Archive of Our Own ^beta

You’re in a good mood today. It’s Sunday, so no work and you can stay in bed longer. 

But that’s not really the best part about it being Sunday. No, the best part is that you have a long standing date with your TV, your couch and most importantly, with Frank on Sundays. 

It’s never been easy to bring your lives together ever since you started seeing each other. You have your full time job and Frank does his vigilante-ing mostly at night. So really, when one is free, the other one usually isn’t. Which just sucks really.

You don’t see each other a lot. Though Frank does his best to come see you during some evenings when he isn’t on some random mission and where you can just eat together and talk.

You love those moments so much. Those small stolen moments of peace where you can just be together, however furtive they sometimes are. 

The best evenings though, are always when he can stay the night of course. Because you have more time. Because you can take your time. And because after spending hours talking to each other, falling into bed together with soft kisses turning more passionate by the second and wandering hands caressing and gripping heated skin is just the perfect way to end a day. 

You just wish it could happen more often.

So after some time, where you hadn’t seen each other for nearly a whole month because of your respective schedules, you had both decided to take some time off at least once a week. One day where you could just really be together. You would turn off your phone and Frank would try to be done with any mission before each Sunday. Or at least make sure he isn’t immediately needed. And what better way is there but to spend some quality time with Frank cuddling up on the couch and watching the best or sometimes worst stuff you could come up with? 

You usually eat breakfast together when Frank is able to come back the night before or he brings take out for lunch when he isn’t.

You always order take out one way or the other, anyway. Firstly because you really don’t like cooking that much and because you don’t want to get off the couch and have to leave Frank’s side. Who wants to spend any superfluous time in the kitchen when Frank is a very comfortable person to be half lying on anyway? And he loves having you in his arms for hours. So really, it’s a win/win situation all around. 

So you just bring everything that’s necessary out to your living room and play couch potatoes for the day. The only times you leave each other’s presence is to take a short bathroom break. Otherwise you’re both content to just stay where you are, watch what’s on and exchange lazy kisses throughout the whole day.

You have to admit that, at first, it had surprised you that Frank is so willing to simply watch TV with you on those days and just cuddle. 

With how he’s always on the move and never seems to be really able to rest for too long, you wouldn’t have pegged him as someone who can watch several movies or TV shows for hours at a time. When you’d suggested it, it had been more like a random thought coming out of you, totally expecting him to shoot that idea down. But he’d agreed with it instantly, saying he might have fun watching all the stuff he’d missed over the years. 

It’s all so very domestic actually. Frank as himself is so very different from Frank as the Punisher during those days. 

Even with his clothing.

Whenever you see Frank, he’s always dressed like he wants to be able to leave at a moment’s notice. Sometimes he’s even in full Punisher gear when he comes and/or leaves your flat. He’s made it abundantly clear though, that he never actually wants to leave you on those days if possible, but that he simply has to stay prepared just in case.

And you know it. You’d known even without him telling you of course. He takes everything he does so seriously. And this includes you and your relationship just as much as it does his missions. 

So the sight of him in a simple t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants had actually shocked you into silence the first time you'd seen him dressed like this.

Seeing him look so soft and peaceful and, let’s say normal , your heart had missed a few beats at the time. 

You had tried not to stare too much because you hadn’t wanted to make him uncomfortable, but after the initial shock had faded, your heart had warmed and you'd walked up to him and just kissed him long and sweet. How couldn’t you? 

Frank had been a bit confused about your behavior, but he had returned the kiss fervently, just going with your mood and folding you into a warm embrace.

Now here you are today, standing in your kitchen as you wait for the coffee to finish brewing and making some pancakes. They're from a box, yes, but you didn't want to get all the ingredients yesterday and so just grabbed a mix. The point today is not to cook something fancy but just to spend time together. Not in the kitchen. And the boxed stuff is pretty good anyway so never mind.

Frank ambles out of your bedroom, barefoot, looking adorably rumpled with his hair tousled even more now that he just ran a hand through it and just wearing his sweatpants. 

He looks mouth-watering and if he hadn’t worn you out completely last night, you'd be all up in his business this instant. 

