.
"Hope you like it, Jersey." Frank looked at her. Yonah only looked back at him as she felt a long-forgotten heat creep up her neck. "Jersey, huh... How much for it?" fond of the nickname that he called her, "On the house." Curtis mentioned,
"Well then, drinks are on me, fella's, when you visit the new bar in Hell's Kitchen," she mentioned,
"I'll be sure to stop by," Frank mumbled, watching as she bit into the sub, a moment of silence turning into a burst of,
"Fanabola!" her eyes wide,
"You don't like it, sweetheart," Frank asked, getting a bit defensive, "No, no, it's almost as good as Satriale's in Jersey." she teased, "What's it missin," Frank asked, leaning over the counter, her eyes trying not to stare at his biceps,
"Mmmm, a tablespoon of red pepper flakes."
"I'll keep that in mind Jersey."
"It'll serve you right if you do," she winked, walking out the door.
"You're about as useful as a screen door on a submarine!" Yonah shouted, paint getting in her hair. Within three days, Yonah had managed to get furniture, liquor, employees and. "I don't fuckin like the wallpaper!" Ezra spat back out. The two couldn't make up their mind on anything for the bar. Yonah wanted a classy hole in the wall, and Ezra wanted it to look like a place The Rolling Stones would crash in. "So you put paint in my hair instead!" her wrangler jeans covered in paint spots, "You already got a chandler in here." she spat, looking at the brown and gold carpet that she got to pick out, which gave her a bit of joy. The bar itself had encrusted mirror tiling. While there was a lounging area of velvet couches and beaded curtains, Yonah came up with an idea,
"Mirrors as wallpaper and gold paint around it."
"Sounds perfect." Ezra grinned, "We'll call it The Sparrow lounge." the glittering gleam in her sister's eye at the sound of the name, "It's got a nice ring to it." Yonah shrugged, thinking of who she could highjack for mirrors.
"Aye Yon..."
"Hmm... Yes, Ez?" she responded, paintbrush in hand.
"I was thinking of going to this restaurant and..." Ezra nearly choked on her words, "And what..." Yonah dead panned much like Bruce,
"I would like for you to dress me..." she gulped, seeing the grin on her sister's face.
Later that night, Ezra had gone through Yonah's beauty Bootcamp, golden nail polish, a soft blush on her face, lipstick, a gold tent dress to match and-
"You're not wearing those..."
"What's wrong with my go-go boots."
"Heels are more punctual, graceful, and elegant. If you are going to represent the Wayne Family do it with dignity." pushing the heels in Ezra's arms. "I'm not wearin these..." she grumbled, "Scared you can't walk in them." Yonah teased as her sister plopped onto Matt's bed, putting the heels on as she stood up wobbly-legged,
"So, are you going to teach me?"
"You'll figure it out." her legs crossed, looking through her beauty magazine,
"Two rules,"
"And those are?"
"Don't be out too long, and don't get my dress dirty. And if you think about bringing someone back, don't bring a girl back here."
"That's three..."
"Go."
The stage beamed with lights as the band played, couples gathering around the shiny hardwood floor. Sitting across from the dance floor was William (Billy) Russo, the underboss of the Castiglione mob. He owned a dance hall in upper Manhattan called Albany, a place where the gin was hot, and the action on the dance floor oozed with lust. "Do we have a deal, Russo?" Billy looked up at Bucky, his eyes glancing at him and then back at his steak. Gold stiletto heels clicked on the dance floor, rhinestone accents glimmering by the light, brown skin accented by her matching tent dress as the Jazz singer sang a cover of Nature Boy by Nat King Cole. At the moment, she was ethereal, unreal, and she would be his,
"Russo..."
Raising his hand, he removed himself from his steak and his seat. Walking towards the woman, he could feel that no one else was on the dance floor but them. Short blonde curly hair swayed with her every movement,
"Care to dance?" a hand reaching out for hers.
"She's dancing with me." Billy took her by the hand, a gentle kiss on the back. "Billy Russo." he winked, pulling her close to him.
" I didn't need saving." she grumbled, "And I know who you are." she mentioned, her hand wrapped around his back, positioned for a waltz, "Dito, Ms. Wayne..." Billy smirked as he dipped her,
"Do you treat every girl who comes your way like this?"
"Yeah, but they usually melt after this point, a lot less thrill..." Billy mentioned bringing her back up as he whispered in her ear. He was playing a dangerous game with Ezra, and he knew it, the master of charm flirting with the woman who wrote the handbook. "Maybe you haven't tried hard enough, Mr. Russo." the hairs on his neck stood up.
"What makes you say that." the two swaying back and forth, "This is usually the part where one of us says your place or mine." she winked, trying to walk towards the bar, Billy taking her by the wrist and spinning her in his chest.
"You know what sounds great right now..." Billy leaned in.
"A Manhattan or three and a quickie." she half-joked.
"Where's Ez?" Matt asked as Yonah had turned the little bits of his food in the fridge into a meal, "She went to explore the competition." she shrugged,
"So her usual."
"Pretty much." bringing the spoon full of soup to his lips, "How'd you even..."
"A chef never tells her secrets." she smiled, looking up at him. Every time she saw him, the pit of despair in her heart only hurt worse. She loved Matt, but he'd never leave the cloth to be with her, and she had too many responsibilities. "So how's Bruce." he asked, sitting on the countertop, "Still wishing you and I had stayed together." she laughed. It was true. Out of all of her past lovers, Matt had been Bruce's favorite, but he'd never admit it.
"I see..."
"Since when. " she nudged him, the two laughings. There was silence between them, neither wanting to do anything about it.
"It's getting late. I should be heading to bed."
"Goodnight, Yon." he kissed her cheek,
"Night, Matty boy."
BLAM!
"YONAH, I'M HAVING AN EMERGENCY, AND I NEED YOU TO GET UP RIGHT NOW!" Ezra said in one breath as a shoe flew her way. It was three in the morning, and Yonah had finally fallen asleep. "What is it, and make it quick before I pull your fingernails out and make you eat 'em." she gruffed, her voice deep with sleep.
"I think I fell in love..."
"Jesus Christ, not this again." she groaned. Propping herself up as Matt stood by the doorframe listening in,
"What's she like." rubbing the fresh sleep out of her eyes.
"He..."
"He?" Matt responded, "Next, you'll say you're wearing a dress and heels." Ezra then got quiet as she wobbled towards the bed,
"That explains why my feet are cold. Hell must have frozen over." Matt joked as Ezra threw a pillow at him. "Well, tell me, what's this guy like." Yonah smiled, trying to be supportive.
"He's tall, dark, and handsome."
"Thank you for the compliment, but I don't date my sisters." both Yonah and Ezra jolted from off the bed as Matt had a small smug smile. "DICKIE!" Yonah nearly squeezed him to death, ruffling up his hair. "Aye, nice to see you too," he chuckled, "Matt." he turned to look at the sleepy redhead as he nodded back at him.
"So what's gotten into you, Ez."
"A man..." she mumbled, wiping the blush off her cheeks. Dick only laughed, thinking his sister was joking until the silence around him grew.
"She's..."
"Very."
The cold winter sun beat down on the frozen concrete of Queens with busy streets. Knee-high boots made their way down as the sound of busy honking and the bustle of people walking by filled the December New York air.
"Mattina Curtis." big black bouffant hair walking through the door,
"Morning, Elena." Curtis smiled. Her bright orange mini dress radiated through the deli shop. "Is Frankie in yet?" tapping her fingers on the counter,
"He's in the back."
"Let me guess, polishin his guns or talking to Russo?" Curtis looked at her as she nodded,
"Ah, got it, I'll just wait here then." she laughed,
"Do you want anything while you wait?"
"Mmm, I could go for a sub." she shrugged, her hands fiddling with the newspaper, eyes scanning over the headlines about the president and any other useless information.
"Ya heard about the new bar in Hell's Kitchen?"
"New bar?" Elena looked at Curtis, "New bar?" she responded,
"Yeah, just opened up last night." Curtis mentioned, "Been trying to convince that big pound of muscle in the back to go but-"
"To go where?" Wiping the blood off his hands,
"Out, Frankie," Elena said, looking at her brother. Frank only grunted, pulling out the bread knife. His eyes had been watching the clock on the wall as if he were waiting for someone. "Curt, help me, out will ya..." she whispered.
"Well..."
"FRANKIE!" Billy shouted, nearly busting through the door. A three-piece suit on, Frank only groaned, knowing what the tone could mean,
"Hello to you too, Russo..." Elena interjected as Billy only rolled her eyes, "Lena," he scoffed,
"Whadya want Bill..."
"You, me, Curt, we're going out tonight," he commanded
"On a hit?" Elena asked,
"Scope out competition at The Sparrow lounge," Billy smirked,
"What's special about it..."
"They're takin, my customers, at the Astoria," he mumbled as Elena and Curtis laughed, Frank's eyes still following the ticking clock,
"What the fuck are you waitin on Frankie."
DING!
Twelve O clock on the dot, like blood work, came the woman he was waiting for, dressed like Jackie O in her pink suit and fur coat, shades covering her eyes and a scarf covering her hair from the flurries,
"Am I interrupting something?"
It was almost like her theme song, "I say a little pray for you," played on the shops' radio as Billy and Elena looked at the woman. She came from money by the quality of her clothes. And the jewelry dangling from her brown skin.
"Ay Jersey, I didn't think you was gonna show up today." Frank smirked, "Already got the meatballs on the grill."
"You didn't forget the flakes, did you."
"Jesus Christ, you an the pepper flakes." he chuckled.
"The best part I like a little spice. Mr. Butcherman."
"Nice one, Yon." Curtis laughed as Elena noticed the faint blush on her brother's cheeks. Within a week, Yonah had become a regular shop known name and patron of the "Jersey special." Frank rang the bell giving her. Her sub. "So, Frankie, you going out with us tonight or what," Billy asked,
"Yeah, are we..." Elena egged on as Yonah chuckled, biting into her sub and shopping around for meat. "Going out ain't my thing anymore." he shrugged,
"Frank... We gotta check this Sparrow lounge out."Elena suggested watching as Curtis packed up all the meat Yonah picked out,
"Besides, I did say the drinks were on me." Yonah winked, "Doors open at 7." she said, walking out of the shop.
"Do you think I'll see him again?" Ezra asked, putting on her mascara, a three-piece suit in gold, and gogo boots to match, "Depends if you scared him off." Dick smirked, helping his sister fix her tie. Yonah stepped out of the bathroom, her hair in a beehive, a skin-tight little black dress with ostrich feathers coming up the split on the side. Black heels to match, the necklace she had adored so much sat pretty on her neck.
"Mom's sapphires, huh..." Dick said, "They suit you."
"But not tonight." Ezra rolled her eyes,
"Why not."
"You need to get out more."
"I do go out. I'm a con woman, a honey pot." Yonah posed.
"And whens the last time you got some nookie?" Dick asked, agreeing with Ezra.
"Fungoli,"
"You talk to Bruce with that mouth." he chuckled as she jingled her keys to her Cadillac. "I'll meet you there." Dick winked his keys in hand.
Business at the bar was booming. They'd found a small band to play nightly. All while drinks poured freely, and the money came easy.
"Another tonic Cage?"
"You know it." Luke said, "And one for-"
"Jessica," Yonah finished his sentence as he smirked, her hands busy mixing drinks. She barely had any time to welcome the uproar of guests walking in. All Dick could see coming in the room were the finest suits, almost as if they were the Rat Pack.
"I feel stupid..."
"Eh, you clean up nicely, Frankie." Billy winked, patting Frank on his back,
"Gotta agree. I mean, maybe you might go home with someone." Curtis suggested. Frank only grumbled as the three walked in. Billy noticed the crushed velvet couches first, then the band, and finally.
"You're losing my interest which is very dangerous, Ms. Wayne." Madani rolled her eyes. Ezra only chuckled as she kissed her hand, "Excuse me, gentlemen." Pushing past Frank and Curtis as he made his way over.
"I'm grabbing a scotch for myself." Curtis winked, walking off towards the bar,
"You want one?"
"Eh, more of a wine and beer guy," he mentioned walking over. Black dinner jackets and skull cufflinks sat at the bar, taking in the music, "What can I get you-" Dick asked, not even noticing who he was asking,
"Aye, Frankster!" shooting him finger guns as Frank had only responded in a nod,
"What brings you by, stress at the shop, the other business... women."
"I was offered a free drink."
"By who?" Dick asked,
"AYE, WATCH HOW YOU HANDLE THAT!"
"Everything alright, Jersey..." both Ezra and Yonah looked up as Ezra almost dropped the bottle of liquor, "Which one of us are you callin Jersey..."Ezra growled,
"The one in a dress." Foggy remarked, martini in hand, "Everything's fine, Mista Butchaman."Yonah smiled, letting the collar of Ezra's suit go as she threw her into,
"Billy, you came!"
"You clean up nice, Dickie, a glass of Bordeaux Burgundy."
"Coming right up, boss." Dick joked. He still had no idea how he became bar tender number two.
"Fancy wine there, eh sweetheart?" he mentioned, eyes trailing at the bits of skin showing in her black dress, "It's on the house, so you deserve the best." she shrugged, "Right, Curt."
"As long as these drinks keep landing in my hand, I'll agree with anything." he smiled, sipping out his glass.
"I'll make sure Dickie over there keeps em pourin out." catching the wine glass sliding down the bar as she handed it to Frank,
"YON!" Ezra shouted,
"Excuse me, gentlemen," she huffed, walking from behind, her heels moving at the speed of light. Cuddled up were Billy and Ezra, the two already looking like love-sick idiots, holding two gin tonics in hand as Yonah only sighed, "You could have came to the bar, you know." she said with gritted teeth,
"Mmm, but I'm hostin right now."
"Of course you are." Yonah growled as Billy gave her a smirk, "You must be Jersey."
"And you must be my sister's new and first goomba. Must be a high honor to stoop so low." she pulled her hand back before he could kiss it.
"Frank told me a bit about you an the meatball subs."
"Right, you were at the store earlier." she tried to play nice amongst the man who had the slithering trust of a snake. He was cute, but he was no,
"Aye Yon..."
"Yes, what now what..." she sighed, almost pulling her hair out. "Someone bought you a drink." a thick Russian accent followed the words.
"Thank you, Yelena. Tell them I said I don't drink on the -" Yelena then pointed to the secret drink buyer as Yonah nodded, "I'll be right over." Yonah was already over her head in heaps of work and keeping down threats that Ezra didn't know about, but she had to keep up the appearances that made the Wayne family mob gratefully feared.
Frank watched as she bounced from one part of the lounge to another, like a chicken without a head. Just like himself, she needed a break.
"Is she always like that?"
"Sadly yes," Dick sighed, watching along, "She tries to do more so she won't feel like she's less." he shrugged, cleaning up the glasses. "She's been like that since our mother died." his eyes following the crowds of people, slowly leaving,
"Hey, don't expect me home-"
Yonah, Frank, and Dick laughed as Billy and Ezra stood before them, a bit drunk and handsy, "Just be here by noon." Dick smirked as Yonah took a deep breath heading into her office to look over the books and other things.
"Well, you two are welcome to stay. Listen to some records. I have receipts to book." Yonah smiled as Frank nodded,
"See you tomorrow Jersey..."
"Always." she winked, walking up to her office. There it was, the twinge Frank had dreaded for a while, the feeling he nearly loathed, admiration. Heading back to his apartment, all he could think of was how someone so sweet and kind would even invite a monster such as himself to a place like that.
"They're afraid of me, you know..." Yonah smirked, filing her nails, " Course I don't blame em, I'm afraid of me too." she looked across her office chair. There sat Rumlow. He owed the Waynes a huge lump-some of money, and Yonah had just so happened to spot him at the bar tonight. "What's that got to do with me." a dark chuckle left the sharp woman's lips, snapping her fingers, her brother by her side,
"You owe us, Mr. Rumlow..." she smirked, "And when you owe us, you owe me..."
"I don't owe you shit!" he spat at her as she gasped, "How fucking rude..." she slapped him across the face as he laughed,
"I'll make you an offer..."
"What a sweet piece of your ass as payment." Dick growled at him as Yonah put her hand up, "Please if I wanted to catch a quick fuck it wouldn't be you." she rolled her eyes,
"However, my offer is this, pay up, and he won't slice your throat open," she smiled, crossing her legs.
"And if I don't."
"Well, let's say you'll have to talk to the bat or the file... "
"The bat." he laughed, "Yeah, right, I'll take my chan-" with a snap of her fingers, Dick had nearly sliced his neck open,
"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, I'LL PAY, I'LL PAY!"
