...What the heck do I call this?

Sure. It's summer, but it's also Gotham City. It feels like, regardless of the season, it would be weird to be in the city and not have days of overcast and rain.

The rain is nice though, bringing a break in the scorching heat and humidity that's been trapped in the concrete and asphalt and between the buildings the past week. There's a chill in the air because, although it's not storming, it's a decently heavy rain. It's the kind of rain that you know will have the pavement still smelling like a rainforest and feeling like a waterpark in the morning.

Regardless, it's still nice.

It's evenings like this where the city is finally quiet, resting. Gotham is one of those cities that never sleeps after all. Rainy days beat out snow days if you want any form of rest here. When there's snow, it's almost as though it's a warm, sun-shiny day out, with kids playing where the snow has piled up in empty parking lots. There's always a decent amount of workers that are off on snow days, too, so that means more people out on the sidewalks and wandering the streets, taking in the sights that a winter wonderland in the city has to offer.

It's the rain that gives you some sort of peace.

That's how she feels right now, too. She's been sitting under an awning of a store that closed three hours ago for the past hour. She's just been watching and listening to the rain. She doesn't have an umbrella but she's lived in Gotham all her life. This is something that she can easily deal with. Not to mention, she cherishes the rain and the serenity it brings. Thanks to her Aunt Pamela, she has a tremendous addition of admiration for it because of the healing and nourishment it brings to the plant life in the city, especially in the botanical gardens downtown. Just thinking about them suddenly makes her want to go there but. by foot, to get to the gardens from where she is and then to head home after she's done there would take two hours alone, and that doesn't include any delay time because of the rain.

She doesn't really want to go home though. It's probably the reason she's been sitting on the store's stoop for as long as she has. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't freezing because of the chill the rain has brought through the city. Wet and cold. Perfect combination.

Nikko and Princess are waiting for her to get home. She's later than usual and she doesn't ever like to keep them waiting like this, at least not unless she's said something to them first. Her phone battery isn't dead but it's not full either and she doesn't even know why she's trying to salvage it, knowing that the only place that she should be right now is home.

Part of her wants to visit her mother. She hasn't seen her in a while and she has a strong feeling it's about time that she go threaten her father and make sure her mother is doing well. In her gut, she knows that they're fine. If anything, her mother is probably with her Aunt Pamela with them both laughing and watching the rain from some rooftop in the city somewhere.

She could call Damien for a ride. It also sounds like a terrible idea though. She feels like the twins would be easy to deal with as she would be sure they would actually be the ones to come retrieve her but she brushes the thoughts off for the time being.

She wants to spend the evening alone. Just like this. Well, not cold and freezing but just lost in the serenity of the quiet of the city.

A couple of cars have passed by but, thankfully, the stoop is just far enough away from the curb that she can't get splashed by any of the water that rises up from the tires hitting the water resting along the curb. She sticks her hand out from the awning though, accepting the cold that comes along with the dose of water she was already expecting. The rain is still going back and forth along the spectrum of light to heavy rain. It's as cold as she expects it to be, especially because the rain has picked up again and it feels like she held her hand out for someone to pour a bucket of water on her hand. Of course, the awning is affecting the way the water reaches her hand since it's collecting some of the drops, which fall once the tiny ridges at the bottom of the awning have collected their fill.

At some point, she feels the need to bring her hand to her face, wiping over her cheeks. She could have sworn that she dried her hand off and she had. It's not rain that's gotten her hand wet this time but tears. She swears and laughs awkwardly at the feelings that are bubbling in her gut and in her mind. She can't decipher any of them from one another and she doesn't want to. It feels weird but it feels good.

Her laughing stops and, by the time that happens, the rain has lightened again. She takes this as her cue to get up, stretching and not missing the popping in some of her joints. Two hours have gone by now since she'd first taken a seat. Time flies when you're having fun. It apparently flies even when you're just sitting and thinking, too.

As she begins walking home, she can't help but be aware that there's a car following her. When it started, she isn't sure. If the car had been watching her from a distance, she isn't sure of that either. She's been lost in her own world for quite some time at this point so she definitely hadn't been thinking of anything else until now. It's a glance from her peripheral that makes it clear the car is definitely following her.

The car stops when she does and moves when she does and she gives in and takes a seat on another stoop because the rain has picked up again. This is when she gets a good glance at the car and sighs. Getting up, she adjusts her hood back on her head, moving to the driver's window of the car. She lightly raps her knuckle against the tinted glass and is only partially surprised by the face on the other side of it.

"Mr. Wayne, aren't you driving on the wrong side of the road?"

