A/N: Going with some more Lucy introspection.
Spoilers: for everything up to and including 2x02 The Darlington 500.
Disclaimer: If I owned the rights to Timeless, I would totally hit the open road and not turn back, but sadly I don't, so there will be no such road trips in my future.
This was how she was going to die, she wasn't being overly dramatic, in fact she was pretty certain of it as she crawled into the tiny space between the trunk and the backseat in the old bootlegger car. A space that wasn't meant to be occupied by people, much less two people, but by contraband moonshine. Wyatt had been kind enough to put down his jacket for her to lie on. It didn't do much for comfort, except make the barrier to the ground a bit thicker and the space a little smaller, which wasn't helpful at all. However, this was their only way back in to the tracks. The only way to stop the Rittenhouse sleeper agent, and their wicked agenda. Yet she wasn't thrilled by the prospect of this ride.
The old car's engine roared to life, and the car was moving along the dirt road which was very uneven and bumpy and that didn't help to make the ride any more pleasurably. At least she had Wyatt by her side, and that at least helped relieve her of some of the anxiety that was tied to this situation she found herself in.
It was a hot day in South Carolina, and the tight space parred with her claustrophobia didn't help the matter. She felt like the stale air didn't quite reach her lungs. So, she started making some breathing exercises to control her fears, they might seem ridiculous for the onlooker, but they had helped her before. She tried to keep Houdini's words in mind; that fear wasn't real, but only the reaction to what was actually happening. She would escape this tiny prison that she had willingly stepped into eventually, she just had to be patient and keep calm as long as it lasted.
The smell of exhaust and dust hit her nostrils along with the stuffy air in their enclosure. It made her want to gag. Her heart was beating in a pace that would have won her a round or two on the race track, had she been a car. Her palms were sweaty, and on top of all that she didn't know if Wyatt was mocking her claustrophobia or if he was trying to distract her. Only a few holes let the sunshine in, there wasn't enough light coming into the hidden compartment for her to see his facial expressions clearly. But she didn't really believe he would be mean enough to ridicule her, yet she feigned sarcastic hurt while assuring him that he wasn't funny.
He was sweet enough though and offered her to hang unto him as they bobbed further along the path. Their physical closeness made her heart thumb faster, but for different reasons this time. She'd missed this, she'd missed them. This heart to heart they were having while hidden away in the dark, this time they spend together, where they shared their most intimate details with each other, this was everything to her. It felt like stolen moments, brief periods of time where everything made sense, where the world didn't revolve around them trying to stop Rittenhouse, they could just be them. No weight, no burden, no enclosing walls, hiding spaces or gunfights. It was liberating and uplifting. And short lived. Reality always has this uncanny way to come knocking. But for a little while at least, they could pretend that there was nothing ahead of them but the open road. However, the truth was that the metaphorical road in front of them was bumpy and full of obstacles, much like the actual one they were on right now. There would be no riding out into the sunset for them for a while. This fight they were involved in had come to stay.
As they neared their target destination Lucy's nerves began to flare up once more. Then they stopped; having arrived at the newly set up checkpoint. She held her breath, afraid that the sound of her breathing would let them know where they were hiding. Her hands already caught up in Wyatt's clothes tightened their grip, and he in return tightened the hold he had on her. Encircling his body protectively around hers. Ready to jump out and fight them if he had to, she was sure. Making her feel safe amidst her claustrophobic, potential life-threatening-if-discovered nightmare. How did he do that just with his presence?
It must have been merely minutes that they were stopped, but it felt like an eternity. It creaked heavily when the tailgate was opened, revealing an empty trunk for the inspector; the vacant space, right in front of them. A few wayward beams of light found their way through the crevices in the old car and into where the two stowaways were hiding. Lucy had never felt more uncomfortable in her life, but she was afraid to make even the tiniest of movements to get into a more pleasant position; if that was even possible in their current surrounding. She was certain they were going to be discovered right up until the tailgate was closed and they were once again boxed in by the oppressing darkness, trapped once again like the jam in a jar when the lid is screwed tightly on.
They both let out a breath of relief. So far so good. The tenseness in their bodies subsided as the adrenaline left. Then as the car started up again it hit a pothole and Wyatt was thrown unceremoniously on top of her, making them both succumb to a fit of laughter. Which was a nice way to relieve some of the tension of the situation. And suddenly a few other feelings took over and they both became highly aware of their physical closeness to each other. The air shifted in the tight space, and something clicked into place. The laughter had died out, replaced by a heavy silence made more serious by the implications that rested in the space between them. They had been here once before, well not here exactly, but in this kind of situation. A situation that was brimming with possibilities.
His rough stubble against her hand stood in contrast to the smooth touch of his nose sliding down her own. Anticipation made them oblivious to their surroundings. They were moving ever closer in their already tight enclosure. Claustrophobia, danger and Rittenhouse momentarily forgotten in the midst of their racing feelings. Which only ended up with resulting in the ghosting of their lips against each other. The warmth of their breaths still lingering as they were interrupted, yet again.
Bright daylight seeped in, stinging her eyes, as the trunk was fully opened and the divider was taken down. Revealing their obvious proximity; revealing them, and their feelings. If there had ever been any doubt about the way they seemed to be drawn to each other - like the sailor to the sea or the pilot to the sky - this little display of affection cemented the fact pretty well. There was chemistry, but it was complicated. And anything they did wouldn't make it any less so. What would happen if they took this next step; if they made the plunge? As long as it wasn't in a sinking, locked car at the bottom of a lake, Lucy was willing to give it a shot. They wouldn't know if they didn't do it, right? And they both wanted this that was clear by now. But so far, an uninterrupted moment was hard to come by. Between bunker life and mission work, as well as eating, drinking and sleeping, there weren't much time freed up for them to just be them.
They both smiled embarrassedly up at Rufus and Wendell as they crawled out into freedom once again. Well at least she didn't die, not just yet anyway, she thought, but the mission still wasn't over, and with Emma on the lose everything was possible.
Yet she decided then and there to leave her previous fears and panic to die in that car. She had escaped her fears unscathed. It was about time she moved on. In more ways than one...
Nothing ahead but the open road!
A/N: This got away from me a little. Honestly I didn't think I could flesh out the trunk scene this much.
But seriously is it December yet? 'cause I feel like I'm treading water a little bit; with my introspection stories at least. And as you might know I'm not the best at writing original stuff. So new material is greatly needed for me to write more introspection from.