Archive of Our Own ^beta

The Dread Pirate Murdock...

A mask covered half his face, including his eyes. Yes, people always said he was blind, yet could see more than any sighted man. There was a smirk on his lips even in the drawing. He looked too damn proud of himself.

Frank saw his face every single day after he set sail with his crew.

The poster the Admiral gave him hung on the wall of Frank’s quarters, a constant reminder of his mission. Kill Murdock if needed, but capture him, if possible. It would do good for morale to watch one of their greatest foes dangle from a noose at dawn.

Frank saw his face in real life, during a storm and a battle.

They had seen the ship, Hell’s Kitchen, with the famous Daredevil flag, the red background with the black Devil horns. They came up on each other’s broadside, cannons firing wildly back and forth. Thunder clapped and lightning flashed. Frank saw him for a moment, standing on his ship with a sword in one hand and a rope in the other and the tails of his mask flapping in the storm winds, before he swung across the gap between the ships, landing on the deck of Frank’s own, the Punisher.

Things happened so very quickly. Frank ran across the deck to meet Murdock, weaving through the mess of Frank’s sailors and Murdock’s pirates. He had to capture Murdock. They traded blows, swords clanging in time with the thunder and lightning.

Frank was reminded of the many balls and dances he had attended throughout his prestigious career. Dancing with a beautiful partner, moving perfectly in sync, reading each other’s thoughts, seeing the next step coming before it was even made. The rain beat down on them. The Alpha roared at the challenge, at being so challenged by someone who stank of Omega. The Omega roared back. He didn’t seem to give a shit that Frank was an Alpha.

Frank was stunned.

Murdock took advantage of the moment.

*

Frank woke up with a jolt.

He was on his feet in the blink of an eye. He looked around.

He was in the brig.

Shit...the storm. The battle and the pirates. Murdock captured him.

He paced around the cell. He had to find a way out. If all he knew about Murdock was true, he’d execute Frank as soon as he could glean all the information he wanted. His Alpha status would do him no good, either. Murdock, as Frank heard it, held no love for Alphas or their overblown egos. Then again, neither did Frank.

There was a length of rope just outside the cell, almost outside reach. Someone had thrown it aside, thought it far enough away from the cell. Could be useful, perhaps. There was a loose nail in one of the bars of the cell. Frank could wiggle it out of its setting. It was old and a little rusted, but the end was still quite sharp. He could do some damage with that. As soon as someone opened the cell, for whatever reason, he’d stab them with the nail and take their weapon. He work his way up on the deck and figure out his next step then.

He sat down on the floor again, with a sigh. It was no use, though. Not really. They were far out on the ocean. Even if he got up on deck, he’d have nowhere to go. Sure, he could steal a lifeboat, if there were any, and set off like that, but they could easily pick him up again. He was just one man. It was better if he waited. If he could stay alive until they reached port, he could fight his way onto land.

He shoved the nail into the pocket of his coat, which they had let him keep on, as he heard steps approaching. There was a wall separating the brig from the rest of this deck, perhaps to isolate the captives even further. Frank sniffed the air. Smelled of Omega. The door opened.

Murdock.

A deep growl sat in Frank’s chest. Murdock didn’t react. He wore the same damn smirk as in the poster. Frank had half a mind t strangle him if he got the chance. Murdock carried a plate and a bucket with a ladle in it, and a metal cup hanging off the side from its ear. He kicked the door closed behind himself. Dead eyes wandered around the brig. He set the bucket and plate down in front of the cell, out of Frank’s reach, then sat down on the floor.

“Captain Frank Castle.” he said. “It’s an honour to meet the Punisher.”

Hm, yes, he and his ship had become quite synonymous. The ship with the black sails and the man with the black heart. The man who hated pirates, who took joy in punishing them for their sins. To pirates, he was a bigger Boogeyman than Davy Jones and his locker.

“I’d say the same but it’d be a lie.” Frank replied.

Murdock laughed. He picked up the plate and started picking at the food. He ripped the salted meat to pieces, throwing a piece in his mouth.

“My crew wants me to kill you.” he continued as he ate. “I can see where they’re coming from. We have the Punisher in our bring. Killing you and hanging your severed head from our bow? Even the British Navy wouldn’t bother us then.”

Frank scoffed. “’Course they would. Hell, they’d bother ya more. If they knew you killed m-“

“But you’re lucky.” Murdock carried on, completely ignoring the other Captain. “I haven’t been able to get a hold of my usual heat suppressants, which means I’ll be going into heat any day now. I need an Alpha to get me through it. Lucky me, lucky you. You get to live, I get to be adequately comforted through my heat.”

Frank stared at him. What the hell? Murdock wanted Frank to...take care of him? Ease him through heat? He was...confused.

“If you do your job as an Alpha well enough, then I could possibly be persuaded to reward you somehow.” Murdock added as he chewed on the salted meat. “For example. I could let you ‘escape’ the next time we get close to a Naval vessel, or base. If that’s what you want.”

Again Frank scoffed at him. “Let me escape? Sunshine, if I’m gonna escape, you won’t be able to stop me.”

“Oh, really?” Murdock said, his smug grin taunting Frank. “So you’re gonna fight your way off my ship? With what? That rusty nail in your pocket?”

How could he know?

So he really did see more than other men... Intriguing. How was that possible? Frank was curious.

Murdock used the ladle to pour water into the mug. He slid it through the grates of the cell to Frank. The Captain was unwilling to accept anything from a man like Murdock, but he knew he needed to drink. It would do him no good to be stubborn about it. He couldn’t escape if he was too weak to move. He grabbed the mug and drank deep. Murdock was happy to give him a refill when he offered the mug out through the grates again.

“If I agree to this... deal , how would it work exactly?” he questioned.

He hated to entertain the idea. But as much as he hated it, Murdock was right. A rusty nail wasn’t much of a weapon. Not against a whole crew of pirates. If he beared down and stuck it out for the handful of days of the standard heat, Murdock would let him go. He wanted all the information he could get before agreeing to anything, though.

“I’d be locked in this cell with you for however long my heat lasts. You take care of me. I’m not fond of bartering in sex. I find it cruel, barbaric, and degrading. But...due to the suppressants I usually take, I haven’t had a normal heat in close to two years. They’ve been...muted, I suppose you could say. Jumping directly to a normal heat, without slowly weaning myself off the suppressants...it won’t be pretty. I will need an Alpha. But don’t mistake. If it weren’t for your second gender, you’d already be dead.”

Frank drank his water slowly, delaying the need to respond.

It was as fair a deal as he supposed was possible. Sex for survival. It was...not a deal he particularly liked thinking about. Mixing with someone as immoral as Murdock like that...it was unthinkable. It went against everything Frank stood for. He’d never be clean again. He would carry it like a stain on his skin. He’d never be able to wash off the Omega-stink. Everyone would know. Him, the Punisher, helping a pirate, one as bad as Murdock, in any way was unthinkable. And volunteering to be his mate for the moment? Disgusting.

But if he didn’t, he’d be killed. Murdock’s men would lynch him, hang him and cut his head off. Or Murdock would just have him tied down and use him anyway, even against his will. Though, to be honest, despite all Frank had heard about Murdock, he didn’t strike Frank as the type to do such a thing. He practically said so himself; he found even just bartering in sex to be barbaric.

There was no use declining this deal, was there? It was a few days of misery, and he would be given his life in return. Frank was a strong man. He had endured worse pains. He could, and would, endure this as well.

“Alright, then.” Frank said. “You have a deal, I suppose.”

He offered his hand through the grates.

Murdock shook it, and sealed the deal.