"You know. Sis, you would make a great Capo." Dick smiled as Yonah laughed. She then looked at her dress, blood boiling as Dick sighed, "What's wrong..."
"There's blood on my custom Chanel Dress..."
"Breathe..."
"I had no idea you were into that stuff... glad I found out," Ezra smirked, cuddled up beside Billy. The heat between the two keeping them warm and cozy. "Well, it's more where that came from." he pressed a kiss to her forehead as she sighed happily. In all her rendezvous, she'd never felt like this, like the only woman who mattered, "I could stay like this forever." she stretched, time leaving her, "What's stoppin you." he asked as she shrugged, his lips now on her bare shoulder blades, "Nothin I gu-" she paused as she looked over at the clock,
"Shit..."
"What's wrong?"
"I'm late..."
BING!
Yonah stood cleaning the glasses for the day. A few men had walked in, already eyeing her down as she took a deep breath, "Can I help you, gentlemen..." she asked as they snarled. "Not ones for talking, are we." one of the men coming up to the bar as he slammed his hands down on the table,
"Why don't you give me a kiss toots." a laugh left her lips.
"I'm take-" she lied,
"I wasn't asking." he got closer, two of his men on both sides of her, "Yeah, he wasn't askin Ms. sweet tits." hands on her thighs, "Were you asking for this!" taking her dagger from under the bar as she stabbed one guy in the leg, the other with the glass in her hand. Twisting his arm back, she threw his head into the marble floor as he began to claw at her hands.
"What's the matter too-"
BAM
Blood gushed from the side of his head as she threw him across the floor. "Fucking bitc-" her heel pressed into his neck as her red lips loomed over him. "You tell Carlo Falcone the only kiss he's gettin his death." she gritted her teeth as he nodded ferociously.
"So, anyways, that's how I got this hickey," Ezra said, walking in with Dick as the two stepped over the bodies of goons, their sister behind the bar with two drinks ready.
"You're late..."
"And there's two unconscious bodies behind you."
"They fucked up my nail polish. I fucked up their faces." taking her keys from her purse.
"And where are you going?"
"Getting a meatball sub..."
"Mhmm..." Dick smirked, "That's what you crazy kids are calling it now, huh."
"Do you want one too or something?" She asked.
"No, no, it's fine."
"Waitin on... what's he call Curt, Jersey?" she sing songed as Curtis laughed, "She's just usually her by now," Frank responded to Elena as she chuckled,
"So you have a schedule on her."
"No."
"I'm sure he does," Billy said, walking out the back of the shop. "Probably knows her favorite perfume by now..." he mumbled,
"Like you know the other girl you were with."
"Her names Ezra and she wears Casaque." he huffed as Elena laughed, "A sap, and he's only known her for a week or so," she asked Frank. He didn't look at all together like usual. He looked as if he were anywhere but behind the counter. "Frank..." Curtis asked, but he wouldn't budge, "Frankie..." Billy asked,
"Francis..." Elena said,
"Yeah..."
"You okay up there..."
"Yeah..." He lied,
"Francis, don't you lie to me." the look of their mother in her eyes. "Fine..." he rolled his eyes, annoyed at his sister. There was a spark behind his eyes, one she remembered all too well,
"You think falling into your emotions will make you forget Maria, don'tcha..." she asked as Frank turned to look at her. Oh, how he hated that she could read him like a book. He grumbled as she laughed, "Sit ... sit..." the tiles in the store were a bit cold, his headed resting on her shoulder like when they were little.
"I feel stupid."
"No, you don't." she hummed, "You feel scared, a little confused, mmm lovesick maybe... If I had to take a guess." Frank laughed, "Never been lovesick..." he scoffed as his sister glanced, "So the way you look at Jersey ain't the same way you looked at Maria?" Frank was silent as he thought about her,
"That's different."
"Is it, though." she smiled, "I see you smile at her, you get happier around her, you talk more." she giggled, "You flirt a little." Frank nudged her as she nudged back,
"Look, has it ever occurred to you... maybe Maria sent her your way, as I don't know, a second chance at love?"
"I couldn't-"
"You should, and you can. Besides, you'll end up like ma,"
"Whadya mean like ma."
"Changin' cars and listenin to Dean Martin." she chuckled, "Speaking of..." reaching down in her coat pocket, "I got two tickets to Frank Sinatra and the Copa..."
"Who'd you shake down to get those." Frank glared, helping his sister stand up. "More like who shook me..." she smirked, "Lena..." he glowered at his sister,
"If Mr. Swoonatra asks, tell him sweet lips, Lena gave you the tickets."
"Elena..." Frank began to brood,
"Ah... ah... ah, you deserve it. I'll close up shop."
"Elena.."
"Go."
"You two can go ahead home without me..." Yonah smiled, "I'll close up shop." she shrugged her shoulders, dressed in a pink silkstone mermaid evening gown, hoping that Frank would've shown up. "You sure you don't wanna go out?" Ezra asked. Yonah shooed her away, "I have responsibilities." she sighed, counting the money as Dick watched her. She looked like a splitting image of their mother. Her hair was in a high curly updo that only god could break apart with how much dippy doo was in it. "Well, if you're sure, we'll be heading out-" Dick smiled as he saw the familiar associate standing at the door.
"She's at the bar," Dick whispered to Frank as he nodded a few roses in his hand.
"Good luck." Ezra scoffed.
Writing down the revenue for the night, Yonah had been tapping her fingers and humming until she heard,
"So... You expectin someone."
"Depends who's asking." her eyes still looking down. A medium-colored pink rose petal landing in between her book.
"A nice butcher from Queens..."
Yonah looked up at Frank, little peaks of curls on his head, crisp new tie,
"Where is this nice butcher going dressed so nicely." handing her the roses his sister got him to give her.
" The Copa got tickets to see Sinatra."
"That must be lovely. I hope you two have a good time."
"Me and who?"
"The girl you're probably taking." she smiled, "must be one lucky lady." reaching for the pencil as he reached for her hand, "She would be if she'd let go of that damn pencil." Yonah looked up at Frank, a bit shocked,
"Well, I don't have time to-"
"Yeah, you do." taking her fur coat off the rack,
"Then where are we going." putting her arms in her sleeves.
"It's a surprise."
"Didn't take you for the surprise type, Mr. Castle," she smirked. Frank offered his hand, ushering her out the door, "Neither did I."
The crisp air blew as the stars lit up the New York night sky. Ezra and Dick sat next to the fireplace drinking spiked hot chocolate, "I bet ten dollars she's sleepin at his place." Ezra smirked as Dick laughed,
"Nah, ten if they only held hands, 20 if there's kissing." he responded as Ezra snorted, "This is the master of seduction we're talkin about, Ms. Oops, was that my pen." she leaned forward like her sister. Dick glanced as she sighed, "All jokes aside..." Ezra sipped her drink, "She deserves to know what love from someone who isn't us feels like."
"Ezra saying something nice about Yonnie? she must be dying." he laughed. Ezra punched him in the arm,
"Sorry, sorry..."
"The Copa was amazin." Yonah beamed brighter than the moon, "And serenaded by Sinatra." she gasped, "Magical." Frank chuckled, watching her eyes sparkle. He could help but love being the cause of it, "Didn't know you could dance, Jersey." he joked, "Neither did I, I mean you, I didn't take you as the dancin type." she giggled as he spun her around again, "Took lessons for the wedding when I was married." he shrugged,
"What happened..."
"Whadya mean."
"To your wife, not to pry," she asked as Frank took a shakey breath. Yonah took him by the hand, rubbing her thumb over his,
"If you don't wanna talk about it, it's okay-"
"She uh died, along with my kids." he sighed, "Daughter and a son." she could see the pain in his eyes as he talked about it. "Threw myself deep into my work after that..." She didn't mean to open wounds,
"I'm probably borin ya about my life, huh Jersey."
"No, not at all, My father, he uh lost someone dear." a lump in her throat, holding onto the sapphire necklace, "He threw himself into his work, and I threw myself deep into mine." the two walking as Frank listened, "I never really go out much like I use to, I just worry so much about everyone, and I try so hard to be like her, but I always feel like I-"
A hint of red wine lingered on her lips, knees going weak, soft lips on hers, eyes closing at the long-forgotten sensation.
