i hate to see you leave

[gevurah]

WHO: CHRISTINE and KATE
WHERE: Residence #002, Maurtia Falls.
WHEN: Backdated to early evening of 7/3.
WHAT: Delivering the news.
WARNINGS: Mention of death.

---

[ As Kate grows closer with each soft step to the house Renee and Christine share (shared, she corrects herself), she begins to wonder what the place looks like inside. Is it homey in feeling or appearance? Are there any others who live with them? Did Christine and Renee share a bed? They must have, she thinks. Not too long ago, the very idea of Renee sleeping with another woman would have earned Kate's jealousy, let alone actually being committed to someone enough to move with them to a different state.

She stops at the porch, glancing at her surroundings to gather a better sense of what this place is like. Was Renee happy here? Though they had once been in love, the subject of moving in together had never come up ― Kate had ruined everything before it could ever.

Looking at the door now, she suspects she's supposed to feel even an inkling of jealousy, yet there's nothing. She feels almost saddened; Renee had been able to come this far with someone who cared enough to keep looking for her. She didn't have her parents to condemn her or an entire precinct ready to take shots at her.

A quiet, bitter sigh escapes her. She lifts her hand and presses a finger against the doorbell, already steeled for what comes next. ]

Comments

[detriments]

[She licks her lips and nods again, turning her back to walk on over to the bar and prepare a drink for the both of them. It's going to be a strong one, whether Kate likes it or not.]

Yes. [A soft sniff, cigarette set down on a marble ashtray.] I asked her to move here with me.

[gevurah]

[ The stronger, the better.

She leans forward in her seat, leaning her arms against her thighs. Most of the tension seems to have lifted (but it'll be back when she least expects it), so her only concern now is how Christine is going to handle this. ]

How long have you two... [ She trails off, realizing how that sounds. ] It's not a crazy, jealous ex thing.

[detriments]

[She's in front of Kate soon enough, handing over the glass. The cigarette is in her other hand, somehow held with her own drink. She takes a seat across the coffee table, crossing her legs, gaze still avoidant.

She takes a drag before answering.]

February.

[gevurah]

Thanks.

[ The cool glass is a welcome sensation against her fingers. The humidity is bearable here, sure, but she's been on her feet for nearly two days straight. It's much easier to manage when she's in a uniform made to endure heat and cold.

She takes a sip, gazing into her drink when she's finished swallowing. ]

... I'm glad she had someone who cares.

[detriments]

[No answer to that. Instead she swallows and takes another sip from her glass, pressing her lips softly to lick the remnant of taste.]

... Thank you. For looking.

[gevurah]

[ She raises her eyes, meeting Christine's. There's a small smile ― tired, but it's genuine. ]

Even if you hadn't asked, I would have.

[ And Christine would have still been the first to know. It's what Renee would have wanted. ]

[detriments]

[and maybe on any other day that would have made Christine feel jealous, possessive, but it doesn't. She's actually... strangely numb.]

I thought Harvey had done something to her, at first. That's why I went to him.

[a pause.]

I made him tell me the truth.

[gevurah]

[ The corner of her lips twitch hearing his name. She hates to think about him at a time like this, but what Christine's said has seized her full attention. She leans forward again after taking a longer sip, brows furrowed and the rest of her attentive. ]

The truth tends to be a funny thing with him.

[detriments]

Maybe, [she admits, because lately she can't be all too sure her power is infallible. It hasn't failed her yet, though.] But I guess he was right this time.

[gevurah]

What did he say again?

[ Harvey's been able to spin the story before. She doesn't know how other falls for it so easily, but it warrants concerns. ]

[detriments]

First he said he wouldn't hurt her. Then he pointed to you and said you couldn't be trusted.

[that was the gist of it, but she continues, smoke trailing upwards.]

He said you turned Renee against him.

[gevurah]

[ Full of shit, as usual.

She's not even surprised. ]

Renee warned you about him, didn't she?

[detriments]

She did. About him, about Cobblepot, Bane - [a number of people who couldn't be trusted, and Christine had almost struck a friendship of sorts with all of them.

Not that the warnings did anything to stop her entirely. She always enjoyed a little danger, it seems.]

She was always protecting me.

[gevurah]

[ She'd tried to do the same for Kate despite her not needing it. Despite Renee knowing what Kate had gotten up to after their break-up years ago. But that was Renee, always trying to protect others without their say in it. ]

Gotham's full of loonies, but they're dangerous. Dent's no different. [ She hesitates. ] He's hurt Renee before. He tried to ruin her life.

[detriments]

[Silence. Renee never did tell her the full story. She was always full of secrets, no matter how deep Christine managed to dig.]

What did he do?

[gevurah]

[ Similarly, it's not surprising Renee kept secrets from Christine, even if she had yet to experience what Harvey would do.

She finishes the last of her drink and sets the glass down on the table. ]

He's obsessed with her. He killed people in her name and she nearly took the fall for it. He kidnapped her.

[ Her voice is even as she speaks, but there's no mistaking the quiet contempt for Harvey Dent in it. ]

[detriments]

[Part of her wants to go after him for it, even if it doesn't show. Her own expression stays the same throughout, save for the slight tension in her jaw. She taps the end of her cigarette, ashes falling onto the tray.]

Were you there?

[gevurah]

[ Her gaze drops, focusing on her empty glass instead. ]

Renee and I... it was complicated. [ It still is. ] She didn't return my calls and I left the country for a couple of years.

[ It's not knowing if she had been around could she have made a difference. Maybe she could have helped spare Renee so much heartache. ]

[detriments]

[Silence.]

Who helped her?

[gevurah]

Her partner, I believe. Some of the other cops from GCPD.

[ A beat. ]

Batman.

[detriments]

[There's a flicker of curiosity, there and then. She finishes her drink and puts out the cigarette.]

Batman?

[gevurah]

[ This is where surprise takes her, though it passes quickly enough. Kate looks back up at her, sitting up in the chair now. ]

Gotham's protector. One of them, but he's the first.

[ The first to take a stand that way. He could have been a soldier, a cop, a lawyer... but no, he took a different path. One she would follow herself years later. ]

[detriments]

I think she mentioned him. [She shakes her head softly, arching her brows.] I can't be sure.

[gevurah]

He saved her.

[ Perhaps not from Renee's perspective.

The corner of her lips curl with disgust. ]

But the damage was done.

[detriments]

[She keeps her gaze on Kate, waiting. She won't ask, but she wants to know.]