Mar 23, 2019
ground rules by Frankie Trowbridge
seen from China
seen from Russia
seen from United States
seen from Uzbekistan
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from China
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Chile
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Iraq
seen from Uzbekistan
seen from Russia
ground rules by Frankie Trowbridge
Strange Paradise / Kismet
This is my very first story for Whiskey Cavalier posted on AO3. This is the what if outcome of this https://mariadeckerstar.tumblr.com/post/183611238059/ scene. A few of us first talked about it on Twitter.
The titles, which I actually found challenging for me to find in this fic, are from the string quartet, bond. Strange Paradise is from their sophomore record, Shine, and Kismet, which actually means destiny or fate, from their debut, Born.
WILL
"Did you need something?" he asks Frankie whilst his partner offers him a beer. He notices that she hesitates and wonders why.
"No," she pauses. "But I thought that you might."
There it goes. She obviously needs something though it is not clear what. He may have an inkling that it has to do with the mission they had just finished, about what happened between them. Scratch that. Nothing happened between them. They just kissed so that Michelle would walk away and not remember who he really is. His heart did flutter for a moment because there was something there and he knew that Frankie noticed it, too. He tried to make her open up a bit more by letting her tell of her adventures in Europe when she was young. Obviously, there was a moment there. Instead, she ran away.
He doesn't even sees the tender look she's giving him. Or he does but he's choosing to ignore it.
So, he takes the beer from her and sets the cue stick on the table.
"Thanks for the beer."
He walks away and doesn't notice Frankie's reaction. He thinks that he doesn't need to know because that's her, that's who she is. She doesn't do emotional attachments. She already made sure of that when they met. So whether or not he stays and does what she wants, she'll be Frankie doesn't need emotional attachments. He doesn't notice that Frankie is hurt by his actions.
FRANKIE
She wants to talk. Nothing else. Yes, they had an argument a couple of days ago because she got scared; she never told Will that. She is still a chicken when telling someone, especially Will who she thinks just vomits rainbows and sunshine on them all, about her emotions. Only Jai knows more about what she feels. She realises now that the moment she kissed him, her heart opened up for a possibility of something - with him. And yet, two days ago, she ran in the other direction, to another man's arms, because she was too chicken to admit to her partner that there was something there. She fears now, seeing him walk away, knowing that she wants to talk, that that something is gone. She ruined something that hasn't even begun. And it hurts.
She watches him talking animatedly with the others, laughing at whatever joke Standish had said. She turns her back on them and fiddles with the cue stick that Will had left on the pool table, contemplating on continuing what he had started. Two days ago was when it all started. She hurt Will then and when he turned away from her a moment ago, it hurt her, too. It was what she did in France, didn't she, and he'd done the same just now?
She doesn't notice that Will turned his head back in her direction and telling the others he needs to talk to her.
WILL
He watches her as she picks up the cue stick and sets it back on the table, a couple of times. She's fidgety and he hasn't seen her like this before. He knows that she wants to discuss France and whatever happened back there. He certainly knows that he hurt her. He saw in the corner of his eyes when he turned to talk to the team. He wanted to get back in there but then what? His conscience slowly ate at him, asking him what if he stayed and just listened to what she wanted to say, her disappointed and hurt face swimming in his mind. And he doesn't want to hurt her, not intentionally but that was what happened.
She returns the cue stick on the table for the umpteenth time. He jumps at the opportunity to make his presence known.
"Hey," he says, just above a whisper, not wanting to scare her. He closes the door behind him.
She turns and "Hey"'s him back, softly.
"Look," he starts at the same time she says, "Will".
They share a look and they smile, somberly.
"Can I go first?" he asks.
"The floor is yours," she replies in the most Frankie way: waving her hands, nodding her head, holding a beer. Her eyes don't meet him - she is looking at invisible dirt on the ground as she shuffles her foot - and it's too obvious what that means.
Will fully enters the pool room, walks over to Frankie, and stays beside her. She starts to move away but he touches the hand that is on the table and this time, she looks at him.
"I'm sorry," Will says. "About a while ago. It was never my intention to...leave."
Frankie's breath hitches; she exhales but is still silent, her eyes still on him.
"I'm sorry," Will says again. And he starts to open up, as he always does. "To be honest..."
"I hurt you," she interrupts. "I know."
She never takes her eyes away from him. He knows it's quite challenging for her and he knows that she's tempted to look away but she holds her gaze. The blocks that he saw she's put up in the past few minutes starts to fall although for security, she is still behind the standing pieces of her wall.
"Yeah," he agrees. "Honestly, I don't even know why I did. We were just pretending to be married, weren't we? I mean it shouldn't but seeing you with that scumbag Vasheelii..."
He looks at her and stops.
There's a hint of a smile on her face, those perfect doll lips curving up, until she finally gives in at whatever it was that crossed her mind and laughs. He loves it when he sees and hears her laugh. It is very rare for Frankie to laugh in front of him when they're alone except if she's with their other team members and they're laughing at him. She always looks annoyed. But this is a different Frankie he's seeing.
"Did I say something funny?"
He's confused. Here he is telling his partner why he was mad at her and she just laughs at him.
"You are," Frankie answers, almost doubling in laughter. "Vasheelii."
She composes herself, coughs a little so she drinks the now semi-warm beer she doesn't realise she's still holding. She's still looking at Will, eyes twinkling a little. After taking a swig and sets down the bottle, she turns serious.
"I'm sorry," she utters, whether it was for laughing at him or for what happened in France. Either way, she still wants to talk to him.
Will looks at her, reading her. There is something in her eyes that genuinely says that she regrets whatever it was she did with Vasily. But it is a little uncharacteristic of her or what he knows of her. He is tempted to do it, that thing they did in France. Or she did. Continue whatever it was to begin with. He's just sceptical at what Frankie is about to say. Plus, he is wary because from the way she talks, or doesn't talk, about her past that he is actually afraid that whatever he is thinking of doing, it will scare her away more.
"I just want you to know that," she continues, taking a deep breath, fidgeting with the felt of the pool table. "I never had..."
Whatever she is going to say doesn't go out. Will closed what little gap remains in their position, the temptation overpowered him the moment she said the word "Never".
Frankie is surprised at Will's actions. She thought that he is mad at her because of everything that happened between them for the past couple of days. She doesn't know what to do, her mind is in disarray, that she doesn't realise that she has closed her eyes and melts in his kiss, the way he did when she kissed him as his wife in France.
They part for air. It actually seems like hours had gone by. Will stares into Frankie's eyes. The twinkle is still there but he sees more. Admiration, perhaps. He doesn't push.
Frankie also stares at him. He's right. He has green eyes and it looks amazing, like the colour Dorothy and her friends saw in Emerald City. She has always had a penchant for green eyes but never actually been with a man who has. She doesn't take off her gaze when she involuntarily licks her lips, trapping the bottom after. His eyes flicker to them, his lips curving into a slight smile. She knows he is tempted to ask her about this kiss but he doesn't. He never does and she actually feels a teardrop fall on her cheek.
Will is surprised - Frankie is crying. He raises his hand and wipes the tears away. She sighs at the touch, closes her eyes, and leans on his hand. He somewhat understands why the tears fell and again, even if he is enticed to ask to confirm, he doesn't because he feels it is something to do with him not asking. She takes that hand into hers. This is something she hasn't done before, not even when she is pretending. She doesn't do emotional attachments and yet, with Will... She can't stop getting attached to him, even if she tried not to, and he knows it.
"Frankie," he begins.
"I'm sorry," she says again, but she doesn't take his hand, or hers, off her face. It's comforting her, for some reason.
Will doesn't say anymore. He's waiting at what she's going to say.
"I shouldn't have done it," she continues, her voice barely a whisper. "I...got scared."
"I know," Will replies, finally lowering his hand and she lets go. "It's part of who you are, who you trained yourself to be. And I understand that."
He is not mad anymore but he still doesn't want to push. Frankie already has a door open and she may run again if he does. He lets her continue, if she will.
"It shouldn't be that way, seeing as we are working as a team," Frankie says. She goes back to what she had intended to talk about. "I never had sex with Vasily. Not in that way."
Will chuckles at her statement. "How the hell did you get intel from him?"
He's challenging her. So she smiles, that mesmerising curve of her lips she does when she is up to something. Will looks at her expectantly until she relents.
"We kissed and I brought him to his room," she starts. "His hands were all over me, lifting the skirt of the dress, and he started to unbuckle his belt and take off his pants."
A flash of jealously in Will's eyes. She sees her chance to tease him a little, knowing that he'll follow it up with more teasing.
