Chapter Text
“So, you want to take a right up here and get on to the highway,” Brienne looked up from the map in her lap, pointing towards the turn coming up. She was sitting in the passenger seat beside Phasma, who was driving the car.
At Brienne’s direction, Phasma snapped her head toward the knight, giving her the usual glare, signaling that she was very much aware of where to go. “Yes, thank you, Brienne.” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm and with a sigh, the captain flicked on the car turn signal before steering the car down the ramp leading to the freeway. “Can you two shut up back there!?”
Larissa and Miranda had taken their places in the backseat. The headmistress sitting behind Phasma, and the constable sitting behind Brienne. The shapeshifter had made a comment on how the chromed captain should’ve slowed down even more when turning, and Miranda had simply opened a bag of crisps.
“Sorry, Phasma…” Miranda would gladly admit that she found the captain a little intimidating if it meant she would keep her life. “I’ll open the snacks more silently next time.” She glanced at Larissa who was leaning slightly forward, only enough for her voice to reach Phasma’s ear, silently begging the headmistress to keep her mouth shut.
Phasma had warned them all in advance that in her car, her rules were final, and her rules were: ‘keep your mouth shut, or I will shut it for you.’ It was a simple one, the problem was, Larissa had no interest in simple things, not allowing herself to get bossed around considering she usually did the bossing.
“I’m just saying, you could’ve taken that turn a little bit more gracefully. It almost made Miranda spill her drink on me,” Larissa stated matter-of-factly, rolling her eyes at Phasma’s stubbornness. She thought she was offering ‘constructive suggestions’ on the captain’s driving, and that it would be appreciated. It was not.
“I’ll kill you a little bit more gracefully…” Phasma muttered under her breath, instantly questioning why she had agreed to go on this God-forsaken road trip knowing that if the entire ride was going to be anything like the first ten minutes had been, she would surely lose her sanity. She was starting to envy Lucifer’s choice, to not respond at all. She too wished she wasn’t in this car.
“What was that?” The shapeshifter hadn’t quite heard exactly what the captain had said, but she could draw her own conclusions about what it could’ve been if she based it on the very little she knew about the chromed trooper.
“I said, I’ll kill you a little bit more gracefully if you don’t sit your ass back, stop breathing into my ear, and shut your mouth.” Even if Phasma’s voice was at a normal volume, the threat, and anger in it did not go unnoticed, and Larissa decided that it was best to obey her for now if she wanted to get to her destination in one piece.
The silence in the car was deafening after Larissa had leaned back into her seat, Brienne sneaking occasional glances at Phasma, and Miranda had started munching on her snacks. Every once in a while offering the shapeshifter some by silently holding it out for the headmistress to take, which she did.
The sounds of classical music filled the car which helped in lulling Miranda to sleep who was now napping against the window, her head on a pillow that she brought from home. Larissa had opted to take her phone out, answered some emails, and was now playing Candy Crush on it, trying to pass the time, mindlessly snacking on the crisps the woman next to her had given her before falling asleep.
Brienne had her eyes fixed on the map in her lap, reading over the bookings again and again, ensuring that everything was as it should be. Sitting next to Phasma who relished in the silence, staring dead ahead at the winding road as she drove them closer to their destination, was proving to be an interesting experience.
The knight would not say that she was intimidated by Phasma, but there was definitely professional regard that played a part, wanting to respect the trooper's wishes for tranquility.
“Hey, Phasma?” The knight in the passenger seat spoke up, silent to avoid waking Miranda and to evade enraging the captain by making too much noise. She had contemplated saying anything for the past half hour but landed in having to swallow the fear of angering the scary woman next to her.
“Brienne.” Remaining focused on the road, Phasma’s mouth formed into a frown, a tiny bit annoyed at the disruption of her peace but grateful for her hushed voice. “Is something the matter?”
“Not really. I just wanted to bring it to the captain’s attention that once constable Hilmarson wakes up she will be... energetic, to say the least.” Brienne had been terrified of bringing this to Phasma’s attention, knowing it would not be liked by the driver. “I’d say we have another ten minutes of silence.”
Phasma grunted, “Thank you for the information, Lord Brienne.” To say that the chromed trooper would cherish the next ten minutes was an understatement. She already rued the seconds leading up to Miranda’s eventual rousing.
“You’re welcome,” Brienne went back to her activity of reading over the documents in her lap, every now and then looking out the window, observing the passing landscape.
As if she had an internal alarm clock, Miranda awoke ten minutes later on the dot with new-found energy, causing Larissa to put her phone away, realizing she had spent almost two hours playing that silly game. It did prove to be a successful way to pass the time, even if it felt like no time at all had passed.
“What did I miss?” Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Miranda took in the very quiet space, glancing to the rearview mirror where she met Phasma’s eyes that bore into hers, causing the constable to look away faster than she had intended.