"Sorry I cut you off-"
Hands gripping at his suit jacket, the feel of her pink lipstick on his lips, softer than the snowflakes falling into her hair,
The two felt warmer than the brisk air around them.
"Someone owes me 20 big ones," Dick whispered to Ezra, standing outside watching as their sister was sucking faces with Frank.
"I don't owe ya shit," she mumbled,
Pulling away, Frank kissed her forehead as she blushed, "Same time tomorrow?"
"S- Same time for what..."
"A meatball sub~" Dick and Ezra teased as she turned to hiss at them both.
"Ezra, Grayson," he nodded, watching as Ezra took a long drag of her Tareyton cigarette.
"Goodnight, Castle," Dick said, trying to sound like Bruce.
"Night, Jersey." he winked.
"Night, Mr. Butcherman." she swooned, walking towards the door. Looking back as Frank hummed the tune
That's Amore.
"So a kiss, huh..." Ezra nudged Yonah as she rolled her eyes. "How'd it happen." Elena asked as Frank shrugged, "It just happened." Yonah responded to Ezra,
"Was it a good or bad, was there tongue," Dick asked as Yonah playfully sighed,
"What I gotta know, Frankie..."
"It was..."
"Amazing," Yonah said in a giddy tone. Sitting by the fireplace as if she were Doris Day or Monroe.
"Did you take her to the Copa?"
"I did."
"And we danced." Yonah blushed, "All night until it closed." she felt like Cinderella wanting to twirl in joy in hopes he was her prince.
"All night?"
She's a big fan of Sinatra." he shrugged, trying to play it cool,
"Seems she a big fan of you, Frankie." another voice said, coming from the hallways. "Would love to meet her." standing by the kitchen wall was "Mikey..." Frank and Elena's youngest brother,
"Where have you been, you little bastard," Elena asked as he shrugged, a lit cigarette in his mouth,
"Had to run a few errands for ma, not to mention one for the Waynes."
"The Waynes... what do they need." Elena asked, "Nothing see in a few weeks the big bats comin' ta town to check on his daughters." he smiled, "He just wants a close eye on em until then." Frank rolled his eyes. He loved his brother. He did, but sometimes he was conniving little shit. "Well, can it wait until tomorrow? Frankie's in love again."
"You're joking, right..."
"I don't think I am." Yonah swooned.
"How many pounds of Salami again?" Curtis asked as Frank sighed, "2 pounds." Yonah said, her sister's white dress shirt tucked in her black stretch pants. "Two weeks, running the shop, and she's got it down," Curtis smirked as Frank chuckled,
"I wouldn't give Jersey that much credit." Frank glanced over at her, an apron of blood covering her watching her place the meat into the bag.
"Have a good wintah break Petah."
"Thanks, Ms. Yonah." he waved, leaving out the store. Yonah had offered to help volunteer during the day while Ezra and Dick prepared the bar for day drinkers and the upcoming events of the night.
"You can take the girl out of Jersey, but you can't take the jersey out of the girl."
"Russo..." she deadpanned
"Yonah," he scoffed, "I'd keep the pants and shirts to your sister,
"Whatdya want..." she leaned against the counter,
"An Italian sub for your sister." He smirked.
Yonah only gave him the middle finger.
"Money's a terrifying thing..." Michael said, sitting across from Dick, "But so is the bat." he responded, the two sharing a glass of scotch.
"So, what'dya need done, boss," he asked,
"Oh, I'm not the boss," Dick laughed at Michael's scrunched-up eyebrows. Ezra walked in, Michael pointing to her, "Oh, not her either. She's just the messenger." Dick shrugged,
"And a good one at that," Ezra smirked,
"Then who is he?" Michael asked, his foot rapidly tapping, "And where is he."
"Sorry, I'm late. I was helping Frankie with the lunch rush." Yonah smiled, rolling up her sleeves as she sat down.
"Keep it up. You'll end up married." Ezra smirked, "I know from experience." she cheesed as Yonah rolled her eyes, "You two are dating first off." Dick smirked. Michael watched in awe as Yonah then looked back at Michael,
"Can I get you anything..."
"Just waiting for the boss." he shrugged,
"That would be me, Yonah. Nice to meet you."
"Michael Castiglione ." he stuck his hand out. She had a firm handshake, brown eyes to get lost in, pink painted nails and-
"Jersey," he mumbled under his breath.
"So, how can I help you."
"It's more so. How can we help you,"
"Help me?" she looked at her brother as he nodded,
"We heard about the Falcone situation." Michael smirked as Yonah sighed, "I handled it, got one guy locked in a freezer until he cracks... or dies." she took a drink from her cup,
"As associates..."
"Associates, I thought The Justice League was..."
"They're his associates. They're our associates." Dick interjected.
"So, with that said, how can I help you, Ms. Fury?"
" See to it he... doesn't send any more of his men our way," she smirked,
"And if "He" does..."
"He'll have someone else to answer to." she shrugged, her expression darker as Michael nodded. He could see why his brother was fascinated by her. "Should I be worried?" Michael asked as Ezra and Dick both nodded, "She's not one to be crossed."
"I can speak for myself, thank you," she sighed, "Siblings, I tell you."
"I completely understand," he pushed a jet black curl aside, "Got two older ones, a pain in my ass." he laughed as she giggled, "Well, in honor of joining the family, we grant you our protection, and a partnership of this here lounge," Yonah said hands folded on her knees,
"We already have a partner-" Ezra froze as Yonah snapped her fingers at her,
"What do you say, Mr. Castiglione."
"We grant our protection, loyalty, and half ownership of our shop in Queens,"
"We've got a deal," Michael grinned,
"Nice doing business with you, partner." Yonah shook his hand, a good, firm grip, watching as she walked away.
"I think you should leave my girl alone."
"Says who..." Billy asked, hand near his holster. It was close to Midnight, and the boys had just finished locking up shop at Astoria's. "Wasn't talkin to you." grey eyes peering from the shadows, "Was talkin to him." gun pointed at Frank, "Who's your girl, kid? "Curtis asked, already ready to aim fire and shoot. "That's between him and-"
BANG!
A bullet in his knee cap, "You talk too damn much-" Frank sighed as both Curtis and Billy looked up at Frank, "You're going to pay for-"
BANG!
"GET EM NOW, BOYS!" He shouted. They were surrounded and outnumbered, but that didn't worry them before. Frank reloaded his gun, Billy had his switchblade, and Curtis had his suppressor. What was supposed to be an innocent night on the town became a blood bath, as men lay there covered in their blood, laying in the alleyway laid Frank and Billy, a few dents and digs that, with the right kind of care, would be gone.
"Sure you don't wanna find Temple,"
"We'll bleed out before we make it to Harlem." Billy sassed.
"I'd be okay with that," Curtis mumbled,
"Does Liberman know-
"Out with his wife... Just get in the car. I know a place in Midtown." Frank grumbled, limping.
"You two comin or what."
"Pin curls..." Ezra sighed, watching her sister set her hair.
"What's wrong with pin curls."
"They're old..."
"They're classic..."
"Have you tried? I don't know ratting your hair." Dick asked, "All the women are doing it." he mumbled as Ezra sat her down,
"I don't need to-"
"It's time you be your own person," Ezra smirked at a can of hair spray and a teasing comb. Yonah grumbled and groaned much like her father would as Ezra worked her magic on her sister's head, a beehive ponytail,
"Well, do you like it?"
"I don't-"
Ding!
Rushing to cover up her nightgown, Yonah ran to the door, dagger in her garter belt. Through the peephole, it was Billy and "Frank..." the two were bloody and bruised like dropped peaches on the ground. As she opened the door, she could see her sister's heart sink at the look of Billy. Rushing to his side, Yonah rolled her eyes at the action.
"You look ..."
"Like shit..." Frank finished her sentence, his eyes admiring the view.
"I was going to say like you need medical attention." she huffed, Who did this to you."
"I'm fine..."
"Didn't ask how you look," Dick went to get her sewing kit. "I'm-"
"Billy, what happened..." Ezra asked, sewing him up in the middle of the kitchen, "A few punks started a fight. We finished em off." he shrugged as Yonah laughed, guiding Frank to the bathroom,
"Isn't that just sexy?" Ezra swooned.
"Guess I'm not sleeping tonight." Yonah jokingly sighed.
