First Light » Titans [2]

8|| Coffee = Reason To Live

Restful is not what Sophie would call her sleep. She had spent most of the night tossing and turning, trying desperately to cling on to her exhaustion so it could pull her into her dreams. But she couldn't stop thinking.

She hated the fact she left Barbara alone to deal with the case back in Gotham. It wasn't her responsibility, it was Sophie's. And then there was whatever happened in the display room with Dick. She had never read his body language that poorly before.

Sophie took a sip of the dark, hot coffee in her mug. It was bitter and reminded her more of road tar than coffee, but she needed something to wake her up.

Lately coffee was the only thing keeping her going. At this point, she was sure there was more caffeine in her veins than blood.

"Morning." Rachel's soft voice came from her left.

Sophie glanced over at the hall that led to the bedrooms. Rachel smiled warmly as she walked over to the kitchen and began making her own cup of coffee. She was dressed in a pair of black jeans and a tee shirt, with her usual eyeliner. She still looked like the young girl Sophie met all those months ago--minus the blue hair and the red gemstone on the forehead-- and yet, somehow she seemed older and more mature.

Rachel began to stir her coffee and glanced over at Sophie. "What?"

"Nothing." She shook her head. "You look nice, I like the new hair."

Rachel smiled softly before she made her way over to the island and sat down. "You know, you aren't as good at lying anymore."

Sophie scoffed and turned to face her. Rachel looked up at her innocently but there was a gleam of mischief in her eyes.

"I wasn't lying."

"Uh-huh." She grinned over the rim off her coffee mug.

Sophie scoffed and took a sip of her own coffee. The kitchen fell back into a comfortable silence, which was strange for a house filled with boys.

"Where is everyone?" She leaned against the island, across from Rachel.

She shrugged. "Dick left with the new girl a while ago, and I think Jason and Gar are in the lair."

Sophie nodded and took a sip of her coffee. She wasn't surprised Dick had left without saying anything. She had only just gotten here and he probably wanted to let her sleep, but that small voice in the back of her mind whispered doubts to her.

A small thunk came from down the hall, followed by the soft patter of bare feet on the polished floors. She glanced over as Tyler turned the corner.

His eyes were half closed and his curls were unstyled, sticking up in every direction. He walked over to the kitchen counter and mindlessly began opening cupboards in search of a coffee cup.

Sophie chuckled under her breath and reached around him. She pulled open the cupboard nearest to the coffee maker and pulled down a mug.

Tyler took it before glancing up. His eyes shot open and he stumbled back with a small yip.

Rachel snorted and Sophie did her best to hide her laughter.

"Sorry." She signed.

Tyler huffed and dragged a hand over his face before giving a small thumbs up. He turned back to the counter and frowned at the mug before looking back at Sophie.

"Bowls?" He signed.

She chuckled softly and pointed to the cupboard beside the cups. He nodded and quickly grabbed a bowl. He turned his attention to the plastic containers of cereal and frowned at them.

"Dick picked them." Rachel scoffed.

"Really?" Sophie looked back at her with a raised brow. She couldn't be talking about the same guy who ate an entire box of lucky charms over a two hour stakeout.

"Yeah, he's being all healthy, it kind of sucks."

"Wow." Sophie shook her head. "Next time he tries to make you eat healthy just tell him you know about the Count Chocula incident."

Rachel perked up in her seat with a wide smile. "You have to tell me what happened."

She smiled and downed the rest of her coffee. "Maybe."

She placed her mug in the sink and placed a hand on Ty's shoulder as she walked past him. He glanced over as he shoveled a spoon full of corn flakes into his mouth.

"Hang out with Rachel, I'll be back in a bit." She signed.

He gulped down his breakfast and he looked over at Rachel. The corners of his lips tugged down slightly but he still walked over to the island and took a seat near her.

"I'm going to see what Gar and Jason are up to." She said to Rachel.

"You better tell me about the cereal later!" She called as Sophie turned down the hall.

She made her way to the lair and stopped in the doorway. Gar was sitting in front of the large metal desk well Jason paced behind him. The monitor in front of gar was busy running through one of the many facial recognition programs Bruce had programmed into the computer.

She furrowed her brow and leaned against the door frame. She watched the small white dots connected over the silver haired girl's face. It looked like a still image taken from some news footage.

"Scan complete." The computer spoke.

The photo of the girl moved aside and what looked like a school photo appeared beneath it. A bunch of information appeared beside the photos, headed by her name.

"Rose Wilson." Gar read.

Sophie's chest tightened and a cold shock ran up her spine. Any hope that the name was a coincidence died as the computer brought up all known parents. A picture of a man in army fatigues appeared on screen along with a name she dreaded.

"And that's her dad, Slade Wilson." Jason leaned forwards against the metal table. "No fucking way."

"What?" Gar looked over at him.

Sophie clenched her jaw. "Her father's Deathstroke."