“Not much,” Larissa mumbled next to her, answering her query.
“Not much? Wha- Does this mean you’ve been sitting in silence this entire time?” Miranda couldn’t believe her ears, this was not how a road trip was supposed to be. There was supposed to be loud music, sing-alongs, and games. Apparently, there had been none of that during her slumber and she found that offensive.
“Yes. It is how our driver wishes for it to be.” Larissa had given up on defying Phasma long ago, succumbing to the captain’s will for serenity. The headmistress turned her head to look out the window as the comforting sounds of piano filled the car space once again.
Miranda frowned, almost pouting, at how boring her fellow travelers were being. This was not how she expected the trip to be even if she knew of Phasma’s rules beforehand, but she had hoped that the captain would be adaptable and abandon her regulations once she realized how fun they could have. This was too boring for her.
The constable started looking about the car, peeking over the passenger seat to see what Brienne was doing but grew bored of that the second she saw the large map. She switched her eyes to Phasma who did not rip her eyes away from the road for even a second, other than to stare at Miranda through the mirror after she had woken up.
Phasma was an interesting person to study but she was not stimulating enough to keep Miranda entertained so she moved her gaze again, landing on the headmistress’ turned head. She was staring intently at Larissa’s hair, hoping that the shapeshifter would notice her trying to get her attention.
Larissa could feel Miranda’s eyes on her as the shapeshifter stared out the window. The constable would want to have more interaction than the knight, captain, and principal were currently offering her. Finally, Miranda’s voice rang out once more, “Larissa, we should play a game.”
“A game?” Larissa shifts back to stare at Miranda plainly; it had been years since she partook in a travel game.
“Yeah! Have you played the alphabet game? Or twenty questions? Or maybe, maybe we could play eye spy?” Miranda’s excitement was contagious, causing Larissa to smirk. The constable’s demeanor reminded Larissa of her more energetic students, endearing Miranda to the shapeshifter.
“Pick a game and I’ll try my best to learn.”
“Oh, let’s do the alphabet game! Brienne will be good at this! I can tell.” Miranda was talking a mile a minute, explaining all of the rules to her fellow passengers, “All you have to do is one of us will pick a category and then we go around in a circle, stating something that starts with the letter we are given. Like if the category is food, Larissa might say apple for the letter A and then Phas would say banana for B, and then Bri would say cake for C!”
“Don’t drag me into this.” Brienne’s voice sounded from the front, her ears spiked after hearing her name, clearly uninterested in whatever the two women in the backseat were planning on doing to pass the time. She was content reading the map and had no need for games to keep her mind stimulated, finding occupation in the small things being something she had mastered over the years.
“Oh, please Brienne! It’s no fun with just two people!” Miranda begged, her hand coming up over the back of the seat to squeeze the knight's shoulder.
Brienne sighed, rolling her head back and staring up at the car ceiling. “Fine. But if we miss our exit, that is on you.” The knight returned her head to its previous position, looking over at Phasma. She could practically see the frustration grow within her and decided to save the chromed trooper from this ‘irrelevant and childish game.’ “However, we should probably leave the captain here out of it, I have a feeling that she would not find it as enjoyable as you, Constable.”
“Okay, fine, but Phas if you wanna join in at any point, you just jump right in.” Miranda took charge of the game, knowing if she left it up to the other women, they might not end up playing the game. “I’ll make it easy on us and pick a category. We are gonna do ‘things you can find outside’ and Bri, you are gonna start okay?”
“Can’t you find anything outside?” Larissa asked, her brow furrowing.
“I was about to ask the same question.” Brienne followed Larissa’s statement, glancing at the map every now and then to make sure they did not miss their exit knowing Phasma would not be happy if they did.
“Nature-y things! You know what I’m talking about. Don’t play devil’s advocate. Luci doesn’t need your help.” Miranda gave Larissa a playful shove and then laughed at her own joke.
Phasma’s hand gripped the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles turning white. “Just get on with the game already! Enough with the dilly-dallying, it’s annoying.” Even if she didn’t want to admit it, she found the three’s game slightly intriguing, she had never heard of anything like it before. She wouldn’t want to partake, of course, but there was that naturistic curiosity that she couldn’t shake, even if she tried.
“Bri!! Go!! Something nature-y that starts with A!” Miranda wasn’t interested in pissing off Phasma more than she already had, so she was more than happy to do what she was told.
The suddenness of the beginning of the game caused Brienne’s mind to freeze for a second, scrambling to find an answer, “Uh, oh, umm, shit. I guess, apple?” She was unsure of her answer, but it was found in nature, after all.
“Good one! Bear!” Miranda partially shouted, regretting her decision when she watched Phasma tighten her grip on the steering wheel even more.
“Catkin.” Larissa had prepared ahead of time, already thinking about the letter she would get four turns from now. Miranda shot the shapeshifter a strange look, questioning the validity of her answer, “It’s found on a tree...”