"You can sleep at my place." he looked at her as she wiped the dried-up blood off his face, the alcohol burning as he tried not to flinch.
"I don't want to intrude."
"Ouch..."
"Did I hurt you?" she asked, generally worried,
"No." he shrugged.
"Good cause that was still the cloth," she joked, straddling his waist so she could start sewing on him. "You poor baby." she rubbed circles on his cheek. He was baffled by her actions, the way she sat on his lap as if it were a throne, her voice calling him baby. Frank was sick on love, and she was the cause. The needle pierced into his skin. "On second thought, does the offer still stand," she asked as he laughed, heart, skipping a beat.
"Of course, Sweetheart."
"I think you're all cleaned up," she trailed off, seeing blood on his shirt, a deep sigh leaving her lips. It must have been how her mother felt fixing Bruce from every damn fight he got into,
"What's wrong."
"Your shirt..." Frank looked down as Yonah got up from straddling him, "If you want me to take it off, just ask." from any guy, this would have been a shit-eating smirk Yonah, but to her, it might have been the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.
"Please..." she coughed, "So you don't uh die..." she turned her back so he could have some privacy,
"You don't have to-"
"No, no, it's fine, ladies, never." she turned back to face Frank, "Peak..." she was silent, absolutely gob-smacked. He had a body fit for the motion pictures. He was better than any James Dean or the rest of that lot.
"You alright over there, Jersey."
"Mhmm, fine." she blushed, "Re-threading the needle."
"The one with thread in it." she looked down as she sighed, "Reasons I don't have a medical degree." Frank laughed at her joke. Getting closer to him, she realized the angle she'd be in to sew him would be awkward unless she made it that way. But then again, they did kiss, and they'd been growing closer to each other.
She just needed to say it.
"Look, for you to not bleed on my marble floors, I'm gonna have to be between your legs, so don't get any funny ideas," she said as Frank shrugged,
"Wasn't gonna."
Yonah had her hand on his thigh to steady herself. The other sewing up the cuts, "So who was this fight with..." she asked. She knew some of those marks. She had a few herself.
"Some punk from Gotham." he shrugged, "Taught him a lesson, though,"
"Did you happen to catch his name?" she asked
"Carlo or something." her hand froze. Was he the one sending his grandfather's goons to the bar or having them follow her and her sister back home?
"Jersey... you okay."
"Mhmm, I uh, just need to fix this one stitch and-" leaning close as she tightened up the stitch, her head focused down, Frank's head knocked back, trying not to growl from the pain.
"Aye, Frankie, I'm stayin...here... tonight-"
"Oh my God, Yonah, I didn't think you'd be into that."
Both Frank and Yonah popped their heads back at the bathroom door as Billy and Ezra stood smirking at the two.
"We weren't..." her face turning red, "I was fixin him up."
"So was your sister. She fixed me up very well..." He kissed Ezra, hands on her waist as Frank and Yonah rolled their eyes.
"Will you two fuck off!" She growled as Frank's eyes grew a bit wide. He never wanted to kiss someone so badly for the way that Billy cowered in fear and left. Adding the last stitch, Yonah handed him his shirt as she took a deep breath.
"I'll uh go get changed." she smiled. It was just a sleepover with her friend, who she's kissed, seen shirtless, the same friend who saw her covered in a pink lace nightgown. If Matt knew about this, he'd have joked about how far from heaven she was.
"Ez tell Dick I'll be back tomorrow,"
"Where you going..." Ezra asked, wrapped in her robe.
"Business," she said, taking her keys and a suitcase with her.
"You ready,"
Frank's place wasn't too shabby. It was just enough space for him and his siblings when they occasionally popped in. But it was cozy, warm, and comfy enough for Yonah to have already made herself home on his couch. "Nice place you got here." she smiled at him,
"It ain't fancy like yours."
"Doesn't need to be." her eyes drifted to a picture, and she smiled as she got closer, "That's Maria and my kids Lisa and Frank jr." he sighed,
"You had a beautiful family, Frank." she smiled, "She looked like she didn't take any of your shit." Yonah chuckled as he laughed, "She could hit hard like the big boys, but she was a sweetheart." he smirked, "She was mine." he looked down at her, brown eyes looking into her blue-green ones. Yonah then put her finger on her locket. She hadn't worn it much, but it still meant so much to her,
"You got a sweetheart, huh."
"Oh me, no..." a picture of her mother inside it. Frank was in awe. She was just as beautiful as Yonah, with gentle eyes and a smile that wore off on her daughter,
"She must have meant a lot to you."
"I could say the same to you about Maria." she then stretched, "I should uh washup." she walked off,
"Dick, can you get lost..." Ezra asked. Dick sighed, standing at the door as his sister hid behind the door, "Kinda can't... brought someone with me." he mentioned, "Tell them to fuck off..."
"You heard her, Brucie." Dick sighed.
"B-Bru...Daddy!?!"
Bruce only stood at the door as he groaned. Ezra didn't know what to do with Billy in the bedroom and clothes scattered. She was the most indecent ever.
"Uh oh..." Billy gulped.
"Where's your sister..." Bruce only asked,
"She's out..."
"With who..."
"Frank!" Yonah laughed, sitting on the countertop, Johnny Cash playing on his record player as she watched him cook, "What you asked," he smirked, taking her hand and kissing it. "You're a real wild card." she playfully shoved him. "What about you." bringing the sauce spoon to her mouth, "I've never done anything wild." she nodded, "I don't believe that." he joked as she furrowed her brows, "There's still Doris Day's in the world of Betty Pages." she rolled her eyes,
"Even Doris did somethin." he teased,
"Alright, alright." she cracked, "I once did the backseat bingo at the passion pit...I was young. I didn't know better..." she blushed, the straps of her nightgown hanging off her shoulders.
"Attagirl," Yonah smirked, biting her bottom lip,
"Oh, hush."
"Embarrassed?" he smirked back, leaning in closer,
"I've done things that could make Mary Magdalene blush."
"Prove..." Yonah kissed him hard, her hand tucked in his thick curls, teeth grazing his bottom lip as she slowly pulled away, "it..." Frank finished his sentence a bit breathless. "Make me..." she whispered against his lips. There it was, her seductive side kicking in, the side that wanted to pounce and attack, but she couldn't. After all, he opened his doors to her. Frank pinned her against the cabinets, his hand under her chin, bringing her lips to his. The kiss was sweet at first, shy, tempting, and wanting. Different than their kiss back from the Copa. Yonah could taste the dry iron from the cut on his lip as Frank could taste the lingering traces of vodka and lemonade.
"You don't have to worry..." Yonah pulled away.
"About what."
"Hurting me, I can take it." batting her eyelashes at him.
"In that case." wrapping his hand around her ponytail. He gave it a rough tug watching as her head fell back, revealing her neck that needed every type of hickey and bite mark that Frank could think of,
Yonah shivered at the feel of his tongue licking down her neck. The bites and nips on her skin slowly started to fire her fury, "More..." her voice breathy and light, different from how she was just a minute ago, demanding and in control. Frank only laughed, seeing her eyes cloudy with lust so fast, he had to have her now, and he was going to. Pulling him back into a kiss, Yonah snaked her arm around his neck as she bit his lip, causing a sharp groan to escape him. Her tongue wrapped around his, sucking on the muscle giving him an idea of what else Yonah would be good a sucking; wrapping her leg around his waist almost made him want to take her right then and there, but he wanted to have her work for it, see what she would do and how she'd do it. His hands crept closer to where she wanted them, hoping he could feel just how much she needed him,
"Now, sweetheart,"
"Hmm..."
"Are you sure about this?"
"Mhmm..." Yonah nodded, already drunk off his touch,
"Use your words, princess."
"Yes."
"Yes, what." Frank leaned in close. He swore he heard her breath hitch.
"Yes, sir."
"Attagirl," Frank smirked, slowly sliding his finger inside her, Yonah's head nearly hitting the back of the cabinet door. Yonah was squelching wet to the point she was oozing. If this was what a kiss could do, he could imagine how wet she'd be when he got fired up. Frank plunged another finger inside her slippery cavern as her back began to arch, her breathing becoming choppy the more he'd thrust them in and out of her.
"St- ah Stop teasin m- fuck me!"
"If you don't like my teasin, why're moanin." Frank whispered in her ear, "B-BecAUSE!" she was close to coming on his fingers, and he knew from the agonizing squeeze she had on them, "Words doll face." another quick thrust of his fingers,
"I-I!"
