Do I Want To Know?

Chapter 21- The Amazing Spider-Man

   Frank was damn near exhausted by the time he reached his hotel room for the second time that night. The first time was after he rushed out of Nancy's room to clean himself up and also take Joe's phone call. In fact, he knew Joe was going to be pissed because he had barely comprehended a word he said to him. Something about Guy being tucked safely in bed, Cedric's painful backstory and who knew what else because god dammit Frank could only think about what he and Nancy did on her hotel room floor.

   He knew he was going to have to force himself to pay more attention to the case. He felt guilty about pulling Nancy away from it anyway. Granted, she didn't exactly seem opposed, and Frank knew they felt the same way about each other, but he just... couldn't believe any of this was happening to him.

   Nancy would probably tease him for it, tell him to have more confidence, and he knew she was right. It'd just be hard to do.

   Frank opened the door to his room, far less frantic than he was the first time but still with his head in the clouds. He was coming back now with a bag of take out because out of all of the things Joe had said, his loud request for food was the one Frank heard most clearly.

   When he walked in he saw Joe standing by the window, who turned to look at him when he heard. Frank closed the door behind him, tossing Joe the bag,

   "Here's your burger." He spoke tiredly, watching as Joe unraveled the paper bag and peeked inside. He glanced up at Frank, full of suspicion,

   "Cheeseburger?" He was skeptical, and Frank rolled his eyes, undoing the first button on his collar and sitting on the edge of his bed,

   "Yes Joe." Frank replied. Joe happily pulled the burger from the bag, before he paused, as if he had just remembered something. Suddenly, he gave Frank a glare, which caught him off guard,

   "What?"

   "I was so distracted I forgot I was mad at you." Joe sounded serious, and it very plainly concerned Frank.

   "Mad at me? What the hell did I do? Forget your pickles?"

   "Well, I haven't checked, but if you did it'd give me two reasons." Frank scoffed in response, and before he had a chance to ask what his brother was rambling on about, he heard the shower turn on in the bathroom. Frank was officially concerned, and confused,

   "Who's in the bathroom?" He asked cautiously. Joe plopped the takeout bag onto a nearby desk and crossed his arms,

   "Ned."

   Frank felt his stomach flip flop, and he swiftly began to realize why Joe was angry.

   "Ned Nickerson?" Frank's nerves were obvious, and Joe rolled his eyes,

   "Do you know another Ned?" Frank stood, and he paced over to his brother, grabbing him by the shoulder,

   "Joe, what is Ned Nickerson doing in there?"

   "Well Frank, you just wouldn't believe it. He doesn't have a place to stay since he had a really bad fight with his girlfriend. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" Joe had him nailed against a metaphorical wall, and Frank could only let out a hopeless sigh in response.

   "Come on man, whose side are you on?" Frank asked desperately,

   "The side of justice. I'm all for you and Nancy, but-" Joe put his hands on either side of Frank's arms, squeezing them a little too tight and staring his brother in the eyes,

   "Ned is a broken man. And you broke him." He gave Frank a mischievous little smile, and patted him once more on the arm before pulling away and walking back over to the desk where his burger bag sat.