“Oh, it’s me again. Deer? Yeah. Deer.” Brienne was growing more confident in her answers, getting the hand of the new game she had been introduced to minutes ago. She was used to being put on the spot as a knight, but this was entirely different. Her brain was working overtime trying to come up with responses fast enough.
“Elephant!”
“Frog.”
“Are you sure you don’t wanna do ‘G’, Phasma?” Miranda knew what the response would probably be, but she felt guilty for not trying to include her.
“Yes. I am sure,” Phasma responded through gritted teeth, Miranda’s game already transitioning from intriguing to exasperating.
“Okay, then... Brienne, it's your turn.” Miranda rolled her eyes, frustrated that the chrome-clad captain wouldn’t participate in her game.
“Grass.” Brienne smiled to herself, proud that this answer came to her much quicker than the others. Could’ve had something to do with the vast amount of greenery running along the asphalted road, there wasn’t much else to look at.
“Hill!” Miranda was on the edge of her seat, ready with her response when Brienne finished speaking.
“Isopod.” Larissa wore a smug smirk with her answer, believing it showed off her diverse knowledge of many topics. In most situations, she stood out in a crowd due to her height, but this group simply made her blend in, so her intelligence was the only thing she could rely on to stand out.
“Jagu- Oh! Phasma, our exit is coming up.” Brienne interrupted herself when she noticed that the ramp to get off the freeway was closer than she thought. She had gotten so invested in the game that she completely forgot to check the map, thankfully there were signs along the road that reminded her. “Sorry, Hilmarson, Weems. We’re going to have to put a lid on the game for now.”
Miranda huffed in response, slouching back in her seat, her only source of entertainment gone for now.
“This exit right here?” Phasma was satisfied with their incessant game finally ending, even more so that their destination was close. She would finally get out of this car. She lifted one hand of the steering wheel, pointing towards the ramp that was getting closer and closer.
“Aye.” Brienne nodded, looking up at what Phasma was pointing at, and then down at her map again, checking so it matched, checking so they didn’t take the wrong turn. The captain placed her hand on the steering wheel once again, using her other to switch on the turn signal, preparing to change lanes.
The shift of the car caused the pouting constable to dramatically slide over, her head landing on Larissa’s shoulder as she stared out the front windshield. The shapeshifter wanted to comment on the roughness of the steer, but refrained from it, not wanting to anger Phasma even more. She instead brought a hand to the back of Miranda’s head, running her fingers through her short hair and shaking her own head gently at the silliness of the Aussie woman.
“Are we there yet?” Miranda called out, keeping herself comfortably attached to Larissa’s side.
Phasma’s only response was to glare at Miranda through the rearview mirror, conveying her words very clearly through her piercing gaze: ‘ask again, and I will kick you out of this car.’
Brienne was much kinder than Phasma and decided to answer Miranda’s query, “No. I would say that we have another forty minutes in this car before we arrive.” After she had finished speaking, a calm filled the car and it remained for the duration of the drive.
Lucifer was waiting patiently at the destination when they arrived. Their expression contained a nearly undetectable smile as they were mildly surprised all of the women arrived in one piece. With Phasma in the car, they had expected at least an appendage to be missing. Lucifer’s voice twinged with the mischievous knowledge that they had been the sole cause of this silly little trip, “How was your journey?”
Phasma slammed the door shut, looking over at Lucifer with a scowl as she grumbled under her breath about how frustrating they all were. How rude they were for ignoring her very clear rules. Brienne emerged from the passenger side, closing it before answering the lightbringer’s inquiry, “For me? Fine. For the captain? Best not to ask.”
“I slept during most of it, but it was okay. A little boring for my taste, personally.” Miranda shrugged before stretching, trying to get rid of the rigidness and stiffness currently hounding her limbs.
“We are lucky someone isn’t dead,” Larissa huffed, gripping her purse to her as she took her place at the lightbringer’s side, not particularly interested in helping with the bags while Phasma was near the trunk. After their little spat at the beginning of the trip, Larissa was avoiding her at all costs.
Lucifer was amused with Phasma’s and Larissa’s answers. This was going to be very entertaining to the Lightbringer.
Brienne rounded the car, stopping in front of the trunk and opening it. She and Phasma, the strongest ones in the group, had been chosen to carry the heavier pieces of luggage that had been brought on the trip. This was quite obvious, and the two women had no issues with accepting the job, but they started to question just how much of this was needed for a week’s vacation.
As Phasma lugged the baggage toward the shared house they had rented, she realized she would have to sit through all those hours once again when it would be time to return home. It made her groan, knowing that she had barely stayed sane on the ride here. She did not know how she would survive. Less keep this week accident free. Her trigger finger was already twitching, and she just had to be grateful that they had separate rooms.
The trip back was going to suck, that she was sure of.