"When he did, I put my hand in and squeezed his testicles. He took it as me being so into him. I told him that if didn't answer to my bidding, he'd never get what he wants."
Will looks at her incredulously. He never, in his mind, thought that she could do that: pleasure torture and never kill. She only tortures then kills. He laughs inwardly at his own mental image of Frankie torturing then killing Vasily.
Frankie continues, "So, he did. He passed out after he came. You don't know the amount of liquid soap I put in my hands and how long I held them under hot water."
She shudders and actually wants to cry even more at the thought. She's used to torturing people but never in the way that Vasily liked it that it was horrifying. Will sees this and hugs her. She accepts it, promising herself that it will never happen again. It's going to be their little secret.
"I think it's enough talking for the night," Will sighs, through her hair. "I think I understand everything. I don't want to hear more of that tale."
Frankie looks up at him and sees that he's smiling. It was a different smile. Everything actually seems different. Her heart skips a beat.
"Next time though," he starts. "Can you just tell me so I won't take it out of context and get jealous?"
Frankie stares at him and says teasingly, "Jealous?"
"Yeah, jealous, you know," Will realises that it is Frankie's way of telling him that she will tell him next time it happens. She has raised one eyebrow at him. "I hate you."
Frankie nods at him, "Yeah, you do," and murmurs, "Thanks."
"For what?"
"Coming back and listening to whatever I had to say. If I managed to actually say it."
"You're welcome," he responds. "So does this mean that..."
He pauses, unsure and scared of what to say next. This is Frankie he's talking to. Fiery Frankie and at the same time, Flighty Frankie.
She knows what he wants to say and for the first time in her adult life, she actually wants someone to say it to her. She actually wants Will to say it to her. She doesn't know why; she just wants it because it will come from him.
"Maybe," she grins. "Probably. Likely. Throw caution to the wind?"
Will kisses her again and she kisses him back. He knows that she will still run at some point, or maybe and hopefully not, but he agrees.
"Sure," he declares. "There's nothing much to do anyway so why not throw anything at the wind."
"Ah!" Frankie chortles, raising both her eyebrows. There goes the Will she knows, teasing her back.
"I mean, seriously, why not?"
"You know you can just shut up and not ruin the moment."
"We have a moment?" Will asks.
"Hmm," Frankie giggles and buries her face on his chest; it's firm and she kinda likes it. She feels him kissing her head. She lifts her face to him so he can kiss her forehead instead. Will feels a deep connection when she does it. He just discovered a Frankie quirk: she likes being kissed on her forehead.
"So," Will mumbles. "What now?"
"What do you want to do?" Frankie asks back.
"Well, I know of a place," Will starts, pretending thoughtfully. "That has a lot ice cream at this time of the night."
"Do you?" Frankie returns.
Will kisses her forehead again in acknowledgment. She closes her eyes and melts into it.
"I think I'd like some ice cream. Vanilla or pecan," she whispers.
"I think I have vanilla," he whispers back.
Frankie smiles as Will pulls her to the door to go to his personal ice cream place. She can get used to this, being the girl who gets ice cream with Will Chase. Will can get used to this, too, being the man who gets ice cream with Frankie Trowbridge. And they get to save the world, together. They know it's going to be special.
i strongly believe we all need a frankie trowbridge in our lives
Road to Eden
I posted this on AO3 and gifted it to two FriskeyHeads. This is my second outing on Whiskey Cavalier. I will be posting the first soon. :p
Will's entire body is still aching from the events of yesterday. He could barely stand up this morning and owed it to Jai keeping him awake at the witching hour. He manages to come to work; boosting the team's morale is his excuse. He promises himself that he will not complain how his muscles are sore because those kids they saved from that abandoned camp had been there far longer than he was, frightened and starving. But it is already the afternoon and with no mission to save the world, he wishes that, for the first time, he had stayed in bed. He is worried, though, because today is Wine Day with Frankie and he doesn't want to tell her that he wants a rain check. He likes drinking with her...and ice cream.
They have been together for quite some time now but they actually haven't done the deed yet. He wants to take it slow so as not to scare Frankie away. He knows what she is like so he is giving her time, to get to know her more and for her to adjust. Emma agrees with his decision because, as she told Ray a few weeks ago, she also ran away from almost everything due to the nature of her job at MI6. Emma is also apologetic for barging in on Will and Frankie's intimate moment back in Spain, when the latter confessed that she likes drinking with him. The Londoner agent has become his confidante in regards to his relationship with Frankie and he knows that Frankie also talks to her, and Susan, regarding Will. His thoughts are interrupted by Frankie knocking on his office door.
