( CLOSED ) Maybe my heart is getting selfish.

[oorah]

WHO: Franky C
WHERE: House 3 > House 6
WHEN: July 31
OPEN TO: Claire Temple
WARNINGS: general nerdliness tbh

---

[ it isn't long after she'd walked out on him that frank feels the need to apologize. he isn't good at apologizing, just like he hadn't been good at you know, not being a dick. it's midmorning the next day and he has a fresh bouquet of sunflowers for her, tied with cornhusks the same way as the first. and painted on a small dart of fabric is just the letters I-O-U. he thinks she'll know exactly who they're from even without his usual food-shaped monogram. oh yeah, that's right, he fully intends to ding-dong-ditch these babies like he's in the fifth grade.

frank makes his way up to house 3 as silent as ever and deposits the flowers onto the stoop. then he's beating a hasty retreat back across the street with the full intention not to be noticed even in full sunlight. of course, aretha betrays his position, and he can't even blame her. he's never come to the house without taking her somewhere literally ever before, like the cool dad he's still trying desperately not to be, and the bloodhound's ear-splitting braying would make a man half as jumpy as frank jump clean out of their skin. he freezes as the door opens behind him, knowing he's been made. ]

Comments

[oorah]

Coffee goes great with blueberry pie. [ he points out, grateful for the upswing before it shifts back down again. that's more like it. his lips press together and he leans back to listen, arms barred across his chest with the kitchen towel tucked into the fold of them for the time being.

one thing about not talking: he's become a really good listener. and everything she says - strikes a cord. powers: check, standoffishness: check. he can remember jessica's message so clearly, coincidentally the night he and claire kissed by the fire. that was the night he became her lieutenant. that was the night everything changed. if you're not with them you're against them is damn right. hell, sometimes even being with them was taken as against in the end. look at the way himself and jess had split.

frank swallows when he gets to the dead part. wait- is she talking about matt? he wants to give them both plausible deniability so he doesn't ask. but it has to be, right? what other prick superhero up and dies after running roughshod over three women's hearts? that's right, elektra had been in reims too. ]

That's not on you.

[ he sounds sure, but then he's remembering, or actually applying what claire had said. two-way street. if it's not on her what happened to matt then it's not on him what happened to jess. they tried, right? they did everything they could but in the end frank and claire both couldn't betray their own ideals even for people they desperately cared for. ]

I know because I lived it.

[theluckygirl]

Maybe not, but I sure feel a lot of guilt about it. I shouldn't, I tried and feel like I didn't do enough because he kept me at arm's length for my own good. But I saw it every time I had to patch him up and I couldn't say anything about it.

[ and it didn't just stop with Matt. she got to see it with jessica and there was some small worry at the back of her head that eventually she would see it with Luke, too, but it hadn't happened yet.

claire was strong enough to decide when to stop something she got no gain from anymore and she wasn't going to go through the same thing she did with matt again.

taking a deep breath she keeps her eyes on frank and shakes her head. ]

I don't want to just be the nurse who patches you up after a bad night or be lumped in as someone who needs protecting because I can do that on my own and have managed pretty good so far.

[ honestly, she has no idea if any of this is being heard. time will tell.]

I don't want anyone telling me what I want to hear or told something simply because it will please me. That's why I walked away from you yesterday. It was too familiar.

[oorah]

[ his frown grows deeper as she goes on, not because she called him out, but because she's actually wrong. her base assumption was flawed and now she's built on it in her head. the coffee is almost done but he ignores it for now, tossing the towel blindly onto the countertop behind him and takes a step off it. there's no anger in his speech, but there is heat. he gets why she's upset but he's also sick of people taking out their shit on him in this place. ]

Claire, I'm tryin' to tell you I wouldn't do that. I'm not him. I know you can take care of yourself, I watched you do it. You're goddamn amazing to me.

[ he should know better than make grand statements like that after everything, but it's true okay. he's in fucking awe of her and she should know it. ]

I wasn't trying to dismiss you, okay? It just came out wrong. I'm still... learning.

