Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
PUNISHER
"So precious."
Doe eyes, looking up at her like a dirty mirror, dirty everything.
Maybe he just likes being around her for some reason. She's his favorite, perhaps. He knows he's not the only one, but neither is she, and who really cares about that anymore? He likes the attention, the mark left behind by her teeth, the split in his lip that never goes away because he can't stop tonguing it.
She fucking better be his favorite.
She knows that death is connected to love, that's why he is all bloody. That's why he lets her take what she needs from him, like every time. She knows that Linus has always been this way. Always the dog, the angel that gives his arm and lets the blood drip all the way down. Since he was a kid.
Maybe she's evil, he thinks. Then why is he still here? He's always been this way. Keeps lying, keeps bleeding.
But he thinks she's an angel too, like this, that they may come from the same God, with her hair down and her bra strap dangling down her shoulder, her back to him. He thinks she's looking at her gun. He's not scared. Cat would never use something as easy as a gun to kill. Even if she did, he knows he would deserve it. He knows he doesn't deserve hard work. But she still gives it to him.
It wouldn't matter either way, because she's not looking at her gun. She turns around, empty lap, crawls over to where he lay at the headboard. When she kisses him, he can taste himself, which can mean whatever you want it to. Right and wrong does not exist with her. Truth does not exist with her. "So precious." He can almost taste the lie. This is what he gets.
And she knows he'd be lying too if he said he was a saint, that is why he is here.
"Have to go," he breathes into her mouth, but makes no moves to get up. "Got to feed Ty." He makes it sound like Ty is his pet or something, but no, his sister. He still makes no move to get up, circling a red mark on her cheek with his thumb. He won't ask.
"Then go."
"Yeah." He doesn't want to go. "I'm going."
He's never really had a girlfriend before. He doesn't think he's funny, or anything. She makes him feel good sometimes. And he likes her, despite everything. He doesn't care if she wants to hurt him, he's lucky, really. She is his divine creator, she is his Punisher, she is the one who will break him, he knows this. He deserves this. Cat.
But he leaves anyway. She is the voice inside his head, the hate he only lets out in moments like these.
"Ty." She is in her room, he won't yell. He kicks off his shoes, looks around. Nothing has changed. It's his house, after all. He hasn't trusted Ty since she started bringing that boy around. He's never trusted her, actually. When he walks into his sister's room, she's not there. The dog limping around in there doesn't run to him, doesn't go sniffing him. Her eyes linger on his form. Pleading. He tries not to let it bother him. It's already been done, and he's already been crucified for it.
"Tyler," he calls out, louder this time. She probably left again, but it doesn't stop him from picking up the pace, looking around the house. There isn't much surface area to cover, it's just the two of them. "Tyyyyyyyyler."
All the angels have gone away. Closed their eyes. They do this for families like them.
Linus turns around, the dog is following him, a great distance away, her eyes haven't changed. Limping after him. Maybe he's going the right way. He decides to check his bedroom before checking outside, but he doubts she'd be in there. It's gross in there.
But she is.
Bleeding. They come from the same mother. Bleeding down her stomach, like a gutted deer. Like a girl. Unlike Linus, Tyler wouldn't hurt herself. She is unconscious, but she is alive still. He doesn't react. The dog whines behind him. They only borrowed her for a second. But they come from the same mother. Just because Tyler wouldn't hurt herself, doesn't mean she doesn't like to bleed too.
He should think fast, as he is the only one that can save her, but he's no angel. Not anymore, not here. He's lucky Tyler's tough, or he would have to save room for more guilt. The dog limps off. And so he goes back the next day to repent, to earn new marks, he itches for it. She survived, but she is not nice about it. Linus is grateful he met Cat, or he would have a lot of blood left to give out. A lot of pain to take out.
So precious. Punish him again. I told you he deserved it.
