on thin ice [karen/frank - marvel]

forty five: revenge of kaltar: 2

It was just over a week after when he hopped out of the hospital on two crutches and a bag on his back along with a lopsided beanie on his head. The car sat outside the hospital in the bay, Mike in the drivers seat. Gabriela walked next to him, holding the rest of his things and placing them into the backseat of the car. She took his crutches from him as he sat in the backseat next to his things.

Mike looked over his shoulder as Gabriela sat in the seat next to him. He grinned at Frank who pulled the beanie off his head and placed it in his lap. Her car was comfortable and it smelt brand new as Frank hadn't smelt anything other than hospital antiseptic for almost two months. "On the home stretch now, bud"

Frank just nodded, looking toward his feet as Mike drove out of the bay and toward the exit of the parking lot. He'd been out for the odd few events but he always exited knowing he was returning and it just wasn't the same as freedom. "I feel like it's a never ending circle. I'll be back in another 15 years, guys"

He called out to the hospital in the window without turning his neck completely. Gabriela chuckled, reaching behind her and Frank saw her hand appear at the bottom of the chair. He took hold of it and squeezed. They arrived at Gabriela's house within 15 minutes, Frank hobbling down the driveway on his crutches and up to the front door. Mike had gone ahead and opened it up, Frank stepping inside and sighing once he was in. Gabriela soon followed with his stuff.

"Alright" Mike said, Frank following him into the living room. Marco sat on the couch next to Layla who was drawing away on an iPad and Jamie lay flat out on the floor with a game controller in his hand. Frank's eyes flickered to the screen to see a mix of lights and action flit across it. "Ready to go? Movie starts in 10 minutes"

"What movie are you seeing?" Frank asked, propping his crutches against the couch next to the one Marco and Layla occupied before sitting down in it. Everything felt so normal as he'd asked Gabriela to cut the whole "welcome home" act as the attention would only overwhelm him even more than he already was. Plus, a party would only lead to him wanting to get incredibly drunk as the last time he'd done that had been too long ago.

"Something the kids want to see, I forget the name" Mike muttered, rubbing his eyes as he was clearly tired and sleep deprived. If he was in that situation, the last thing on Frank's list would be going to see a movie with multiple screaming kids around you. He wondered what excuse Gabriela had used to get out of it. "I'm gonna fall asleep watching it, anyway"

"It's Revenge of Kaltar: 2, Dad" Jamie complained from the floor, not bothering to look up as his hands worked furiously at the controller. The TV spat millions of sounds and pictures, Frank getting a headache just from looking at them. Jamie's eyes were furiously trained on them, darting to and from one corner and the other before a small grunt of exasperation escaped his mouth every now and then.

"It'll be Revenge of Kicking Your Butt if you don't hurry up" Mike answered, walking toward the TV and hesitating in front of the button. Jamie's fascination with the game confused Frank as he was never really interested in video games of any type whilst growing up. He could see that it annoyed Mike to no extent. "I'll turn it off J and you know it"

"Okay! Okay" he shouted, the action on the screen coming to a quick halt and with a few more clicks of a button, the screen went dark. Jamie stood from the floor before tidying the controller device away and switching off the TV. He then sighed, standing next to Mike who put his arm around him and pulled him close to his body.

"That wasn't even funny, Dad" Layla said, leaning toward Marco and kissing him on the cheek before leaving the iPad next to him and getting off the sofa. Marco laughed, looking at the disappointment on Mike's face. Frank did the same. Layla just giggled at the fact the two of them had joined her in taking down her Dad and his terrible jokes.