"Hmm." he pulled her off the counter, "Might wanna hold on." Yonah nodded as he sat between her legs, removing her panties with his teeth. His tongue licked between her wet folds as her knees buckled, he hadn't even begun, and she was already weak. He could hear her whimpering and moaning at every swirl of his tongue on her sensitive bud, she was yearning for him, and he loved it,
"You okay up there..."
Yonah only let out a shaky moan as he kissed her thighs,
"Take that as a yes." he winked, eating her like a man starving for his last meal. Yonah couldn't take it anymore. She was holding on by a thread, legs shaking, toes curling her hands, tugging his hair.
"I know you got it in you." he cooed, plunging his tongue inside her as her eyes rolled to the back of her head, "Yes...yes... YES!" her breathing heavy as he licked up her sweet taste, if Frank had to he'd die happily under her just like this.
"You got one more in you?" he asked as Yonah gave him a quick peck on the lips. Scooping her up in his arms, he carried her to his bedroom and placed her on the bed, "I think I have a few more." she gasped as she watched Frank unbutton his shirt. Although it wasn't like she hadn't already seen him like this before, it wasn't like she didn't just patch him up. "Y'wanna help me here." his hands tugging at his belt as she stopped and stared at him, "C'mere pretty girl." and just like that, she was under his spell, unzipping his dress slacks, her eyes big and round,
"You want it... S'yours." he kissed her forehead.
"I should. After all, you gave me-"
"You don't got to if you don't want to." he rubbed her cheek, "Just for that, I have to." she winked at him, Frank laughed, bending down to kiss her,
"Jesus Christ, Jersey."
"I can guarantee this is going to be the best you ever had," she smirked, pulling down his boxers. He was a good size, girthy, enough to hit the back of her throat. The touch of her gentle hand pumping his cock sent electric sparks through him. If Yonah continued going, he might have burst right then and there. Her fingers were magic alone, but so was her tongue. It was as if she knew where he needed her the most. Frank wanted to be gentle. He wanted to savor the moment, but when Yonah hollowed her cheeks and nearly had him halfway down her throat, he couldn't help but let his primal side show. Grunts and groans left his ever-so-soft lips as Yonah hummed, the vibrations sending him over the edge. She could tell he was close from the way his hips began to sputter and thrust into her mouth, the way that he said. "Fuck baby girl, y'doin so good." the rasp in his voice went to shit as his voice was breathy and wanting. Yonah could feel him rutting into her mouth, bits of drool dripping from her plump pink lipstick lips. Ropes of cum on her tongue as he reluctantly pulled away.
"Swallow all of it."
"Already did." Yonah smirked, "You sound cute when you're whiny and whimperin." Frank growled, giving her ass a little spank as she gasped,
"You into that, sweetheart."
"No..."
He spanked her again as she moaned, "Thought so." he chuckled. It was his turn to make her feel like she was the only woman in the world. Kissing her neck, his hands found their way under her nightgown and to her breast, giving them a good squeeze as her head fell back on his shoulder. His touch alone could send her over the edge, and he was impressed by it. He loved how her legs squeezed when he pulled on her nipple, how she'd whine for more when he'd lick down her neck, or just how weak she got when Frank would whisper "Attagirl." in her ear. Yonah wanted, no needed him in every possible way given. She needed to feel him throbbing inside her now. "Somethin on your mind."
"I need you," she murmured.
"In what way." He turned to look at her.
"Every way." she yelped at the feeling of his finger. Yonah was soaking wet, making him drunk off lust. "C'mere." he pinned her down to the mattress, dark curls sprawled out on his pillow. She was beautiful under him like this, laying there without anything on. He could stay like this forever, "Tell me if it hurts."
"I can take the stretchin," she smirked,
"I'm serious."
"Alright, alright, I will." tracing the worry lines on his forehead, "You worry about me a lot, don't you." she asked as Frank traced the sensitive scar under her breast, "Damn right, I do," he said, heart beating fast, was this love or lust, adoration, or admiration,
"You sure about this."
"I'm very sure." Yonah cradled his face. Frank nodded, slowly sliding into her, fingernails digging into his back. "Breathe."
"Try-Trying to." Yonah's nose scrunched up at the sting, sure, it was a slight twinge of pain, but it had been a while since she last felt it and the first time she liked it. Being a honeypot wasn't easy. It was just meaningless nights of sex and information or used at times. "You can move now," she whispered. His thrust was slow at first, not wanting to overwhelm her too much, but, oh, did Yonah ache for him to go faster to unleash every bit of stress he had,
"You look bored..."
"No... I'm -" he glanced at her as she cracked, "Well..." she gasped a little, "Could we..." Frank stopped, paying attention to her and what she wanted to say, "Go faster." an ounce of relief dropped. He thought maybe he had done something wrong or hurt her,
"Thought you'd never ask." Animalistic guttural grunts and moans filled the room. "Fuck! Right there!" Yonah shrieked. Hours passed as the sun was slowly kissing the sky. Yonah's hands were on top of Frank's chest as he guided her hips, his other large hand softly on her throat, "Fuck... Yonah... You doing s'good for me." he panted, the two both getting close, watching her sink her hips back on him was heaven sent with the sun shining on her skin, she was heaven sent, and she was his.
"Attagirl, there you go." he moaned out, "Be a good girl an cum for me," Frank commanded, a high pitch scream leaving her lips as he rutted into her faster, chasing both his and her final moment.
"FRANK FUCK, I LOVE YOU," she shouted. Frank pulled her in for a fiery kiss. Bodies pressed together. "I love you too, Yonah," he mumbled under a whisper so only he could hear it. Pulling out of her, he watched the mess they created spill out as the two laughed,
"Shit... "
"Don't worry, I'm on the pill." she shrugged, "I'll go draw us a bath and-" she tried to get up as her legs were weak, and she'd still been on the bed. "Allow me." Frank scooped her up in his arms,
"So what about the lounge and the shop..." she asked
"Eh, they'll manage." he kissed her forehead.
"It's close to noon..." Bruce said, looking between the three of them, "Your sister still isn't here..." Dick gulped, trying to think of a lie as both Ezra and Billy became squeamish to his gaze, "She's runnin a couple of errands, and she'll be back." Billy shouted as they waited for Bruce's reaction. "She'll be back by tonight." Ezra pitched in, fumbling over the fabric of her sleeves.
"Then I'll be here until she does."
"Shit... aye Russo... why'd don't call you to know who and..."
"And what," Billy whispered as Dick glanced at him,
"Got it."
"You really gotta start takin care of yourself." Frank sighed, knowing he was talking about himself using Yonah as a façade. "I do... it's just in between. I'm taking care of the family business. And stepping in the role for my mother and-" Frank glanced at her as she looked back at him. "Her death ain't your fault, sweetheart..." massaging her scalp as soap bubbles surrounded them. "Their death ain't your fault either," she said, shuttering from the massage.
"I coulda prevented it..." he sighed, "If I just..."
"I know how you feel... I was sixteen when my mother died. With so much responsibility and taking care of my brothers and my wayward sister, and bad lovers and-"
"C'mere, let me hold you." her head laying on his chest,
"When we get out of this tub, i'm going to hold you too," she mumbled. Feeling nice and cozy, Yonah didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay like this, with Frank forever. "Thank you." Frank mouthed.
RING
RING
RING
"Jesus Christ, Frank, will you answer your phone!" Michael grumbled, walking around his apartment. A groan left his lips. Yonah and Frank jolted up out of the tub from the sound of the voice. Frank grabbed a gun he hid under a tile. Yonah took a switchblade out from under her slipper.
"What can I say? I'm a badass." she winked, the two in robes. "Francis, this is import-" a gun and knife pointed in his direction, "Tant..."
"Mikey..." Frank sighed, "Couldda knocked.
"I wish I did," he said, trying to focus on Frank,
"Ms. Wayne." he nodded in her direction.
"Mr. Castiglione." she covered up,
"You two know each other..." Frank asked, setting his gun down,
"Could ask you the same thing." she sassed.
"This is my brother Francis Castiglione." Michael smiled, "Francis, this is Yonah Shanel Wayne."
"You're the..." Yonah stood there in shock. She didn't know how to feel or what to do. Was she embarrassed, or did she think he'd think differently of her?
