"how much longer?" you mumbled, your chin was rested on top of your knees that were tucked up to your chest. you'd been sat in the same position, eyes glued on the road ahead watching as the tarmac slipped under the car as frank drove on, and on. your bum was starting to tingle and go numb, you needed to stretch your legs, breathe some fresh air to clear the ache in your head.
you rolled your head to the side, your cheek squashing up against your knee as you glanced over at frank who's eyes didn't move from the road. you thought he must be tired, even if he didn't show it. he felt your eyes on him, letting out a quiet gruff and a shrug.
"a lil' longer," he answered. "need to make sure no ones followin' us."
you let out an agitated huff, eyelids drooping a little the longer you stared at him. his features were hidden mostly by the darkness of the night, but every now and again you'd catch the sharpness of his jaw in the fleeting glow from a street light, and the way his hands clenched and unclenched around the steering wheel.
"i haven't seen another car for hours," you grumbled. you were tired and only getting grumpier the longer you had to sit in the same uncomfortable position, in the same tense silence. when you agreed to join him and get out of the city for a few days, you hadn't quite thought it through entirely. you quickly realised about an hour into the car ride that you hadn't spoken to frank about anything outside of the trial before. intense eye contact didn't mean he knew jack shit about you, and all you knew about him is what you had read in case files, and brief stories he had told you about his family and his marine days that related to his case. and as much as you liked to feel that you had made out his character, trusted his judgement and his words, your head seemed to be constantly reminding you that you did not, in fact, know this man.
"you shouldn't sit like that," frank ignored your comment, eyes not breaking from the tarmac. "if a car crashed into us, you'd be crushed to death."
"didn't think you cared whether anyone lived or died," you commented, taking a tone that was probably a bit unnecessarily harsh. "isn't that why they call you the big, bad punisher?" he grunted, he was getting a little annoyed with how bratty you were acting. he put it down to the fact you were having a pretty shitty day and that this was likely the last place you ever thought you'd end up today. that, and you were tired and still hurting despite the mild pain killers you'd taken a couple hours ago. you rolled your eyes, he caught it out the corner of his eyes.
"still can't believe you incriminated yourself like that," you grumbled, your words muffled slightly from how your cheek was squashed up against your knee. you wouldn't move just because he told you to, even if he probably was right, and even if the right side of your bum was now almost completely numb.
it was franks turn to roll his eyes now. "jesus, are you still on this?" he shook his head, he glanced out the corner of his eye at you as you lifted your head upright again, a frown sitting on your face now.
"yeah, we're still on this because you never actually answered me the first time around," you shot back at him. you were sure that the exhaustion your mind and body were dealing with was fuelling this spur of anger. he groaned, hitting his head against the head rest when you would't drop it again. you huffed. "you know, you not only made everyone think you were completely bat shit--" you spat the words at him, your knees dropping back down from your chest as you sat upright. you wanted him to hear you for once, not dismiss what you were saying. "you also managed to make us look totally incompetent. fucking laughable, lawyers who can't even control their own client!"
"well, fuck me, sorry your reputation got a little tarnished, princess," he'd grown tired of your whingeing. you could've just kept your mouth shut and enjoyed the peace and quiet like he had been before you started this old argument up again. "don't know what the fuck you expected," he mumbled more to himself that to you.
