SUNSHINE [Frank Castle]

CHAPTER THREE - MOVING ON

Charlotte walked out of her office as the morning sun streamed through all of her windows and put a pot of coffee on. She glanced toward the couch where Frank lay asleep. He looked more peaceful asleep, she noticed.

He stirred at the smell of the coffee, and she averted her eyes. She took the pot out of the machine when it was ready and grabbed two mugs from the cupboard. "Morning," she greeted, glancing up as he began to stand from the couch. "Coffee?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

She set the mugs on the island in the middle of the kitchen and poured the coffee. Frank sat on one of the bar stools on the opposite side and took the mug when she pushed it toward him.

"Nothing in it, right?" She asked, and he nodded. She made a face at that, and added her cream and sugar. "I don't know how you can drink it like that."

He shot her a look and took a long sip of his coffee. "I should get going soon."

"Oh no, you aren't leaving until you tell me what the hell happened to you and why you chose to come here, of all places. How do you even know where I live?"

"I looked you up," he answered simply.

"You're infuriating." She shook her head and rolled her eyes, sighing. Technically, if she wanted the information, she could get it from him. But she was much too tired for games, especially so early in the morning. "What happened to you, then?"

"Just finishing some things up. I'm almost finished with the assholes who killed my family."

Charlotte nodded. "That's good. But why come here, to me?"

Frank looked up and his eyes met hers. "I knew you were the only person who wouldn't be scared, and wouldn't kick me out when you found out what happened."

"Well, you were right." She drained her cup of coffee and filled it again. "You're welcome anytime, Frank."

"Thanks."

He finished his own coffee, set the mug down, and stood. "I've gotta go."

He slid on his jacket and shoes, and made for the door. Just as his hand grazed the doorknob, her voice stopped him. "Hey, Frank?"

"Yeah?"

"When am I going to see you again?"

He seemed surprised at her words. "You want to?"

"Well. . . yeah. I do care about you, Frank. It would be nice to know that you're not dead every once and a while." She grabbed a pad of paper and pen she'd left laying around and scribbled a few things on it, then walked over and handed it to him. "Here's my number. Call me, we'll go for coffee or something."

"I will. Thank you, Charlotte." She heard the unspoken words, too. It was a thank you for everything. A thank you that he couldn't say before, for all she had previously done for him.

"You're welcome, Frank." He nodded, then opened the door and exited her apartment. She watched him go, somehow knowing that she wouldn't see him again for a long while. Charlotte sighed, set her coffee down, and began to get ready to go to work.

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After her previous firm, Nelson, Murdock and Romanoff broke up, Charlotte started one on her own in the same building. She was quite popular and very good, though lately she hadn't gotten many clients. She imagined that there would be a surge of clients soon, as Hell's Kitchen's resident vigilante had been killed.

Every day that she passed their old office, Charlotte wanted to cry. Matthew Murdock may not have been good for her, and he may have cheated on her with Elektra, but he was still her first love and closest friend. Part of her had died with him when she watched the building fall.

She walked up to her office, to the door that read Charlotte Romanoff: Attorney at Law, and unlocked it to go inside. The first thing she saw was the open window. The second thing she saw was Jessica Jones lounging on her couch.

Charlotte sighed and closed the door behind her. "Maybe one day, you'll learn about the amazing technology that is the door."

"Maybe," she replied, shrugging.

"Why are you here, Jess?" She asked, walking over to her desk and setting her purse down.

"Well, reason one is Malcolm," she answered. "He's been pushing me to come see how you are all week. Make sure you're alright."

Charlotte laughed aloud at that. "That isn't exactly your thing."

"It's not," she acknowledged, "but reason two. . . is that you're my friend and I care about you."

"Wow," she said, impressed. It was a lot of emotion, coming from Jessica. "But I'm fine, Jess, okay? I've been through worse."

"Worse than the guy you love being crushed under a building while trying to save the woman he was blindly in love with?" Jessica rose a brow, clearly not believing her.

"Yes."

"How so? What could possibly be worse?"

Charlotte scoffed. "You tell me yours and I'll tell you mine."

That obviously wasn't going to happen. They had never talked about their pasts, and didn't plan to. "Yeah, I think I'll pass."

"Look, Jessica, I'm sad, okay? Devastated, actually. But I keep going, because I have to. Because being devastated isn't worth anything, it isn't productive." When Jessica didn't respond, she spoke again. "If I need anything, I'll call you, or Foggy or Karen or Luke or Danny. All right?"

Jessica finally nodded. "All right."

Charlotte walked over and opened the door, dramatically gesturing for her to exit. "Try using a door next time."

Jessica walked through the door, shouting behind her. "No promises!"