Damien's gray eyes seem to be sparkling with amusement at her comment, "Thankfully, no one is out here to give me a ticket for it. Everyone's pretty much turned in for the night."

"Guess us night owls get the city to ourselves then, huh?"

They both share a small smile and the rain is picking up a bit more.

"Mr. Wayne, I think you should be heading home. I'm pretty sure Wayne Manor is in the other direction."

"I'm going through some extreme efforts to get to you then."

"Wow. I don't know if that was a pickup line or if I should be worried I'm about to lose my job."

"Let me drive you home."

"I don't need you knowing where I live, Mr. Wayne. Besides, I get the feeling you wouldn't belong there."

"I live in Gotham, too. I'm not allowed in certain places now?"

She can tell he's joking but she wasn't. She still puts on a smile though.

"Damien. Don't you think you've gotten too attached to me lately."

"No. I just heard that you live in a rough area. It's late and dark and cold and rainy. I think that warrants me offering you a ride home."

"Yeah, but--"

"Before you go thinking I was following you, I had a late business meeting at a restaurant up the street. That jacket of yours isn't exactly common."

She furrows her brows and glances down at the jacket she's wearing. Of course, no one else would have it. It was a gift from her mother and father years ago. Oversized then but a perfect fit now. The jacket is a black leather jacket but one of those jackets that's designed as though there's a hoodie being worn under it. The sleeves of her particular jacket are a dark purple with the typical elastic wrist. The hood of the jacket is of the same color and thick, dark purple hoodie material but it has large black playing card symbols over it in a checkered pattern. Admittedly, she really hasn't seen anyone else with a jacket similar to hers. It just reminds her that, with Damien being this observant, she has to be careful when she wears it out.

"You've got a keen eye for detail."

"Thank you for the compliment. Now, come on and get in before I catch a cop's attention."

She pulls her phone from her pocket and realizes she really needs to get home now and that she's shelved getting back home for much too long now. Moving to get around into the passenger's seat, she can't help but notice there's what appears to be some sort of towel or jacket or something in the seat before she sits down. She doesn't bring attention to the fact that she's noticed and just slides into the seat. Once buckled in, she tells him of a corner store that's not too far from where she lives, making that the place where he can drop her off, so that she can walk the rest of the way home without him.

The windows are tinted and it makes the city look a bit darker from inside the car. It makes her question how he could have seen her but, again, she doesn't voice it. She entertains him in small talk before they're in the lot of the store, a handful of empty parking spaces in front of the brightly lit storefront. She glances over at him and gives him a slight smile, unbuckling herself to get out of the car.

"You're walking from here?"

"Yeah. Damien, I'll be fine."

He looks as though he has a lot to say but, like she's been doing, he's not voicing any of it. She just gives him another smile and leans over to peck his cheek but stops herself, resting her hand on top of his on the gear stick.

"Thank you."

She doesn't give him the chance to say anything else, disappearing out of the car and into the store. She buys a few things, looking around for different things for her to snack on, as well as some things that she can bring back for Nikko and Princess. She finds herself constantly looking out of the storefront windows when she passes them, waiting for his car to go and then seemingly wishing it would come back once it's not there anymore.

After adding an umbrella to her purchase, she pays for everything and slips her hood back over her head, slotting the bags over her wrists, with her leather backpack comfortably in place on her back. She steps out and opens her umbrella, walking home.

Many good things come with the rain but there's one thing that's like a double-edged sword: the silence.

Alone with her thoughts this whole time, she's been thinking over too many things. All she can think about now though is being home and relaxing with Nikko and Princess, spending time with them before sleeping away what's left of the night.

A/N: I really enjoyed writing this one and I hope that, if you choose to read it/have read it, that you enjoyed it, too. I found a thing on Youtube, trying to look for the perfect setting that I was thinking of and this really helped me get even more in the zone: Relaxing Rain in the City at Night - No Thunder - Open Window - 10 Hrs Video for Relaxation & Sleep. I wrote this in about an hour, listening to that video the whole time and my aunt came down to say something to me and, when I took my headphones off, I felt weird because I was so into the writing and the sound of the rain that I forgot how it's not actually raining outside and I'm not actually in Gotham. Lol

Anyway, if you want to come and join the Gotham that I (mentally) reside in, come visit us and help create that particular universe. We'd love to have you.
(Here >> We Could Be Heroes. [Gotham City RP] [OPEN AND ACCEPTING || Internationals EXTREMELY Welcome] << )

Have a wonderful day/evening wherever you are. And remember that, no matter where you, who you are, you are loved. ♡