knelt between his truck and the flat bed carrying kate’s barrels , tyler’s fumbling with the loose joints of the hitch . he’s been working for a solid few minutes now , and gone through at least six different positions , including one that put him on his back behind the back wheel , trying to figure the damn thing out . he slams the side of his fist down once , twice into the small pulley , until it finally snaps into place with a click . then he’s finally standing again , eyes near slits as he shields them with an arm against the harsh early afternoon sunlight . ❝ think i got it , ❞ he mutters breathlessly , wandering to the flat bed and leaning on the low railing . ❝ time to go ? ❞
@tornadotame . “ wait . ” head bowed a moment , the sun catching the blond ends of her hair and setting it alight , she paws carefully through her bag before pulling out a pair of dark aviators . kate wordlessly holds them out for one beat… then two… . before a faint touch of pink dusts her cheeks . “ what? i saw you squinting , and i know you lost your last pair during that storm up in sherman . ”
it takes all his might to blink and blink again , forcing his eyes to adjust to the glare enough that he can stand to watch what she’s doing for the several seconds it takes for her to pull out the shades . he glances at her face , then at the aviators , then takes them with a grateful , ❝ oh … ❞ she noticed . he plucks them gently from her grasp , weighing them in a hand , and placed them on the bridge of his nose gingerly , as if any wrong jolt would make them come loose .
he wrinkles his nose . wiggles his mouth . they don’t come loose nearly as much as he thought they might . ❝ i like these . ❞ he turns his head to kate , watching her for a long , long moment ( he’s grateful the shades shield her from seeing the way his eyes are bouncing from her nose to her cheeks to the blonde hair glinting like a golden frame around her face to her lips , then back up again ). with a toothy smile , he makes his way to her side , moving a strand of hair behind her ear . ❝ thank you , kate . i didn’t know you’d noticed . ❞
╰ ゜UNPROMPTED . / 𝙰𝙻𝚆𝙰𝚈𝚂 𝙰𝙲𝙲𝙴𝙿𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙶 .