Ryan was nervous. There was no way to sugarcoat it and no real logical reason for it if you asked her. She fidgeted with her sweater in front of the full length mirror. This was not a feeling she had often. She jumped across rooftops without so much as a second thought so how could she be second guessing a sweater and a pair of jeans and her hair just for a dinner?
Her and Sophie had shared a meal before. Maybe not at a restaurant but in the loft with Mary and in the cave with Luke. With her mother and brother and a murderous chef.
She smiled at the memory, at how crazy that night had quickly become and the way Sophie had handled herself. She had always been in quiet awe of the former Crow but it became much louder after fighting side by side in evening wear. She knew Sophie didn’t trust Jada at all then (she had since vowed to try) yet she still did what she had to do to help keep Ryan’s family safe. There was no way to deny her feelings for her ‘friend’ after that, Sophie looking up at her with the emergency blanket wrapped around her shoulders and a hopeful look in those amber eyes. Ryan was telling the truth, it was definitely memorable. She had stopped avoiding the thing that she knew to be true that night which was something had shifted for her and Sophie.
She visibly shook her head to clear her thoughts and bring herself back to the present. That felt like a long time ago, taking into consideration everything that had happened since and now they were about to have their first real date, as girlfriends. They were still trying to navigate what this step really meant for them and tonight was a good place to start.
Ryan sighed, trying to calm the nerves which she had just decided were actually reasonable given this would be the first time they got to sit down and enjoy each other’s company since becoming official with no distractions. With the drama and chaos settling down, would they still feel the same way? Would it be awkward? The clean up following the blimp explosion was enough to keep them so busy they barely got to get any sleep or a shower let alone time together for more than a few minutes. Those minutes usually consisting of checking in, stolen kisses and promises of reconnecting. After about a week of working tirelessly, they had neared the end of the clean up. The group decided that they all deserved a break so Mary and Luke took the night off yesterday to reset and then they were covering the patrol tonight so Ryan and Sophie could have their date night. Thankfully, Gotham had been relatively quiet the past few nights.
She gave herself one last once-over in the mirror. Sophie had told her to dress casual, both of them still exhausted and wanting to be comfortable. She had on a cropped green sweater and black jeans. She opted for her comfy black boots and she kept her hair down, tired of pulling it back under the cowl.
Her phone vibrated on her vanity just as she was setting her perfume bottle down.
Sophie: I’m outside. I’m too tired to walk up and then back down the loft stairs to greet you properly. I’m usually a gentle-woman.
Ryan giggled. There was absolutely nothing traditional or conventional about them so why start now?
Ryan: I believe you 😊 no worries I’m coming.
She quickly gathered her things and was out the loft door and down the steps, walking the short distance to Sophie’s new Subaru.
“How did you afford this?” She said as she climbed into the passenger seat.
“Ha ha. You’re so funny.” Sophie was leaned back in the seat with her head tilted towards her, an adorable smile on her face. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Ryan smiled back, a series of butterflies fluttering away in her stomach caused by the soft look she was being given. They looked at each other for several moments before Ryan leaned over the console slowly and placed her lips softly on Sophie’s. It was sweet at first, both of them relaxing into it. Sophie slid her hand up to cup her cheek and pulled her closer to her. Ryan began to reciprocate, leaning farther into the drivers seat, when her stomach growled loudly in the silence of the car.
Sophie laughed lowly and damn she wanted to kiss her again, the low rasp in her voice so sexy when she spoke. “Let’s go eat before we get carried away.”
Ryan only nodded thinking she would have been totally fine with getting carried away but they had a date to get to that she asked for. She settled back into her seat, most of her nerves gone now that she was covered with the comfort of Sophie. “Where are we going?”
“A new little spot opened up over on Dunkirk, I thought we could try it. It seems like it has a lowkey vibe.”
“Sounds good.” She took advantage of her position as the passenger to take Sophie in. She was wearing dark jeans and boots with her leather jacket covering a cream shirt. Her hair was down and flowing. “You look nice.” She ran her hand down Sophie’s wrist and to her fingers resting loosely on the gear shift between them.
“Thank you, so do you.” Sophie cleared her throat. “Is it weird that I feel nervous?”
Ryan’s face broke into a grin. “No, so I am. Well I was until I saw you.” She laced their fingers together because she could do that now, whenever she wanted. “I think it just means you like me.”
Sophie laughed. “Yeah you’re probably right.”
She glanced at her sideways and Ryan felt her cheeks heat up at Sophie’s implication and then felt silly. She had already seen this woman naked for God’s sake and gotten intimately acquainted but hearing her say she liked her made her feel like a schoolgirl. She tried to get it together as they pulled into a parking spot on the street.
