tratie oneshots

{ business pt. 2 }

words: 1037

-

Katie followed Travis, rather conspicuously, in his opinion, and he couldn't help but laugh when she nearly fell on her face trying to run in her heels.

"We'll be fine, Katie-kat. All those snobby rich people are distracted by showing off their expensive watches and whatnot, and I already said, I know a place."

"Oh yeah, that's really comforting, thanks," she grumbled.

Completely ignoring the sarcasm dripping off her words, Travis responded in a cheerful voice, "Glad I could help, Kates! And I see you're adjusting to the nickname."

She elbowed him in the side, and practically hissed at him, "I said not to call me that. I'm only following you because you say that camp b-burned down."

She choked up slightly while talking about her former home, causing Travis, who instantly felt bad for teasing her, to push his luck and wrap his arm loosely around her shoulders in an attempt at a comforting gesture.

She flinched away from him at first, but didn't make him remove his arm, so he counted it as a win, "What are you doing?"

"Playing the part of 'Miss Gardner's handsome companion'."

"What if 'Miss Gardner' doesn't want a handsome companion?"

"Then she could always go back to her boring business partners and not find out what happened to her old cabin and it's beautiful garden roof."

"You didn't seem to care about it when you put chocolate bunnies on it. Or filled it with weeds. Or killed all the plants."

"Those were harmless pranks! This is a fire, Katie."

She harrumphed and rolled her eyes in his direction, but he could see that she agreed with him, it was written all over her face.

As much as she was trying to hide it, trying to act indifferent, she was slowly crumbling on the inside at even the prospect of camp being gone, and she had no one to build her back up.

Travis used to be that person.

His heart longed for him to be that person once again.

And for once, he listened to it.

Stopping in the middle of the deserted, marble-floored hallway, Travis pulled Katie into a tight hug.

Pulling her ever closer against him, he breathed in the still-familiar scent of her floral shampoo, the only one that smelled like real flowers, he remembered.

She pulled away from the embrace, far too soon for his taste, and started off down the hallway, pretending that nothing had happened.

There was so much pretending going on that day.

When he finally caught up to her, she was about to turn the wrong way at an intersection, giving him an excuse to take her hand to steer her the correct way.

He didn't drop her hand, even after they had turned the corner.

She didn't make him.

Loneliness radiated off of her, eating away at her hard mask of fake smiles and empty laughs.

All other people would've seen was a tired businessperson, but Travis knew her better than other people.

He saw all that she was hiding away from critical eyes, including her own, and all he wanted to do was lift the weight off her shoulders and give her even just a moment of relief.

But she would never allow him to do that.

Katie suffered silently, she always had.

And Travis longed to change that.

He was interrupted from his thoughts at her amazed gasp from where he had led her, "Like it, Kates?" he wanted to help her, but he didn't know how.

"It's beautiful," she breathed in the crisp, clean air, and gazed up at the constellations.

"I told you I knew a place."

"A balcony really close to the room we just left?"

"Still a place, Katie-kat."

"What are they doing about camp?" she asked, clearing her throat and attempting to wipe the dreamy expression from her face.

"Rebuilding, of course, but it's going to take a long time. It would be really helpful if we had some Demeter campers to help us grow the plants back faster..."

He drummed his fingers along the railing, nervously awaiting her response, "We? You're helping them with this?"

That question took him by surprise, "Of course! It was my home. I can't just leave it in ruins like that."

"Sometimes even the best things need to fall down and stay down, Travis. You know that better than anyone," her voice was barely a whisper, and she was staring at the ground, but Travis knew immediately what she was talking about.

"That's different, Katie," even to him, his voice sounded strangled and forced, "This is camp we're talking about."

"Is this all you came to do? Try and recruit me for this?"

"No. I also came with a proposition."

"A proposition?"

"If we worked together-"

"No," her voice was cold and empty, her mental walls shooting up faster than the flowers she used to speed-grow when her and Travis were bored. Any progress he'd made in seeing the old Katie had just disappeared in an instant.

"But, Kates, if we worked together to find the file, and to help Chiron, we might finally put the past behind us."

"Or we'll drag out the worst memories in the process."

"Aren't you just a ray of sunshine," he muttered crossly. He needed this plan to work, for more than one reason.

She sighed, "I'll help you find the file. No promises on the other things, though."

"Great!" he breathed out a sigh of relief that most definitely did not go unnoticed by Katie,

"Time for a road trip!"

"You already know where it is?"

"I have a hunch."

"And I'm just supposed to get into your car and go who-knows-how-far to who-knows-where for who-knows-how-long?"

"Yup, pretty much."

"You know, this is so stupid, it just might work."

"That's what I like to hear, Katie-kat!"

"I still don't trust you."

"I think you'll come around," she didn't need to know how much he was hoping she would.

"Maybe I will," and when he turned to lead her off the balcony, she was smiling faintly, and had laced her hand with his once more.

Sometimes, he realized, things were meant to fall down and stay down, but other times, all they needed was a slight push to build themselves back up, taller and sturdier than ever.

-

sO I'm not sure if anyone asked for a pt. 2 on this, but I was inspired to write it, and here we are

and I got it to be longer-ish, so that's a plus

sorry if I don't upload as frequently, I am trying to keep my nearly-every-day schedule, but because I'm trying to write a different fic, they might come a bit more slowly. sorry

anyway, bye!

~~