"And you're the honeypot they call Pink Fury." she couldn't tell if he was okay with it or heartbroken or- "Was that back there all an act, sweetheart or-"
"Ms. Wayne, your fathers on the phone."
"Frank I-"
"It's urgent..."
"Hello, father..." grumbled under her breath,
"Where are you..."
"I'm with my associates." she deadpanned, watching as Frank walked off, "I'll be there as fast as I can..." she hung up wanting to go to him, wanting to tell him that Yonah loved him, that she-
"We'll meet you there," Michael said as she nodded,
"You're late..." Dick whispered. Walking quickly into the backroom. Sitting at her desk was Bruce, who had Tim, and Jason by his side with his baseball bat, Ezra had her knife pulled out, and tied to the chair interrogated was "Carlo..." Yonah froze, a lump of anxiety in her throat.
Her hands started to shake.
She couldn't speak.
She couldn't breathe.
Yonah needed to hide.
She needed to be brave.
She needed to reclaim her sanity.
"Everyone out..." she snapped her fingers,
"Yonah, are you sure..."
"OUT!" she commanded, sitting on her desk. She looked over at Carlo. That grin that once gave her butterflies now made the acid in her stomach boil,
"So you messin with that stunad..." Carlo laughed, "Thought you were better than that." he chuckled, touching her cheek like he used to, shocked that she smacked his hand away.
"Why are you here... in my territory..."
"Your territory... please, this belongs to Murdock... The devil of Hell's Kitchen, he only let you hear because." a gash on his cheek, blood trickling down, "You bitch..." his hands wrapped around her throat, Manicured fingers searching for the gun that Ezra gifted her. "You no good Bitch." he growled. He could feel the pressure of iron against his head as he laughed, the ivory handle in her hand felt foreign, but it felt good,
"This is for all you did to me..."
"Yonah, remembering it wrong... You hurt me remember? " Carlo asked, "You abused me. I never hit you, I never did no such thing, now Sionis might've but me I loved you," he unwrapped his hands from her throat,
"Sionis was at least apologetic." her hands unsteady with the gun,
"Next, you'll say that asshole who shot me loves you too."
"Frank..." she whispered, "What did you try to do to him..."
"The same thing my Grandfather successfully did to your mother."
Suddenly Yonah was transported back to January 7th, 1956, poodle curls atop her hair, dressed in a black pencil dress as her father was stone-faced, her sister crying over her shoulder, her brothers silently sobbing,
Yonah couldn't look away as they lowered her mother's casket. She knew she had a mission to fulfill, and Yonah wouldn't stop. "She's buried next to grandma and grandpa," Ezra said, trying to comfort her sister. Yonah only walked past her as she laughed,
"Alfred..."
"Yes, Ms. Wayne..."
"I need you to train me."
A fire in her eyes as she spun Carlo into her desk, hand fisting his hair, banging it against her desk, the other hand pressing the gun to his head. She wanted him to feel the same fear she once felt to see every ounce of life left, to have his brains spilled the same way her mothers did.
"You wouldn't..."
"Fucking try me..."
"Think of your daddy and his no-kill poli-"
THWACK
Bashing his head in again.
"That's really all you got, huh." he laughed, "Can't you be more controlling, more aggressive, more-"
BANG!
The bullet was heard around New York, "Yonah..." Bruce said. He didn't want to go in there for fear Yonah might have been hurt or worse. But there was Frank, pushing past everyone to get to that door. All he could see was her, not the blood, not Carlo. Frank shot to make sure he'd stay dead. He only had eyes on her. Dropping the gun by her foot, Yonah ran into his arms, shivering like a wet cat, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry," she kept muttering, hot tears into his shirt,
"You didn't do anything wrong," he stated, picking her up as she buried her head in his chest.
"Yonah, you're alright..." everyone was saying, surrounding her and asking if she was okay,
"I can't breathe..."
"Why can't I breathe..." her heart racing as if she could barely stand the beat of it drumming in her ears. Chills ran down her spine. She felt like she'd faint if one more person touched her,
"Give her some space," Matt said,
"Is she okay?" Ezra asked
"What's happening to her."
" An episode..." Dick mumbled,
Bruce raced over to his daughter as Frank backed away, "Russo water, Ezra table cloth, Tim, lock the doors. We're closed." he commanded, watching as they all scattered around to help,
"Five things you can see."
"Y-you... table... B-bar, Jason, Curtis." her breathing a bit steady,
"Good four things you can hear."
"Lights, uh... uh voices." she shivered,
"Give me two more."
"Footsteps, rain..."
"Good, three things you can touch."
"Floor, table, chair." she was getting better with her fast responses.
"Two things you can smell."
"Ezra's perfume, food..."
"One thing you can taste." Yonah blushed as Bruce glanced at her, confused to what she might say.
"Frank," she mumbled. Bruce helped her up as she hugged him. He hugged back.
"I'm sorry."
"About," Ezra asked,
"Our argument." He took the cloth from her, placing it over Yonah, "You managed very well, Ms. Enchantress... or should I say Fury." he winked as Yonah blushed a bit.
"You heard..."
"I know everything."
"I told him everything," Michael mumbled. Dick gave Yonah some water. While Frank stood next to her,
"You uh feeling better, Jersey..." he asked.
"Yeah..." she nodded, "Can we have some alone time, please..." Yonah asked as everyone responded, shaking their heads and sitting down.
"Look about earlier..."
"Frank, I am in love with you, like I'd make you Pasta Fazioli and-" he kissed her again,
"I uh..."
"I love you too." he chuckled. Frank finally said it out loud, and it wasn't as scary as he thought,
"That's cute... But, uh, the real question..." Tim asked, tapping his fingers, "Who's going to be dad's underboss." Bruce looked between his children, sipping his scotch as he took a deep breath,
"Well..."
"Tell us..."
"It has to be me."
"I'm your first son."
"It's Alfred." Bruce shrugged.
"ALFRED!" they all shouted.
"Tim, you're not ready. Jason, you have The Outlaws. Dick, you're here. Ezra, you're here, and Yonah, you don't need me telling you what to do anymore." he smiled, "You've already got everything under control here." he raised his glass, "I just hope you're dependable as an associate."
Warnings: Some legal jargon that’s probably not right, 18+ themes, swearing.
Word Count: 2.1k
The Missing Link Masterlist
Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
Police boat sirens wailed in the distance, red and blue flashing against the ocean water as they got closer and closer to the island. Ezra blinked as Elle tightened his tie slightly, pulling him back from his memory. He gave her a light smile and pressed a kiss on her forehead as he brushed a few hairs away from her face. As expected, Miles wanted to go to trial. Helen did burn his entire house down but he helped inadvertently. The public didn’t necessarily know that just yet. The unfortunate part about all this was that it’s been a few months since everything on the island, the seasons had slowly started to change.
Ezra hasn’t seen Benoit much in that time.
Of course, he knew why Benoit was turning him down. He didn’t want Miles’ lawyers to try and manipulate the narrative that Ezra only sided with Helen because he had a crush on Benoit. They would probably explain it as some twisted way to appease the detective. If they wanted that, they should investigate Birdie instead.
With the way the media was these days, there was so much coverage on the trial and what happened at the island that it made Ezra dizzy. He was used to the flashes of cameras but not all these questions about stocks in Alpha or how it was strange he barely had any scratches on him when leaving the island. How the fuck would they know that?
Benoit and Helen’s lawyer, Matthew Murdock, walked up to Elle and Ezra. Matt was a recommendation from Ezra for Helen, he took a lot of work pro-bono so she wouldn’t have to pay him if she couldn’t. Not only were Mr. Murdock’s services free but he was highly experienced and won a lot of the cases he was involved in. If Ezra was Miles’ lawyer, he would be sweating bullets. Thankfully, Matt was on their side. Ezra’s heard stories of the way he’s absolutely destroyed an opponent in court. His speech was fluid, to the point, and his tongue was sharp like a razor.
Matt was everything that made a good lawyer.
“Just remember the questions I briefed you on.” Matt said as he adjusted his red-lensed glasses. He leaned slightly on his cane before he made his way inside the courtroom to take his place next to Helen.
Ezra let out a small laugh. If he could remember a ten page monologue then he was sure he could remember a few questions. “This is gonna be fun…” He sighed as he shook his head slightly.
“You’re tellin’ me.” Benoit joked softly. He was dressed in his signature tweed suit, something Ezra wasn’t able to see in real life until then. It was a little depressing that this was the first time he’d seen Benoit like that.
