Not wanting to make the delivery person go out in this cold was starting to grate on Karen as she trudged down the sidewalk back to her apartment. Not that she’d rather someone else be out in this, but maybe she should have just bought food to prepare at home. She hadn’t really thought about it before now.
She honestly wouldn’t have remembered it was Christmas if she didn’t live in New York, where it was a commercial necessity. Well, that, and Frank hauling home a real pine tree to decorate in her front room. And then Darcy arranged the rest of her houseplants around it and it actually looked nice. Festive.
And it made her heart ache in her chest, but she’d never tell them that.
Countless years of being the only one who tried. First at home, and then with Matt and Foggy... it just wasn’t her favorite time of year.
Frank and Darcy really seemed to like it though, so she let them decorate the apartment. Let Darcy convince her that they had to have takeout on Christmas Eve. But then Karen had insisted on being the one to go out and get it.
She was almost home now, her building was in sight. In fact, she could see the tree illuminating her window.
It put a little spring in her step and she made it to her lobby and then up the stairs to her floor.
When she pushed open the door, she gasped.
The lights were out. All except the lights on the tree, that is.
And Darcy had something steaming hot in a mug ready to give to her. Frank was there to take the bags from her.
“I was going to suggest you take a long bath while I was out getting this, so then Frank and I could get all of this ready, but you sort of messed with our plans... so we had to go hot toddy instead of a glass of wine.” Darcy shrugged and handed the mug to her.
“I’ll go put this on the table,” Frank said, turning to set out the food on the table.
Karen took a sip from the mug, humming because it was warm. The perfect temperature. Not too hot and not too cold.
She scanned the dimly lit room and saw something that definitely hadn’t been there before.
Two packages under the tree.
“Frank... Darce?” she called. “What’s that?”
“For you,” he replied without looking.
“How do you know what I’m asking?” Karen asked.
“They certainly look like presents to me...” Darcy sing-songed a little, grinning from ear to ear.
“I didn’t buy you guys anything though...”
“It’s okay. You’re gift enough,” Frank replied, coming up behind her and kissing her neck. “I know you don’t like this time of year, but we thought if we could give you a low key holiday... maybe you’d like that?”
“I like you,” she said softly, her heart swelling with love at that moment. “Both of you...” She reached for Darcy and pulled her close to her side. “And this is perfect. Thank you.”
Title: in this very strange world
Squares: Darcy Lewis Bingo 2020 Y3: “Typical” and Ladies of Marvel Bingo 2020 Y1: Authority Kink
Pairing/Main Ship: Frank Castle/Darcy Lewis/Karen Page
Rating: Explicit
Warning(s): Pregnancy, smut, swearing, mentions of violence, mentions of vomiting
Summary:
A little over a year after Darcy put her filth ex-husband in the ground, she's been living happily with Frank and Karen as Danica Lawrence, a well-liked stylist at the local bridal shop.
Things change when Wilson Fisk returns to Manhattan, and Darcy is forced to keep a secret close to her chest. Even surrounded by people she loves and who love her, she's never felt more alone.
for @that-wimpy-cowboy-doll
270 words
Rated T
Maybe we can help each other, what do you ask for in return?
~~~~~~~~~~
Darcy was one of those witches. Who lived out in the woods. In a shack in the darkest corner of the woods.
Karen knew her, and Frank was all ready to steel his reaction to what was likely some old hag hermit with a ton of overgrown houseplants.
What he wasn’t prepared for was the ethereal being that practically floated from a wall of herbs to show them to a place to sit. She had thick, full lips, and an ass you could bounce a quarter off of.
She made his mouth run dry and he was almost embarrassed by his very visceral reaction. He turned to look at Karen instead, and she cut her gaze to Darcy and raised her eyebrows, smirking in that way she had and his breath caught in her throat.
“Told you,” she mouthed, biting her bottom lip and turning to face Darcy again. “Hey I know you were super eager to help us, but maybe we can help each other. What do you ask for in return?”
Darcy smiled and Frank could have sworn the sun shown brighter from beyond the tree line. The room was cast in an orangey sunset glow and she placed both hands on her hips and pondered Karen’s question. “There are a number of things I’d ask for, but whether or not you’d give them is the question, isn’t it?”
“Name it,” Frank said eagerly, which made both Karen and Darcy giggle.
“My goodness,” Darcy said, tilting her head and looking at him like he was a piece of meat. “Maybe there’s something we can work out after all.”
Frank snarled at the other wolf, snapping at him before grabbing on right behind the ear and not letting go until the other wolf was whining and running off with his tail between his legs.
He shifted then, coming to a rest beside Darcy and Karen, both injured by said wolf, which was really just a wolf. Not a werewolf.
Darcy hadn’t been super hurt, but Karen had to shift back into human form to deal with the injury, and there was no way she was walking out of here.
But Frank assessed the situation and scooped her up in his arms, taking off through the woods.
Darcy shifted back into a wolf to run beside him, even with a slight limp in her step, it was quicker than running barefoot through the underbrush.
By the time they’d reached what was clearly one of Frank’s safe houses, she shifted back as he laid Karen on the bed and tended to her wounds.
Darcy bandaged herself and then went to help Frank, leaving Karen mostly patched up and sleeping fitfully in the only bed.
It was then that she finally went to ask Frank why he’d returned. Not that she wasn’t grateful, but he’d left without so much as a goodbye, they’d both figured he was gone for good.
But she didn’t even have to ask, Frank answered anyway.
“It’s you. You’re my pack now.”
And that was that.
There was no way he’d leave his pack to fend for itself, so...
Darcy grinned and snuggled down beside him. “Me and Karen?”
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
tempt my trouble
Summary:
Nicky Cavella got to where he was as the current head of the Mafia by doing pretty much the opposite of making friends. Killing, kidnapping, bribing a woman who didn't love him into being his wife, to begin with. He also disrespected Frank Castle's family and threatened Karen Page, which very reasonably put The Punisher's target on his back.
Frank would've made him suffer, if Darcy Lewis Cavella didn't beat him to the punch.