"Are you ready?" she asks.
Will smiles and answers, "Of course. Ready as always."
Frankie flashes him that million-dollar smile he really loves on her. She has become quite open with him since that night at his place, after France. Still not how open he wants her to be - she still has her secrets - but it's enough for now. She needs time and he's giving it to her and he knows that she appreciates it. He winces as he gets up from his chair. Damn muscles! Damn Kenner!
Frankie notices that Will winced. He is still aching from what happened yesterday. After the debrief and them parting ways at The Dead Drop, he went straight home. He did call her to tell her good night but she noticed that he was walking gingerly when he entered the bar's door this morning. She also noticed that he needs more sleep and wondered what kept him awake.
"You okay?"
Will looks up at her.
"Yeah, I'm good. Got my keys."
"You sure? You know we can schedule this another day."
"I'm sure. And it's Wine Day. You can't schedule it another day when you already set a specific day," Will reasons.
"Oh-kay," Frankie says, rolling her eyes.
Will knows she saw the way he moved today or she wouldn't have asked him to reschedule. He's a man of his words, so to speak, that he doesn't want to break their rules and honour their day. He's letting Frankie drive, though, to compensate.
"You're driving," he says as he tosses the keys in her direction.
Frankie's eyes light up. Will knows that she likes to be in control at times so he lets her and she enjoys it. It is also his way of letting her know that he's biding his time when he can get to know more of her and that he's careful in what he wants. Giving her time does come frequently in his thoughts. Time for Frankie is his friend.
They reached Will's apartment in half an hour and he notices that Frankie has gotten quite comfortable. He tries to get off his jacket but grunts because of his burning muscles.
"You sure you really want to do this?" Frankie asks again. "I'm getting a little bit concerned."
"I'm okay," Will lies but he knows that she sees right through it because she raises her eyebrows. "Fine. Yes, I still want to do this because it's our day. And yes, it hurts all over because of what happened yesterday and Jai keeping me awake this morning to bond."
"Jai kept you awake?" Frankie enquires.
"Yes. I wanted to sleep because I'm really exhausted and he put bugs in the apartment and put on that loud Bollywood music he really loves."
Frankie wants to laugh but she doesn't. She understands Will now, why he seemed so tired when he entered The Dead Drop's front door this morning. And she knows Jai; when he puts his heart on something, he will do it whether or not you're tired or even sick. It's actually his way of caring for people. She surmises that the bugs are still there, wherever Jai had put it, and wishes that he isn't listening. No one knows yet.
"Okay, old man," she begins. "Why don't we sit on the couch and I'll give you another massage."
Will gives her a small smile. He likes her touch. Her massages are comfort to him the same way that Frankie finds comfort in his touch whenever she feels down or even when she's tired. He allows Frankie to take charge in the kitchen as he goes to the couch to relax his tender muscles. Maybe he is an old man; unbeknownst to Frankie, he actually finds it adorable when she calls him that. Frankie doesn't like pet names but he considers her calling him an old man as one. His eyes are closed when Frankie sets the food and wine on the coffee table.
"Whiskey," she says, quietly. "Get up."
He opens one eye and tells her, "Ready?"
"Yes. I need my partner to be in tip-top shape, as usual."
He smiles knowingly at her, calling him her partner. She notices and rolls her eyes.
"You know what I mean."
But she grins when she says it. She knows perfectly well what Will means. She never intentionally meant it that way but it's who they are now. They don't acknowledge it publicly but privately, a lot of kisses and wine nights in each other's apartments happened since that mission. They haven't had sex yet and Frankie wonders why at times because she knows that Will must have wanted it. But she surmises that he is being careful, fearing that she might run away. She wants to but she's trying hard to hold on to this relationship because, even if Will annoys the hell out of her most of the time, she wants him very much. She has never felt anything like how she feels about Will since her parents died. She feels that all her emotions died with them but here comes this person who is extremely patient, caring, and loving, balancing her out. She never expected that there will be one of them out there.
She settles next to him on the couch and drinks from her glass. She presents him with ointment and motions to take off his shirt. At that, Will looks at her quizzically. She rolls her eyes again and sighs.
