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Sophie opened the balcony door with a concerned look. "Ryan, hey. What's going on? Did something happen?"
Ryan looked like she had been crying, and wasn't too far from doing it again. "I'm sorry, I know it's late, but... I needed to see you. I wasn't sure if you'd be sleeping, so I didn't want to ring the doorbell..."
Sophie took Ryan's hands and said. "Hey, don't worry about it. I couldn't sleep either. Just... come inside, okay?"
When Ryan stepped over the threshold, Jordan - who was still sitting on the couch - cleared her throat and smirked. "Hey, Ryan. What a nice surprise. We were just talking about you."
Ryan immediately regretted dropping in unannounced like this, and intruding on Sophie while she had her sister over. You could hear the insecurity in her voice when she turned to Sophie. "I didn't know you had Jordan over... I'm sorry... I should go..."
Before Sophie had a chance to stop Ryan or to tell her, that her sister was just being... well, her sister, Jordan had already jumped up and let out a dramatic and loud fake-yawn. "Would you look at the time? I'm tired, you should totally stay, Ryan. Don't worry, I'm a deep sleeper, it'll be like I'm not even here."
With a huge grin on her face, she disappeared, before anyone could react.
Sophie let out a low and frustrated growl directed at her sister, who had winked at her and given her a thumbs-up right before leaving the room.
Ryan felt awkward, standing in the middle of Sophie's living room, having clearly interrupted some sort of conversation. "I'm really sorry, Soph... I - Maybe I shouldn't have come."
Sophie just shook her head slightly. "No, Ryan, I'm really glad you came! I... I wasn't sure if you wanted some space tonight and I didn't want to push you, but I'm really glad you're here now. Come, sit."
They headed over to the couch, where Sophie handed Ryan a beer, before she asked. "How are you feeling?"
Ryan took a shaky breath, tears collecting in her eyes, before she could even answer the question. "Sophie, I'm so scared."
Sophie immediately embraced Ryan and just held onto her. Ryan let out a silent sob, tears running down her face. She was overwhelmed beyond the point of explaining it to anyone.
When Ryan had steadied herself a little, Sophie pulled away, enough to look into Ryan's eyes, hands cupping her face. "Everything's going to be okay. We'll figure it out... together. You're not in this alone. I'll be right by your side."
She gently brushed away Ryan's tears with her thumbs.
"What if I can't restore people's trust in Batwoman? What if I ruined everything because I wasn't ready?" Ryan's voice broke.
"You were ready, Ryan. You are a hero. And people will see that... with time. You might have to work for a while, to gain back the city's trust, but they will come around. They'll see, that you are fighting for them and that you're not the enemy. This isn't the end of Batwoman. Not by a long shot."
Ryan's eyes were wide. "Do you really think so?"
Sophie smiled softly. "Of course. You are Ryan Wilder, you're not going to let Jada get away with this. This is your city."
Ryan mustered a small smile.
"What else is worrying you right now?"
Ryan let out a huff of air. "Just like... a million other things."
Sophie nodded. "Okay, lay it on me. Let's figure this out."
Ryan laughed lightly. "Soph, it's in the middle of the night... You don't have to take on all of my drama."
"I want to. Please. I don't want you to have to carry it all on your own. I want to help."
"Okay... I'm worried about Mary... I don't think she's okay. And I have no idea what we're gonna do about Alice. I mean... she's getting less insufferable but... she's still a wanted criminal, and I'm not sure how helpful it'll be for Mary's recovery from poison Ivy to be around Alice. But it's not like we can just send her away... Not to mention, ..."
Sophie put her hand on Ryan's arm. "Okay, breathe. One thing at a time, okay? I'll keep an eye on Alice. She won't become a problem... Well, a bigger problem than she already is... If she acts up, we'll deal with her. And we'll help Mary through this, together. All of us. I know Luke won't leave her side until she's feeling okay about herself again. She will be okay. We will make sure of it. Whatever she needs."
"Okay, but what about Marquis? He's out there somewhere, angry and probably out to get revenge. Who knows what he's planning."
"As you said, who knows what he's planning. We can sit here and speculate and worry about what might happen, OR we can deal with him once he does show up. Don't waste your energy trying to fix something, that hasn't even happened yet. We will be ready for whatever he throws our way."
Ryan sighed. "Fine, you made your point."
Sophie smiled. "So, what else is occupying your brain?"
Ryan looked deep into her eyes. "You, Sophie Moore."
Sophie wasn't expecting that answer, and it showed on her face. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
"Well, go on, tell me what to do about it." Ryan said with a teasing tone.
Sophie blushed and looked at her hands. "I guess that depends..."
Ryan leaned forward, asking quietly. "Depends on what?"
Sophie looked up to meet her eyes. "It depends on what you want... where you want this to go. If you want this to go somewhere... I understand if you don't want to do this right now. If you can't add it on top of everything else."
Her face was flushed, she was getting nervous. Gosh, this woman made her feel things like no one had before.
Ryan grinned. "You're cute when you're nervous."
Sophie rolled her eyes at her but couldn't help but smile.
Ryan continued. "So, what would your advice be for someone, who has this girl, that she really likes and would like to date, but has no idea how to tell her that?"
Sophie's eyes darted up. She hadn't seen that coming, either. So far, she had been the one who had to make most of the first moves, and she was starting to worry, if Ryan didn't feel as strongly about her after all, because she kept pushing her away, instead of making a move. But this... This changed things.
"Ryan, you don't know how happy it makes me to hear that, but... are you sure? We don't have to rush into this, if you're not ready. I understand that you have a million things going on, and I don't want to add to that."
Ryan took Sophie's hands and squeezed them gently. "Soph, this is pretty much the only thing I'm sure about right now."
Sophie had a wide smile on her face after hearing that. She closed the distance between them, so that their faces were almost touching. She could feel Ryan's breathing quickening. "In that case, I would suggest you show your girl how you feel, and I'm sure she'll feel the same way."
Ryan bit her lip lightly, being so close to Sophie brought her right back to a few nights ago when they shared their first kiss. She could smell Sophie's perfume and feel her breath against her skin. Her hands found Sophie's waist and pulled her closer yet.
Sophie had clearly not expected that either, because she let out a surprised sound before her own hands found Ryan's face and while one hand tangled in her hair, she brushed over Ryan's lips with the thumb on her other hand. Clearly not made for the anticipation, that Ryan was putting her through, she teased. "What are you waiting for, Wilder. You scared?"
Sophie had barely finished that sentence, when Ryan's lips met hers. They were soft and full. There was an eagerness and longing to their kiss, it wasn't as calm as their first kiss had been. This one was passionate and long and deep. So much so, that they only broke apart, when they desperately needed to catch their breath. Both of their faces were flushed, and carried big smiles. At this moment, Ryan felt like she could do anything, with Sophie by her side. She felt as though -
"Took you long enough!"
Everything was happening too fast. Ryan saw a pillow flying through the room and hitting Jordan in the face. Sophie then caught it, when it came flying back at them.
"Seriously, Jordan?! How long were you standing there?"
"Long enough to know, that Mary and Luke both owe me 20 bucks."
Sophie made a frustrated noise, and it looked like she was about to throw the pillow again, when Jordan turned towards Ryan. "Welcome to the family, Ryan. I'm glad you and my sister are finally listening to your hearts."