Work Text:
Sophie sits at the table on her balcony with her coffee and laptop, looking over her monthly bills and earnings. The investments she’d put in place when she worked for The Crows are continuing to pay out their regular dividends, replenishing her savings so that she’s not actually depleting them month over month. When she’d graduated from Point Rock, Sophie had decided her goal was to work towards having at least a year’s worth of salary in her savings. Most articles she’d read recommended having six months worth of savings, but Sophie had always been an overachiever.
After her first annual review, she’d received a sizable bonus, stock options, and RSUs. She was so fascinated by the stock market, that she’d started doing a little trading in her spare time. And, now, Sophie is in the position where she can really be choosy about when and where she works. She never wanted to have to work for the sole purpose of ensuring she had enough to survive. Sophie wanted to be able to pursue a career that was fulfilling for her and, initially, she thought The Crows could give her that. In the end, it still would serve its ultimate purpose, since her time there had helped her to afford this option to take her time in deciding what was next for her, in her early 30s.
Her phone vibrates, and that automatic grin spreads over her face when she sees it’s a text from Ryan. Even though they’d agreed that Ryan would visit Jada this morning, she’d started to worry she would lose her nerve if she let an entire night pass by. So she went to Jada’s that evening, instead. Unfortunately, Jada couldn’t stay to talk, and she still ended up needing to go to Jeturian Industries this morning.
Sophie’s grin becomes a full blown smile accompanied with wide eyes and heat warming her chest when she opens the text. Ryan had sent a picture of her look for take-two of her talk with her mom. The very fitted, hip hugging, quarter-sleeved, maroon dress accompanied with a long braid worn over her shoulder was definitely giving phenomenal woman.
Ryan cell: What do you think? Am I selling CEO in this?
Sophie cell: I’m buying absolutely anything you’re selling in that. 😍
Ryan cell: Stop. 🥰
Sophie cell: I’m getting lunch with Jordan near Wayne this afternoon. I can come by before to hear how everything went.
Ryan cell: Cool. 😎 Wish me luck!
Sophie cell: Good luck to Jada Jett.
~~~~~
Ryan cell: I have a brother!
Sophie cell: Be there in 10. Meet in the lobby?
Ryan cell: Fine.
Sophie has the feeling things didn’t go well with the mogul. Her urge to hurry up and get to Ryan increases with each red light that stops her. Ryan’s face is rigid when Sophie meets her at the receptionist desk at Wayne.
S: “That bad, huh?”
R: “She threatened me and Wayne. Told me to stay away from her family.”
They start walking down the hall towards the elevators. Ryan presses the button, and they wait for it to descend and retrieve them.
S: “Ouch. That’s harsh.”
R: “Harsh is an understatement. She said she’d never intended to meet me, and that she didn’t want a relationship with me. So, I asked her what she was so afraid of, to go through the trouble of hiding from me, and her answer was that I should stop asking questions.”
S: “Damn!”
R: “I told her that I finally knew my mom was someone not worth my time, and she was glad we were on the same page.”
S: “I’m so sorry, Ryan.”
The elevator arrives, and they both walk through the doors, beginning their climb to the top.
R: “I was ready to bolt, and Marquis Jett stopped me in my tracks. He’d heard his mom was taking a meeting with the head of Wayne Enterprises without him, and he decided to crash it. I was totally caught off guard when Jada clarified that he was her son.”
The elevator opens, and Sophie follows Ryan off of it. She’s walking with intention, clearly not wanting to sit and talk about this for much longer. It also sounds like Ryan is upset with Sophie for letting her walk into that introduction unprepared.
S: “You were very clear about wanting to know the absolute minimum. You weren’t even sure if you wanted to get to know Jada. So knowing she had another kid, it would have just complicated it more.”
R: “The kid she kept, while she gave me away.”
Sophie attempts to redirect, hoping the encounter wasn’t a total loss. Just because Jada was brutal and heartless, that didn’t mean something good couldn’t have come from learning about her.
S: “Was he cool at least?”
R: “I have no idea. Jada kicked me out of there so fast, I didn’t even get to get my parking validated. This is exactly why I wanted to keep that door closed.”
Sophie has already apologized for telling Ryan about her mom, and even though she didn’t blame her then, maybe she was beginning to change her mind.
S: “So what now?“
Ryan enters the hidden elevator to the Bat Cave, alone.
R: “You didn’t hear? Mr. Freeze’s Liquid Nitrogen Can got into the hands of a bunch of eighth graders. I need to find it.”
All Sophie wants to do is help. So much progress - Ryan trusting her with this - and now it feels like she’s about to shut her out again. Sophie has to at least try to make this better, somehow.
S: “I mean about your mom. What can I do? What do you need?”
R: “I need to work, and forget any of this ever happened.”
The elevator closes before Sophie can respond.
Forgetting about everything that had happened over the last few days felt like more than just packing the knowledge of her birth mother away into a pocket in Ryan’s mind. Her tone and demeanor was reminiscent of the Ryan Wilder who was closed-off to Sophie, not long ago. They’d done so much work to process Ryan’s feelings together, that for her to practically run away from Sophie left her confused and frustrated.
Sophie’s phone shakes in her back pocket, and she sighs, because she knows she doesn’t have time to board that elevator and chase Ryan down. She has to meet Jordan. And it’s probably better that she does take a lap, because if she says what she wants to right now, the chances of either of them actually listening to each other instead of falling back into their old habits of low blows was pretty unlikely.
Jordan cell: I got us a table.
Sophie cell: Be there in 5 minutes.
~~~~~
J: “Hey sis!”
S: “Hey J.”
J: “I ordered guac for the table. I wasn’t sure if we were day drinking or not, so I just got us waters for now.”
S: “Cool.”
Sophie scoots into her chair, and then slides the menu over. She stares through it, re-reading the toppings in a taco at least three times, trying to absorb the information. The server comes over as she’s flipping the menu on its backside to look at the drink options, and he places the guac and chips on the table. All the colorful drinks aren’t really what she wants. She’d prefer a shot, but that seems like a lot for early afternoon on a Friday. So she settles for the house margarita to keep it simple, which she tells the waiter when he’s done taking her sister’s order, and she adds her order of chicken tacos, because she doesn’t have the patience to figure out what else she might want. When she’s done, she hands off the menu and looks up at her sister.
S: “What’s new.”
J: “I actually have some news.”
S: “Oh yeah? Tell me!”
J: “Well, because of the work I’ve been doing with the community center, I made the list for Gotham’s 30 Under 30, and I want you to be my plus one to the event.”
S: “J! That’s amazing! Of course I’ll be your date!”
J: “Good, these things aren't really my style. I’ll feel better if I know at least one person isn't there for fame and fortune.”
S: “I wouldn’t miss it. I’m so proud of you!”
J: “Alright, alright. How about you? You seeing anyone special?”
Sophie doesn’t know why she feels the urge to pause. This answer should be an easy one.
S: “I don’t know yet.”
Jordan raises her eyebrows, encouraging her to continue.
S: “I have a date tomorrow night with Riley.”
J: “The girl from like two weeks ago?”
S: “Yeah…”
When she says it that way, it does seem like a long time to go without seeing someone you are interested in.
S: “I sorta went home with someone else last weekend.”
J: “Sorta?”
S: “Well, I did.”
J: “And does that girl have potential?”
S: “I don’t know. Deja was cute, fun. They are both cute and fun.”
J: “Why don’t your words match your face? We’re talking about your rotation of possibles and you don’t seem excited. If you don’t like them, why go out with them?”
S: “I don’t know, J. I liked them fine.”
J: “Liked, as in you don’t anymore?”
S: “It’s not that…”
J: “So, are you going to tell me what it is then?”
The drinks and food come out fast, and the server interrupts them for a moment to place their orders down in front of them. When he’s gone, Jordan looks back at Sophie expectantly, so she’ll continue.
S: “It’s just not about them. If I’m being honest, my mind is kind of somewhere else right now.”
J: “Do I really have to interrogate you to get you to talk, today? You know I can do that. I learned from the best.”
Sophie laughs at her sister’s threat wrapped in a compliment. Then, she takes a deep breath, and decides to tell Jordan what she can.
S: “It’s Ryan.”
J: “Wait, you’re dating Ryan too? Forget those other chicks? She’s the one!”
S: “Calm down! I’m not dating Ryan.”
J: “Then why does she have your forehead all scrunched up and your shoulders slouched? That’s not the face you make for any old friend.”
S: “We are friends! I just think she’s mad at me for telling her about something she didn’t really want to know, and I was only trying to help.”
J: “Y’all sure fight like girlfriends.”
S: “You know what, nevermind.”
J: “Hey, I’ll chill. I’m listening.”
Sophie takes another breath, and then starts again.
S: “Well, obviously she doesn’t hate me anymore, you know that much.”
J: “Right…”
S: “We’ve actually been doing really good. We talk every day, and we’re there for each other. And then today, she just sorta backslid on me…”
J: “Sis.”
S: “What, Jordan?”
J: “I’m sorry. I know you don’t want to hear this from me, but I don’t worry about stuff like this with my friends…Why do you act like it’s so impossible for you to have feelings for her?”
S: “Why can’t we just be really good friends?”
J: “You tell me? Look, regardless, even if you’re just worried about your friend shutting you out, or whatever, you’re not going to feel better if you don’t talk to her about it.”
S: “I don’t want to push, if I’m not the one she wants…to talk to about this.”
J: “What about what you want?”
All of Jordan’s questions are ones Sophie has never actually asked herself before. Once upon a time, she wouldn’t have even begun to imagine the possibility of Ryan and her having the relationship they have now. And, asking what someone else wants is more her style than trying to consider what she wants for herself. But between her career and dating, what Sophie wants seems less and less clear by the day. What she knows for sure is what she doesn’t want and that's to go backwards in any way.
S: “Right now, I want to eat, because our food is getting cold.”
J: “That’s fine. We’re going shopping after this, so I’ve got time…”
Sophie rolls her eyes, and takes a big bite of her taco so that her mouth is too stuffed to talk.”
They sit at the table for a couple of hours, chatting about the activities at the community center that helped Jordan get on the radar for the committee that selects the 30 Under 30, and how she thinks it could be an opportunity to get more support and funding for the center. Jordan even updates Sophie about their mom, a little. Just as Sophie finishes signing for the check, because their server had brought it an hour ago and they hadn’t budged, her phone starts buzzing on the table, and she sees that it’s Luke calling her. He never calls unless it’s bad.
J: “What’s going on? Why did all the color just go out of your face?”
S: “I might have to go.”
She swipes to answer.
S: “What’s up, Luke?”
L: “How quickly can you get here? Ryan’s stuck in a Cryochamber and I have to go get her, but she can’t fall asleep or-”
S: “She’ll die. Got it. I can be there in less than 5 minutes.”
J: “Wait, Ryan’s going to die?!”
Jordan knows that Luke and Ryan are usually tied at the hip, and the look on Sophie’s face confirmed it could only be about her.
S: “Sorry, J!”
Sophie jumps up and unabashedly hustles out of the restaurant.
~~~~~
Sophie arrived in time to help keep Ryan awake long enough for Luke to save her from freezing to death. She used the opportunity to tell Ryan that she was mad at her for pushing her away when the conversation got too tough, which helped keep Ryan alert for about a minute longer than she otherwise might have. It was also enough to get Ryan to reflect on the box she had been keeping Sophie in. Maybe it was time to open that box and take a look around. Her interest was piqued, to say the least.
