on thin ice [karen/frank - marvel]

twenty two: just for a little longer

"How am I going to know which of my dresses is the prettiest?"

Frank frowned, "The one you like best?"

Karen sighed, standing in front of her mirror on the outside of her closet. She looked at Frank through it without turning to face him. "But the one I like best, will not be the one you like best, so how will it be the prettiest? How will we decide?" She then turned, her eyes widening as she looked at the floor. "When did this become democratic?"

Frank eventually laughed as she held dresses in her hands with a frown on her face. He lay back on her bed, having kicked his boots off at the end, leaving them at the foot of the bed. "You know that whatever you wear, you're gonna look amazing"

"That is really not the case" She replied, a little flustered and embarrassed. Frank smiled gleefully, watching her cheeks heat up as she smiled at him sheepishly. He had always hated any sort of shopping or picking outfits but this was like something entirely different.

"Quiet" Frank snapped, leaning forward on the bed. He pulled his legs toward his chest, his knees fitting nicely in the crooks of his arms as he joined his hands together. He shrugged as she looked at him, still holding her dresses up. "I don't care what you wear as long as you are with me"

Karen frowned, dropping her arms and letting her dresses droop at her sides. They creased, the bottoms piling up by her feet. She then placed them on the edges of the bed, sitting by them with her arms folded. "So you wouldn't care if I were naked as long as I'm with you? Sounds a bit far fetched if you ask me"

He rolled his eyes, beginning to move forward on the bed toward her but she stood again and began sorting through her closet for something else. He leaned back on his hands, a small pain sprouting at the bottom of his back due to the position. "You know what I meant. Now hurry up and change otherwise the only thing changing will be my mind on whether we even go out or not"

"Okay, fine. I'll pick something and I'll be out in a minute, go" She said turning toward him and pulling on his arm. He pulled away as she turned back toward the closets. Frank shuffled off the edge of the bed. Luckily her back was turned cause he grimaced in pain, sighing a little as he kissed her shoulder before heading out the room.

Almost on cue, his phone began to ring. Pulling it from his pocket, he frowned at the caller ID before raising his phone to his ear. "Dr Rafferty"

Frank looked over his shoulder at Karen's bedroom door before heading across the apartment quietly. He lingered by the door as he figured it to be the further place from her earshot. Rafferty spoke quickly. "Hi, Frank"

"Let me guess, you have some important news," Frank joked, leaning his elbow on his arm as he crossed it over his chest. He began pacing the apartment quietly, feeling his hand beginning to grow sweaty. "You forgot to tell me that is indeed life-threatening?"

He could hear Rafferty laugh over the phone, "No, Frank, I-"

"I've got six months to live?" Frank continued, looking over his shoulder toward the bedroom door. There were no signs of movement and he couldn't hear Karen moving either which most likely signalled she was still changing.

"I should hope not" Dr Rafferty answered, laughing a little more. Frank tried to smile but realised it was irrelevant as he was alone. "I was just calling to see how you were doing with everything. Are your new pills working okay? Any problems?"

Frank had been taking them every day, maybe a little more often than he should be but they kept the pain away for work which was what he needed. He was being cautious with them, making sure he wasn't going to fall back into his old routine. "Yeah, they're great"