Work Text:
Frank was screwed.
Or to be more specific, he was about to be if those half baked assholes with more mouth than sense caught up to him. It was a stupid thing to get involved in, but they were beating on a kid who was barely old enough to drive, let alone take on three thugs in stupid looking tracksuits. He’d yelled, spooking the guys enough to let the little one take the smart route out, but now here he was, fleeing from some wannabe-gangsters looking for their pound of flesh.
It wasn’t as if he couldn’t take them, but he really didn’t want to. His usual repertoire of violent acts generally constituted more than just scare tactics. He was of the opinion that if you had to throw a punch, make sure the other guy isn’t getting back up to stab you in the back.
He didn’t have the best job, but it was stable, and the people there actually seemed to like how little he spoke. For a boxing gym, the regulars seemed genuinely kind and respectful, and Vinny was quick to herd away the ones who forgot their manners and started asking questions. It wasn’t hard to figure why, with a mix of faded prison tattoos on the old timers and barely-healed defensive scars on green kids.
But it was a good job, one where he found himself approaching comfortable, and now he was at risk cause of three goons playing hard? Nah, he wasn’t about to fight if he didn’t have to.
They’d fallen behind, but he knew they’d be on him again soon. He scoped out his options before ducking to his left, pushing open the door into the brightly lit diner, cheerily proclaiming the name ‘Tony’s’ in red letters. Inside the decor was a calming turquoise-blue, tempering the vibrancy of the red rather than amping it up into migraine territory. The waitress had her dark brown hair tied into a neat bun and glanced up with a bubbly smile.
“I’ll be with you in one minute, feel free to take a seat.” Frank smiled tightly and nodded, trying not to hurry as he wove his way around the tables, as inconspicuous as possible whilst he searched for a back exit.
“Looking for someone?” The voice came from the booth to his right, and if he wasn’t already wound so tight he would’ve jumped a foot in the air.
“Just… lookin’.” The excuse sounded weak to his own ears and clearly to the woman as well. She raised an eyebrow and nodded, disbelief written into every pore. Her hair shifted and he was briefly distracted at how the blue of the booth seemed to be refracting through the bright white strands. He noticed her frown slightly, glancing back towards the windows. Shit . The plate glass windows where three douchebags were looking around, pointing between themselves and the door of the diner.
“Sit down and take your jacket off.” She reached out and grabbed his sleeve, tugging him insistently into her booth.
“Huh?” He replied, eloquently.
“Listen I’m taking a chance that you’re the guy I wanna help here, so…?” Frank hesitated only a second before diving into the booth just as the cheerful bell above the door announced the new arrivals.
“Jacket?” She looked pointedly at the offending item and he shrugged it off with a frown. “I’m assuming they didn’t get a great look at you but they might have got a look at that coat.” Her accent wasn’t American, Scottish maybe?
“Yeah nah. Wasn’t me they were focused on. Was more of a… distraction.” He kept it vague, fidgeting with the neck of his hoodie as he resisted the urge to look behind him for the men. She didn’t ask for any details and he was glad of it and instead pushed her half full coffee cup towards his side of the table.
“They’re looking carefully at all the tables, definitely don’t think they know your face.” She leaned on her hand, flicking her hair over her shoulder with a smile and a light laugh that didn’t touch her watchful eyes. He was pretty sure this wasn’t the first time she’d built a cover on the fly. “When they come over, I’m gonna reach across and touch your face. You good with that, Rocky?”
“Rocky?”
“I’ve uhh, seen you at Vinny’s. Don’t freak out, shit.” She fidgeted, glancing between him and the guys, “Haven’t been there a lot since I got back to New York… I’m pretty good at not forgetting faces though- they’re getting close. Think you can trust me for like, five minutes?”
Frank considered the woman. She didn’t seem like an immediate threat, and he could hear the men getting closer. He nodded.
“You’d really do that for me?” Her voice turned sickly sweet, dropping into an American drawl that would’ve fooled him if he hadn’t just heard her speak. Her hand reached up to caress his jaw, stroking up and over his cheekbone to effectively cover his face.
“Baby, I’d do anythin’ for you.” He dropped his voice low and smiled, reaching up to cover her hand with his own. One of the men passed by, sparing only a glance at their little display. Frank turned his head, pressing a kiss to her palm as he snuck a better look at the men. They appeared to be losing hope with their search, regrouping at the front of the diner. He pulled back, ignoring the pang in his chest as the contact ceased. “Thanks.”
“Well, anytime you need a partner for… whatever this was.” She shrugged, smiling as she leaned back, pulling away from his with a cheerful smile.
“Yeah, thanks. Uh thanks for the save…?” he let the word hang expectantly.
“Blair. I’m Blair.” She tilted her head at him.
“Pete.” The name was a lie, and he almost felt bad for giving it, but Frank Castle was not who he wanted to be at the moment.
“Well it’s nice to meet you, Pete.” She held out her hand, and he took it with a grin of his own. “Now for my final trick, I’m going to go cause a disturbance up at the front with your new friends whilst you are gonna duck into the kitchen and take the door into the alley. Anyone goes to say something, just drop my name. They all love me here.”
“That so?”
“Everyone loves me! Except my enemies, I suspect they’re not so keen.” She grinned and winked, making him chuckle.
“Sorry I don’t have a way to say thanks.”
“Eh,” she waved him away, “If you’re ever in G’s next door and you spot me, just buy me a drink and I’ll call it even. Now move before they come back for a closer look.”
She got up quickly, taking the full water glass along with her as she marched confidently towards the front of the store. He half wanted to hang around and see what she considered a distraction, but he also wasn’t going to waste the gift of an escape she had dropped neatly into his lap.
He grabbed his jacket and darted quickly into the kitchen, hearing chaos erupt behind him as he quickly made his way past the shiny aluminium counters and out the back door.
He doubted he’d see his mysterious saviour again, unless she dropped by Vinny’s again. Blair had been a refreshing change of pace all the same. He considered her offer for a drink and decided to tuck it away for a future date, Curtis was always telling him he needed more friends, after all.