Frankie didn't hear him enter.
Or maybe she did, and just didn't react.
Either way, she didn't look up until a warm paper cup was placed on the desk beside her. Coffee. Black. The way she liked it.
Then came the plate-protein bar, toast, some kind of sandwich. Bob had scavenged what he could.
He didn't say a word.
Just set it all down gently and stood nearby, hands in his sleeves again, like he was trying to disappear and still be present at the same time.
Frankie finally looked at the food. Then at him.
Then back at the screen.
"You didn't have to bring that."
Bob shrugged. "You didn't have to come for me."
She didn't respond.
Didn't have to.
Because the silence that followed said everything he needed to hear.
Almost.
"Earlier," he said, voice careful. "When you said... that he wasn't going to keep something that was yours..."
Her jaw flexed.
But he didn't backpedal.
Didn't soften it.
"What did you mean?"
Frankie didn't look at him.
She stared at the screen like it might give her the right words.
When she finally spoke, her voice was quiet. Unreadable.
"I meant he doesn't get to take what I choose to protect."
Bob swallowed.
"So I'm... under your protection now?"
That made her look up.
Sharp. Direct.
"You stayed. You helped. You got taken because of me."
She leaned back slightly, tone clipped but real.
"So yeah. You're mine now."
Bob blinked.
Then nodded slowly.
"Okay."
And for the first time since she got him back...
Frankie exhaled.
YOU ARE READING
Code Name: Untraceable
FanfictionShe's not on the roster. She's not in the system. She's not even supposed to be alive. Every mission the Thunderbolts run, she's there-appearing out of nowhere, tearing through enemies like a storm, then vanishing without a trace. One time? Coincide...