Sophie got out quickly, Ryan watching her come around the front of the car and open the passenger door for her. “So chivalry isn’t dead?” She asked as she quirked an eyebrow and got out of the car.
“Since I didn’t come up to the door to get you earlier, I thought it was the least I could do.” She grabbed her hand as she shut the door and led her into what looked like a small bistro. They were seated at a small table right next to the window where the Gotham street had a small amount of foot traffic. They ordered drinks and looked over the menu for a few minutes.
“It’s so cute in here.”
“Good I’m glad you like it.”
“I mean we coulda went to Crispy Joes or something, it didn’t matter to me. I’m just glad we’re getting to have some down time together.”
It was Sophie’s turn to reach out and take Ryan’s hand. This was one thing that hadn’t changed since they finally expressed themselves, the need to touch, to feel the other and allow it to ground them. Ryan knew now she did it because of everything she’d lost and to be able to feel something tangible indicating she was not alone, was important to her. She didn’t know if Sophie felt the same way or if she just knew that it was what Ryan needed.
“I know but we’re on a new path now so I figured we could try something new, start off on the right foot. Although we could do take out next time.”
The waitress came over to take their orders, Ryan ordering a veggie burger and Sophie ordering a chicken wrap. When the waitress collected their menus and walked away, Sophie spoke first.
“So I know you said you wanted to be there when I told Jordan but she called me out immediately.”
“What?! Ugh. I really wanted to see her face!”
“I know. I invited her to brunch this weekend with both of us and she clocked it right away. Dragged the information right out of me.”
“Agent Crowphie?” This earned her a disapproving look but she continued. “Remind me to jot that down later. The younger Moore is really your kryptonite.”
“I literally can’t keep anything from her, it’s so annoying. She was ecstatic though as you predicted. She’s happy for me and for us.” Sophie looked relieved.
Ryan bit her lip to try to keep the ‘I told you so’ from spilling out. It didn’t work. “I told you she loves me.” That earned her an eye roll. “Well I can’t wait to see her.”
“Me too. I feel like it’s been ages since I’ve seen her with everything that’s been going on.”
“Have you heard anything about the job?”
Sophie picked at the edge of the napkin in front of her. “Not yet. Any day now.” She twitched her lips to the side and Ryan leaned forward to rub her wrist.
“It’ll happen. They’d be crazy not to at least consider you and that’s the first step. No sense in worrying about it too much now, it’s out of our hands.” Sophie only released a long breath and nodded her head. “And Montoya did end up being right about Poison Ivy even if she was a shitty detective and an even shittier person.” Sophie raised one eyebrow and she continued talking rapidly. “I’m just saying it was like, so nice of her to throw your name into the conversation and the fact that she was right about Pammy makes her look less crazy and more credible.”
“If you want to talk about Renee, you can just say that Ryan. It’s probably a good idea.”
“I just think it was thoughtful of her to think you’d make a good Commissioner.” She had bucked at the thought of Sophie joining law enforcement again but had held her tongue when she had shopped it to her. After she had given it some real thought, she knew she would make a kickass Commissioner, doing right by the city while simultaneously helping the Bat team. The real reason it left a bad taste in her mouth was who had put the idea in Sophie’s head in the first place. She knew jealousy did not look good on her but she was only human.
“Look I know I’ve apologized before and I’ll do it again if you need me to-“
Ryan held her hand up to stop her. “No. I forgave you and I’m not trying to make you feel a way.” She took a breath to collect her thoughts. “I realized the part I played in what went down and I just want to say that… I’m sorry. I never said that, or had the chance to say it with the way things played out. I’m sorry for the way I acted.”
“Childish and petty?” A smirk.
“Hurt.” She cast her eyes down on her own napkin now. “My feelings were hurt and I couldn’t figure out how to express that then. I just wanted you and she had you and on top of everything, I just couldn’t deal.”
“I’m sorry for hurting you.”
“I’m sorry for pushing you away.” They reached for each other in the same moment and laughed softly, lightening the mood. “Let’s put it behind us?” She asked.
“Of course, that feels so long ago, there’s been at least 2 other disasters since then anyways.” Her chuckle was music to Ryan’s ears. “We should focus on the present.”
“And we should be celebrating that you’re being considered, Commissioner Moore!”
“Don’t start that too early.”
“Why not? It’s hot.” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “Plus your name was endorsed by some of Gotham’s most respected, myself and my mother included.” She sipped her drink. She knew she was pushing it with the Jada conversation following so closely after the Renee one but she also knew what to push Sophie about and what not to. She was warming up to the idea of trying to reconcile with Ryan’s mother.