[ how to have a fucking conversation like a normal person? yeah, that. he signs Sorry in ASL and looks down at his boots. this is about the time he expects her to walk out. it's what everyone else has done to him, time and time again. ]

[theluckygirl]

[ the praise is unexpected but it feel good to hear. from someone. even if she doesn't know frank as well as he seems to know her. that's okay, at least he took the time to pay attention and notice.

it makes her feel bad for assuming he'd be like matt, but she'll forgive herself. no, he's not him but their surprising bond right from the moment they met felt eerily similar.

claire stays where she is while he speaks and when he's done and looks down after signing his apology, she steps forward and stops in front of him, lifting a hand to sign back m-e t-o-o ]

We both are.

[she trusts his word and nods when he looks back up at her. she wasn't going to walk out on him again and that was something she wouldn't tell him. he will just have to see that on his own, first hand. ]

[oorah]

[ he catches the movement of her hands, translating them as she bridges their gap. his heart swells with being heard for a change himself, nodding in acceptance of what she says. frank reaches out to put a heavy hand on her arm just above the crook of her elbow and meets her eyes, his own gaze wet and just about ready to overflow at a moment's notice. ]

Wanna share your notes?

[ frank asks gamely, accepting his own fuck-ups in tandem with her apology. he's still getting used to being a person someone might bother to apologize to. but the sooner he can break his habit of being the town doormat, the better. for all parties involved. he rubs at her arm once before pulling back, the percolator done doing its thing. he turns away from her and takes the time to fill a bowl of water for aretha who immediately appears to lap it up. then he glances back over his shoulder now that he's confident she's staying. ]

Black okay? [ he pulls down cups but will wait for her answer before he starts to pour. ]

[theluckygirl]

[ his hand on her arm is immediately covered with a hand, the tips of her fingers curl around the side of it as she tilts her head to the side in a half shrug; her smile. ]

Got a few hours?

[ worst part is she isn't even joking. not when every time she turns around there's someone new to come to care about.

she nods at the question and moves over to the edge of the counter to watch him fill the mugs. ]

You know, my mother thinks meeting powered people was my fate but after meeting Matt, Jessica, Luke and Danny, I don't know what I've done for any of them that's changed their lives or even added some valuable lesson learned.

[ she looks up and studies the profile of his face. ]

What is it that makes me amazing to you?

[ it's a fair question to ask, right? ]

[oorah]

My schedule's pretty open.

[ it sounds like a throwaway line, but after filling every moment of every day in reims with activity, with work, it's significant. and even before that, he had been singularly focused on avenging his family. here he's just surviving, or trying to. he's in unfamiliar territory. and he can still feel the warmth of her hand covering his even moments after he's pulled away. frank hands her her mug and tips his against hers in a little tap before he drinks deep, not caring when it burns his mouth. ]

You know... all of them?

[ frank did too, now, but explaining that would take an equal amount of time. he fixes her with his stare, thinking back. but there's no point of reference for this, only honesty. when he'd told jessica she was amazing she told him to shut the fuck up. he should stop expecting her to be someone else, too. ]

It's not... it's not that you don't feel fear, right? You're scared, probably more than other people, because you're around danger all the time. [ after a second he realizes he's describing himself too and he shakes his head to clear it. ] The important thing is - you don't let it stop you. You don't let anything stop you, from doing what you think is right. It's amazing, okay? That's it.

[theluckygirl]

[ Another nod, slow and it probably conveys a sense of that she might not believe it - not that it's amazing, but what most normal people do in situations where they have an indomitable spirit without knowing it.

It's no different than what anyone else she knew would do. And yes, she realizes he's describing himself so him, too. Pure emotion can make people do things they never expected they would do. ]

Well, thank you for noticing. But you do the same thing, too.

[oorah]

Maybe. [ he admits even if it's clear he's uncomfortable doing so. it's definitely not something he personally sees in everyone, so maybe this is a like recognizing like situation. either way, he admires her and that isn't about to change. ] Whether or not you remember it, you did save me. I'm never gonna forget that.

[ or stop trying to pay it back. ]