"How in the world can I apply ointment on your aching body," she starts. "When you don't want to take off your shirt in front of me?"
"Fine," he replies, cocking his eyebrows. "Don't blame me if you..."
"I'm sure I won't," she retorts. "I didn't even look at your ass yesterday."
"Right," Will counters as he takes off his shirt. Frankie's breath hitching doesn't go unnoticed. "See?"
"It's not..."
Frankie is at a loss for words. Will turns around and sees her looking at his left bicep. Frankie looks up at him, guilty.
"I'm not...it's not...I was just..."
Too guilty.
"It's okay," Will tells her. "I got it the day after we buried my brother."
He knows she was looking at his tattoo. He didn't know that she is actually fascinated by inked skin. The only time he remembers is when she was "admiring" that scumbag's tattoos and he thought she was pretending. That scumbag is the reason why they are together, though.
"Who is it?" she asks, lightly touching his arm with her fingers, admiring his tattoo.
"Saint Christopher," Will responds. "He's the patron saint of travellers. I figured, you know..."
He stops and Frankie studies him. He is open to everything but she knows even he has a hard time talking about his brother. She taps his shoulder and he glances at her. She tells him silently to lean back, to talk to her, the massage now forgotten. Maybe she can make the pain go away, both physical and emotional, if she allows him to just talk. He as a lot of questions but he follows her silent order.
"Tell me," Frankie instructs.
"Frankie," Will begins.
"Please," she continues. "I want to know."
Will looks at her, questioningly. Frankie wants to know his about his family matters and it's not like her at all. She usually doesn't want to know other people's stories, except perhaps Jai because of their history before Team Whiskey. She wants the product, not the story or in her own words, things she doesn't already know. But here she is, her own eyes boring into him for details.
"Are you sure?" he asks.
"Never been so sure in my life," she responds, her hands on his inked shoulder. "Tell me," she repeats.
Will takes her hand on his and kisses it. She settles beside him, legs tucked. He goes on to tell her that the tattoo is a tribute to his fallen brother Kevin, a marine, who was killed in Afghanistan. After the funeral, he decided that he would join the military to serve the country. He has chosen Saint Christopher because his brother would travel to a peaceful place and he would be travelling the world for his country. He tells her that he feels safe with that inked on his skin because he feels that his brother is always with him, guiding him wherever he goes, near or far. He continues to tell her of his every adventure, including wanting to get another one in India, and all the while, Frankie sits there listening, her eyes never glazing over. He observes her reactions and she's genuinely listening to him. It touches him that she's doing this.
Frankie feels a tug at her heart. She realises that they're closely the same. She lost loved ones and he, too, lost his. She sees that he was close to Kevin and that him getting killed serving the country took a toll on him. But Will being Will soon turned his brother's death into inspiration. She admires him more and more everyday that they are together. She's getting to know him, why he is who he is, and she realises that she actually wants it. She wants Will to tell her everything, even if it annoys the bejesus out of her. It's not about bonding with him. For her, it's about having someone in her life who cares for her, and who she cares for, unconditionally.
"Is it a good thing or a bad thing?" she wants to know.
"A little of both," Will answers, smiling. "Keeps hope as a possibility in every single situation, whether good or bad."
They stare into each other's eyes, both lost in how green both pairs are. Without warning, Frankie leans in and kisses Will, pushing him back on the couch to his surprise. It's a possessive kiss and she has her hands on his bare chest as she straddles him. Will, still cognizant that he doesn't have his shirt on, gently pushes her away, fearing what might come next. He looks at her intently, challenging her to tell him what she wants to do.
"I want this," Frankie says, voicing out the very thing that Will is worried about. "I know you think that I'm going to run based on how you know me. I cannot promise you that I won't but I'm trying. But I want this."
She gestures around the apartment and Will's whole body.
"I don't have my shirt on," Will cajoles.
"Will," Frankie insists, frustrated, putting her hands on either side of his face. "Stop annoying me. I told you I want to."
Will lunges up and kisses her back, passionately, possessively, all pain forgotten. The second his lips touched hers, Frankie sighs and is lost in the moment. She lets him take control and he takes it.
At The Dead Drop, Jai smiles to himself. His friend is opening up little by little and he likes it. He thanks all the Hindu gods - Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu, Krishna, all of them - for Will and shuts off his radio.
Clothes are scattered throughout Will's apartment the next morning and the smell of pancakes wafts in kitchen.