The next morning, after she purchases her coffee to go from The Hold Up, Sophie finds Ryan at a booth with her laptop. It looks like she’s been sitting there a while, and Sophie can’t help but to go find out what has Ryan so busy. Ryan shares that she’s been researching Marquis, because he stopped by and told her he knew she was his sister, and that they should go behind Jada’s back to work against her. Sophie, of course, asks Ryan what she wants, in response.
R: “It’s funny. When it came to family, I never allowed myself to ask that question. But then, Alice ripped off the band-aid. Umm…If I’m being real, I want a mom who knows all my food allergies, and tells me my skirt’s too short, and texts my girlfriend about tv shows they like, and loves me…unconditionally. That’s what I want. I want a mom.”
Jordan asked Sophie what she wanted, and she didn’t know the answer. But Ryan’s description didn’t sound too far away from the truth for Sophie, either. And so, she told Ryan the same thing she tried to remind herself of when she had moments like this one.
S: “It’s her loss, Ryan.”
Even if it’s the truth, it’s not the answer either of them really wants to hear about their moms.
R: “Yeah, well, Jada is one of the most connected people in Gotham, which means making her my enemy puts everyone I care about at risk. So, as tempting as it is to have a brother, I gotta put the team first.”
S: “I get it. They’re lucky to have you.”
Ryan drops her eyes, like she’s thinking about how to respond to that. She looks up, decidedly.
R: “I think I’m lucky to have them…and you.”
Ryan keeps doing that - catching Sophie off guard. She’s pretty sure she’s blushing, and she’s not used to Ryan making her feel this way.
S: “I did run pretty fast to get from the restaurant to the Bat Cave, yesterday, and I wasn't in running shoes or workout clothes, either.”
R: “My hero.”
Sophie drops her head and laughs.
R: “You know, you say I don’t sleep, but you’re here too…Late night? Hot date?”
S: “No, not last night. I just like to get my workout in before the sun’s too high in the sky.”
R: “Noted. Sophie’s an early riser.”
S: “And you’re a night owl.”
R: “Kinda comes with the gig. Hey, didn’t you say you were having lunch with Jordan yesterday?”
S: “I did! And speaking of dates, she’s on the list for the 30 Under 30 thanks to her work on the community center, and she asked me to go with her to the press junket tomorrow.”
R: “Wow! Good for her. She really deserves it.”
S: “Yeah, I was actually supposed to go shopping with her after lunch yesterday, but…”
R: “You ditched her to come save my ass.”
S: “And while I’d do it again in a heartbeat, I kinda owe her now. So, that’s where I’m headed from here. We get to go pick out what we’re wearing to this thing. She’s got a speech, and she can’t wear just any old thing.”
R: “I’m really happy for her. Can you let her know I said so?”
S: “For sure. She might have gathered that I was running off to save you so you wouldn't die, and she’s been asking about you.”
R: “What?”
S: “Yeah, she’s pretty perceptive…”
R: “Why don’t we send her a selfie, so she knows I’m all good?”
S: “I almost won’t be able to stand her once we do, but sure, she’ll love that.”
R: “Why is that?”
S: “She’s kind of a fan of yours.”
R: “Me?”
Ryan puts her hand on her chest in pretend shock. She had a feeling Jordan liked her.
S: “Don’t get a big head about it.”
Sophie gets up and walks around to Ryan. She kneels down behind her seat, and hovers just over her shoulder. Ryan leans in, so that their cheeks touch. She’s so close that Sophie can smell Ryan’s coconut in her hair. She pulls her phone out in front of them and takes their picture. Ryan reaches out to grab the phone, so she can take a closer look.
R: “We’re cute. Definitely send it, and to me too.”
S: “Consider it done.”
Ryan hands her the phone back, and Sophie starts to wish that she didn't have to go, even though she knows she should.
R: “Have fun. And feel free to send me some options if you need help deciding what to wear.”
S: “Will do. See you later, Ryan.”
R: “See ya!”