Elle wrapped her arms around her father in a hug. Thankfully, they didn’t even attempt to call her to the stand. Ezra was very protective of Elle and didn’t think that being put on the spot in such a way would make her feel better about anything that came out of this. “Kick some ass, dad.” She winked, lightly punching Ezra’s shoulder.
“You know I always do.” Ezra shot back with a light laugh as he disappeared behind the courtroom doors.
Benoit stared at the door after they closed and leaned down slightly to whisper to Elle, “He’s a nervous wreck, ain’t he?”
“Yeah…” Elle pursed her lips then shrugged, “He likes to go by the saying, ‘fake it till you make it.’” She looked back up at Benoit and gave him a slight smile of reassurance. “He’ll be fine.”
Somehow, they both doubted that.
—-------
Miles’ lawyer began with a simple request. “Can you state your name and occupation for the court, Mr. Wayne?”
Ezra nodded, not wanting to be snarky when it could be taken the wrong way. Not only that, but Matt warned him against it as well. “I am Ezra Wayne and I am an actor.” He said simply, his hands clasped in his lap.
“And your relationship with Mr. Bron, Mr. Wayne?”
Right, they would use this against him somehow. Ezra glanced at Matt before his eyes were fixated on the lawyer in front of him. “We’re not friends but I wouldn’t say we’re enemies either. I don’t like him but I don’t think I despise him.” He explained.
The lawyer hummed and nodded, “With your dislike of Mr. Bron, why did you attend the weekend festivities he was holding at his island?”
“Objection, leading.” Matt raised his voice slightly, just enough for the entire court to hear but he never left his seat.
The judge nodded, “Sustained. Mr. Anderson, reword your question.”
Anderson let out a light huff and nodded. “Mr. Wayne, why did you go to Mr. Bron’s island?” His question was much more to the point without implying too much which was what they–Ezra and Matt–wanted.
“Why wouldn’t you want to go to a Greek island in the middle of summer?” Ezra shrugged with a light smirk. “My daughter was getting stir crazy in our house during the height of the pandemic. We needed to do something and I assumed the island would be isolated–which it was–I didn’t think we would be hurting people by going.” He explained just as practiced.
Anderson’s eye twitched slightly before he took a quick breath and asked his next question, “It has recently come out that Mr. Blanc,” Ezra’s eyes flicked to the man as he entered the courtroom with his daughter. “was hired by Ms. Brand. Did you know this?”
“Not at the beginning of the day, no.” Ezra confessed truthfully. He quite simply thought Benoit was going on his own sort of getaway, nothing particularly stood out to him that Benoit had some ulterior motive. Either way, half the time the detective was around Ezra, his face was flushed red both because of nervousness and the feelings he felt for the actor.
“But you did by the end of the night?”
Ezra cocked his eyebrow slightly then remembered… they hadn’t called Benoit to the stand yet. Possibly to save him for last, to fill in some details the rest of them didn’t know. “Well, yeah. He explained his purpose for being there with a huge speech though I don’t remember many details about it.”
“What do you remember?”
Ezra pursed his lips slightly, “Details are foggy but the big things were that he explained both the murder of Duke Cody and Cassandra Brand were committed by Miles. Not only that but he attempted a murder on Ms. Brand's life earlier that night.” A ghost of a smile was on the corner of his lips as a gasp broke out among the court, chattering starting as journalists scribbled in their notebooks.
“Order! Order!” The judge smashed down her gavel, quickly shutting up the crowd in the gallery. “Proceed, Mr. Anderson.”
Anderson’s eyes narrowed at Ezra as he pursed his lips before he turned back to Matt and retreated to his place next to Miles. “Your witness.” He said.
Matt let out a small chuckle, he could sense Anderson’s defeat as he stood. “Good afternoon, Mr. Wayne.” He smiled slightly as he approached the witness stand. “Did you happen to see how the fire in Mr. Bron’s house started?”
“No. Me and my daughter went outside a few minutes before the fire started. She wanted to get some air and relax.” Ezra explained which wasn’t necessarily a lie but just not the full truth. Then again, he didn’t exactly know what was going to happen when he followed Benoit outside the Glass Onion.
Matt nodded as if he didn’t send Ezra his questions weeks in advance so he was prepared for everything he was going to ask him. “Mhm. Did you happen to know what Klear was?” He asked with a slight cock of his head.
“No.” Ezra huffed out a laugh. “I haven’t spoken with Miles in years before the invitation arrived on my doorstep. To be frank, I’m still not exactly sure why he invited me.” He admitted softly as he adjusted his position in his seat.
“You didn’t know that Klear was a highly flammable substance?” Matt asked, adjusting his glasses slightly.
Anderson quickly objected, “Leading!”
“Sustained.” The judge responded. At least she was fair.
Matt hummed for a moment before he reworded the question, “Did you have any idea of the properties of Klear?” He asked after a few seconds.
“No. Not until Lionel Toussaint said that it could be unsafe for people to be around.” Ezra explained and pursed his lips slightly. “That was enough for me to want to get out of there as soon as possible. My daughter’s safety is much more important than my own.”
“As one would imagine.” Matt nodded as he leaned on his cane slightly, turning his head in Miles’ direction before he turned it back to Ezra. Anxiety was rolling off the billionaire in waves. “I have no more questions at this time, your Honor.” He said clearly before he made his way next to Helen.
—------
Week passed with each witness called to the stand, more and more pieces started to fall into place. That was until Benoit Blanc made his way to the stand when all the pieces began to fit together, providing information that only he had. Benoit was hired by Helen to find her sister’s alleged murderer and with the evidence available at the time, they believed it to be one of Miles’ friends. They didn’t exactly expect it to be Miles himself though that was one of Helen’s first instincts. But, as they eventually learned, they should have trusted Helen.
To the surprise of the gallery, the trial slowly turned into a murder trial rather than one about property damage and defamation. And to everyone’s surprise except Ezra’s, Miles was found guilty with first degree manslaughter, life in prison, and no posted bail so no matter how much money the man had, it wouldn’t be enough to keep him out of jail.
Walking out of the courthouse with his daughter, Ezra met Benoit and Helen at the bottom of the steps and gave them both a light smile. Thankfully, it was night so there weren't too many reporters outside. “The shithead got what he deserved, huh?” He chuckled softly.
Helen nodded with a laugh. She looked good these days, not as similar to Andi anymore. Her hair was growing out, the ends remained blonde while the roots started to grow out black. “Finally. I think I would have slipped something in his drink if he didn’t.”
“Not the most brilliant thing to say in front of a court of law.” Benoit shook his head with a light laugh.
“Whatever, we won the case. It don’t matter anymore, Blanc.” Helen shrugged as she patted Benoit’s shoulder slightly before she gave the group a goodbye smile and made her way home.
Elle looked between the two men, both of whom she appointed as her fathers. And well… she could sense something between them needed to be resolved. “Uhhh, I’m gonna wait by the car.” She narrowed her eyes a little and awkwardly skirted past her black-haired father.
The pair watched her walk away until she was out of sight. “I believe I owe you a date?” Benoit asked with a light smile, eyes showing a playful emotion.
“Yes, you do, Detective.” Ezra smirked, no shame evident in his features as his eyes raked over Benoit’s figure. Something about the way he looked in those colorful ties and tweed suits. “Saturday at six work for you?”
Benoit nodded with a small hum, “Even if it didn’t, I’m sure I could make it work for you.” He teased softly. The shyness from the island was all gone and Ezra had to admit this sense of confidence made him weak in the knees.
“Oh, detective…” Ezra licked his lips lightly before he narrowed his eyes momentarily. Giving into his thoughts, Ezra grabbed onto Benoit’s tie and pulled to press his lips against his.
A light, surprised noise escaped Benoit before he relaxed and wrapped his arms around Ezra’s neck. When Ezra tried to pull away, Benoit quickly chased his lips to keep him trapped in the kiss. The actor didn’t mind it much, in fact, he loved it. He was sure the remaining reporters were taking pictures but he didn’t care. Benoit Blanc was kissing him so hard that he was sure his lips would be bright red afterwards.
It’s been a while since they last kissed and they both craved it more and more with each passing day. The month of August arrived and the trial ended so the dam, with all its cracks, simply broke. The pressure disappeared into thin air.