But he did, so you just let him approach you and wrap his arms around your waist as he leans over your shoulder to watch what you’re doing. He kisses your hair, then your nape and shoulder, before depositing one last kiss on your temple, making you smile contentedly and leaning against his broad chest for a few seconds as you close your eyes.

“Smells good” he praises as he inhales greedily.

“Be done in a minute. Wanna get the plates?” you kiss his jaw and point him into the direction of one of your cupboards, though you know it’s not necessary. Frank knows where everything is. 

Frank kisses your temple once again and does as you asked, but goes back to your room to put on his shirt beforehand. You curse the still chilly weather for keeping a half naked Frank from you. 

Breakfast is eaten while you have a light conversation about what to get for take-out later (Indian it is) and what you are going to watch today.

You laugh at Frank’s upturned nose when you mention wanting to watch American Gigolo.

“What kind ‘o name is tha’?” he asks skeptically while he chews on a piece of pancake.

“It’s way better than it sounds” you chuckle with a shrug and give him a quick summary. “And there’s this actor, the one who played in the movie last week? He’s going to make a TV series based on it and play the lead role, so I wanted to watch it again, you know” you explain as well.

Frank’s hand with the mug halfway to his lips, stops a few inches away from it as he stares at you at the last part. He looks at the mug then and purses his lips into a quick grimace, before his face evens again and he finally drinks from it. He shrugs but doesn’t make eye contact. 

“You got somethin’ else?” he inquires, tone completely even, but you’ve known him for a while now, so you know his tells pretty well. 

Frank is actually a bit jealous. And if this isn’t the cutest thing. Because Frank isn’t the jealous type, you’ve learned. Not in the overwhelming, breathing down your neck whenever you’re talking to another man way, anyway. But you might have gushed about said actor’s talent and general looks a bit too much and made Frank watch a lot of his movies the last few weeks. So maybe you should cut him some slack this week.

“Sure. But just so you know… that movie’s from 1980 and Richard Gere’s the lead actor in this one, you know, not…” you trail off with a casual shrug and Frank just grunts in acknowledgement but just waits for your next suggestion.

So you go through some other movie ideas for a little while.

By the time you’ve made it to the TV shows you want to introduce him to, you’ve cleaned away everything from breakfast and go over to your couch. 

Now, your couch has one feature that is perfect for those lazy Sundays together. It’s a pull out one, so you can both fit comfortably on it without either of you fearing to kick the other off. 

You let Frank do the honors of unfolding it while you take care of the setup for the TV. 

“So wha’s this show ‘bout?” Frank asks as you make yourselves comfortable on the couch. Frank is reclined so that his head is on one of the cushions at one of the armrests and you lie between him and the backrest with your head on his chest, arm thrown over his middle and blanket draped over you.

You’ve opted to go with Fringe. You had started rewatching it not too long ago but really don’t mind starting over again with Frank. You really want to know what he thinks about it anyway.  

“Well, okay, so Fringe is basically about this badass chick who works for the FBI and solves weird events with the help of a crazy scientist and his son… Then later, she finds out she has this ability to move between universes and-”

“Wow, wait… universes?” Frank stops you, the hand that had been at your hip going up in exclamation. “How did this go from FBI work to universe hoppin’?” he laughs lightly in amusement and the action makes your head move on his shaking chest. 

You have to giggle, because now that he pointed it out, it does sound funny when you don’t know the show. 

“Don’t knock it before you’ve tried it” you slap his stomach, making Frank laugh harder and squeeze your side as he hugs you to him. “It’s really good…”

“Alright, alright, le’s see it then” Frank kisses the top of your head and you press a few buttons on your remote and start the first episode. 

By the end of the first episode, you hit pause at the beginning of the second one and call for take out.

You opt to wait until food is here to keep watching so you don’t get interrupted in the middle of it.

So as you put your phone back on the coffee table after ending your call and now just having to wait for the delivery, you climb back over to Frank, who sends you a soft smile and welcomes you into his arms again. Except he doesn’t let you get back next to him, but keeps you on top of him. He reaches up with one hand and slides his fingers into your hair at the back of your neck and pulls you down gently until your lips meet in a languorous kiss. 

You straddle his hips as the kiss turns more searching and card your own hands through his hair.

His other hand goes to your waist and slips under your shirt, tickling his fingertips over your lover back and up your side teasingly, making you squirm and sigh pleasantly into his mouth. 