“I’ll be sure to send her a thank you note.”
Her sarcastic tone indicated that that was something she was not actually intending to do. “Don’t be like that Soph-“
“Hey, I know. I’m sorry. It’s just gonna take me some time. That’s all.” She met her eyes then and Ryan believed her. She knew it wasn’t easy and it still wasn’t easy for her to be all in with Jada either but as long as they were on the journey together, that’s all that mattered to Ryan. Their food arrived and they settled into easier conversation, both of them seemingly over their initial nerves.
“So what’s next? After the clean up is complete?” Sophie asked around stuffing French fries in her mouth.
Ryan wiped her mouth. “Hopefully nothing too crazy. We could use a break, not to mention the city could use one. I’d like to just get back to regular patrols, be able to take some down time, figure out some CEO shit.”
“And us?”
“More dates?” She felt Sophie rub her calf over hers under the table. “Maybe a movie night?”
“I’d like that.” She leaned forward with her chin in her hand. “And after the movie?” The twinkle in her eye was not lost on Ryan who instinctively leaned in towards her too.
“I have a few things I could show you.”
“Oh yeah?”
Ryan nodded, almost reaching her, pulling her own bottom lip between her teeth as she looked at Sophie’s lips. “Mmhhmm.” She closed her eyes as she leaned in to kiss her but they flew back open when she heard her shout.
“Shit!”
She had no time to react, just felt Sophie fling her body into hers over the table as something crashed through the window, shattering it where they were just sitting. They toppled onto the floor, Sophie using her body to shield Ryan’s from whatever was airborne and now on the ground next to them.
She could only laugh in the moment because of course this was happening. Sophie gave her the frown she was getting so used to seeing now indicating that she was about to be scolded. She didn’t necessarily hate it. “I thought we’d get to this part a little later.”
Sophie rolled her eyes and then rolled her body off of her after confirming there was seemingly no imminent danger, removing her leg from where it had slotted between Ryan’s. “Only if you’re lucky, Wilder.”
Ryan was about to say it would have nothing to do with luck but her eyes found the thing that had flown through the window when she had sat up straight. “What the-“
Sophie was on her feet quickly and moving towards the now open window. “Ryan!” She scrambled up off the floor and over to her side. She followed Sophie’s gaze and looked to the right out of the window and saw what looked like a skeleton with bits of flesh and organs showing and tattered clothing clinging to it, moving faster than she would have expected it to move. It was grotesque even from half a block away. “What is that?”
“Your guess is as good as mine Soph.” She turned back towards what had come flying through the window while Sophie scrambled for her phone for what she assumed was footage of the skeleton thing getting farther away. The rest of the patrons of the bistro as well as the staff were trying to figure out what happened and if everyone was okay. She turned to see what had flown through the glass window at them. The body of a person on the floor, face down, limbs in every direction would have not been her first guess when Sophie had tackled her to the floor but this was Gotham. She gently turned the body over onto their back only to see that half of their face was gone. She felt her stomach lurch and she had to turn away. The person was clearly dead, there was nothing she could do for them. Sophie was at her side, finding her hand and standing next to her protectively, looking at the body over her head.
“We should get outta here.”
Ryan took a big breath and went into Batwoman mode as she gathered herself. “We’ll call Luke in the car on the way to the cave. Send him whatever you have and get him to track whatever that thing was so it doesn’t disappear. I’ll come back in the suit.” She moved their table farther out of the way and hopped through the broken glass pane, helping Sophie out behind her. She turned towards where the car was parked and stopped in her tracks, Sophie lightly crashing into her. There was a trail of numerous bodies littering the sidewalk, their faces in similar states as the one that flew through the bistro window. People were scrambling in the streets and the sidewalks to see what was happening and to try to help. “What the hell is going on?”
“I’ll call Luke, you call for emergency services and then alert Mary at the clinic. Some of these people may still be alive.”
Sophie was looking at her phone, typing away frantically and hustling around the drivers side to get in. Ryan fished for her own phone and followed her into the car, always impressed with her composure in situations like this. Which was why she let it slide that she had told her, the actual superhero, what to do. She only gave herself a moment to admire her. She looked over as Sophie started the car and put her phone to her ear, waiting for Luke to pick up. “Great first date huh?”
Sophie managed a smile her way. “I suppose this is what I signed up for? Shoulda known we wouldn’t make it back to my place.”
“We’ll get there, I promise. Just gotta save the city and shit first.” She squeezed her hand. “Wouldn’t want anyone else with me though.”
“Luke finally, hold on.” Sophie moved the phone from her ear and hit speakerphone. “Did you get the video I sent you?”
“So we have monsters in Gotham now?”