#wrang1er

kate had spent exactly four and a half days in new york city for a conference , several of those hours which were spent in an airport terminal and an unexpected layover in bolder , colorado . a smile had ghosted across her face seeing the familiar red truck outside the airport nearest to sapulpa , had climbed into the passenger seat with a sigh of relief that she was no longer trapped in the boring confides of an airport . the same smile is still faint on her features , looking over at him from her new found position in his passenger seat and her chest aches . " has boone not been fulfilling his navigator duties in my absence ? be honest . " kate jokes but it isn't what she wants to say . i've missed you too and thank you for driving all this way to pick me up , all that comes out is a joke and she cannot think about why her first instinct was to avoid .

Kate wants out, out, out. She wants to scream, she wants to cry. She wants to curse Tyler Owens and his stupid cockiness. But she stands there stock still, arms wrapped around herself. Even if she wanted to, she can't manage a damn thing right now.

her eyes roll, setting his coffee down on the table in front of him. he doesn't know her well enough to know the difference between a truly happy helena, which she's hesitant to believe exists, and one who's just playing along. still, he's not entirely wrong that there's an extra spring in her step. "what can I say, I can't believe you're still here." gotham city. it's funny she'd invite him here, knowing how much that she herself hates this place. she subscribes to the fact that no one should visit gotham. hell, no one should live here. but it always comes back to that, doesn't it? the reason why she stays, instead of returning to palermo: there are people, children, who have no choice when it comes to leaving. people who don't deserve the terrors that walk the city streets. she cannot, in good conscience, leave them behind when she knows there's more work to be done. "I was sure you'd get word of some storm brewing and leave me in the dust." there's still time. it echoes in her mind, knowing full well that people never stick around — not for her, but they could have fun while it lasted. "It's killing you not to be out there, isn't it?"

kate should be accustomed to the panic by now . it's been five years with the ever looming anxiety that lived in the spaces between her ribs , with seeing the ghost of her friends every time the clouds grew dark and the wind shifted a little too hard but it never settles . her eyes are clenched shut and in her mind , all she can hear is the roaring winds of the storm still waiting for the moment it will pull her away too until his voice breaks through . she's still hyperventilating , blinking fast taking in her surroundings . no lightning , no storm --- just tyler . " i --- fuck , i'm trying . " she pants , trying to catch her breath .