Frank then rolls you both so that he’s between your legs and continues his lazy assault on your mouth, one arm holding him up with this forearm at your side and his other arm resting over your head, boxing you in fully, lovingly. You circle his waist with your arms and let one of them drift up to wrap over one shoulder.

You can feel sweet, curling arousal rising slowly as you rock together lightly, but you’re both happy to leave it like this for now. In no hurry to take things further or move faster even when you feel him circling his hips into yours and pressing his gradually hardening shaft down to meet your upward grind. 

You just stay like this, lips fused together and breathing each other in, savoring this moment with light touches and soft moans instead. 

It seems like no time at all when your buzzer goes off and you jerk a little under Frank. You had been so completely lost in the moment and would have gladly stayed in this moment for a good while longer. 

“Wan’ me to grab it?” Frank rumbles from over you.

“Not like this” you grin as you kiss the side of his mouth and nudge his erection with an upward thrust of your hips. 

Frank grunts at the contact but chuckles, nodding his head slightly in agreement and then rolls off of you so you can get up and to the door. 

You’re just getting off the couch when the buzzer goes again, making you laugh under your breath. You apparently took a bit too much time to untangle from Frank.

Once you’ve buzzed the delivery guy up and paid him, you return to the couch with the containers and let Frank take them out of the paper bag while you go grab some cutlery and something to drink.

When you have everything you need, you walk back to the couch and go to sit next to each other at the edge of it so you can eat from the food Frank spread out on the coffee table. 

You then hit play and start the second episode. 

You’re mostly silent while you eat, swapping containers from time to time to get something from the other’s food and Frank asking a few questions here and there to clarify something or other.

You both clean up the table after this episode ends and then make yourselves comfortable in the same position as before again. 

“So? Want to keep watching or you wanna switch for something else?” you ask with your head tilted up to look at Frank, finger poised over the play button already.

Frank meets your eyes, licks his lips furtively and shrugs one shoulder lazily.

“Guess the show’s okay… another one’s fine” 

You hide your knowing grin by clamping your lips together and shrug as well, hitting play at the same time.

Considering you’ve seen these particular episodes not that long ago, you take the opportunity to observe Frank as discreetly as possible while he watches. 

You slide your head a bit further back over his shoulder and lift it just a fraction so you have a better view of his face. 

You can actually see the moment when Frank goes from just watching with interest to getting really invested in the show. His attention gets more focused, like he really wants to find out what is really going on before even the characters do. He frowns and smiles in a more pronounced way depending on what’s happening. 

When this one ends, Frank is the one to grab the remote and press on the button to immediately get to the next one. 

You can’t keep your grin and fondly amused laugh in anymore and shake slightly in his arms.

“Told you it’s good” you smirk smugly and earn yourself a few pointed tickles from Frank’s fingers against your ribs in retaliation, making you squeal shrilly and laugh harder as you curl over him to try and protect yourself from his hands.

Frank grunts and slaps you lightly on your exposed hip. 

“Yeah, yeah, you’re all smart n’ all, Sweetheart. Now lemme watch” he huffs gruffly but he kisses your hair and you still feel and hear the smile in his words.

Still chuckling, you wrap yourself around him once more and Frank doesn’t hesitate before his own arms are around you again as well. 

You end up watching until episode ten before calling it a day. It’s late and you’d eaten the leftovers from lunch for dinner around episode seven or eight. 

You stretch lazily and tell Frank you’re going for a quick shower before heading to bed.

As much as you love Indian food, you really don’t want the smell to follow you to bed. 

Frank takes your place when you’re done and does just the same. 

When he returns, you're sitting on your side of the bed with your tablet and going over some news about American Gigolo ’s pilote. You’re disappointed you don’t have more information about when it’s supposed to air.

When Frank sits down next to you and leans in to see what you’re looking at, you keep your eyes on your screen when you speak.

“We should watch Ford vs Ferrari next time. I heard-” 

But you’re stopped from going further by Frank grabbing your tablet and letting in fly to the end of the bed before he’s tackling you to the mattress with a growl and insistent kisses. 

You laugh in delight as you topple over with him over you.

“Okay, Fringe it is then '' you grin against his lips and get a satisfied grunt from the beautiful man on top of you.