Auroral » Titans

8|| Breathe

Dick stood near the roof entrance. His hands were shoved in the pockets of his jacket and a cool breeze tousled his brown hair. He had a look in his dark eyes that made every bone in her body ache.

"Speak of the devil." Sophie spoke quickly to Barbara. "I'll call you later." She said before hanging up and shoving her phone in her pocket.

She took a deep breath to collect her wits before she gave all of her attention to Dick. "Were you eavesdropping?" She accused.

"I only heard the last bit." He furrowed his brow. "Do you really feel like I abandoned you."

Sophie ground her teeth together, her gaze landing anywhere but Dick. It felt like the tension was pulling the oxygen from her lungs, and her swelling anger was slowly boiling her blood.

She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to lose her temper and end up saying something she didn't mean. So she turned her attention to the roof entrance and forced her feet to move.

"Sophie." Dick called before he stepped in front of her. "I didn't abandon you." He spoke softly, like if he said it sincerely enough she'd start to believe it.

His words, his meaningful stares, the puppy dog eyes; it was all it took to break down her restraints. Sophie's eyes narrowed and her jaw tightened to hide the way her bottom lip began to quiver.

"You left Dick!" She finally let herself shout what had been clouding her thoughts for the last few days. "I went to bed one night and when I woke up you were gone! You didn't even say goodbye!"

She watched the way Dick flinched. His head dropped and the muscle in his cheek began to twitch.

"You didn't even tell me why." She said bitterly. "Bruce was the one who had to tell me about you're stupid fight!"

He gulped before he met her fiery gaze. His brown eyes were clouded and red. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Sophie." He spoke barely above a whisper.

"If that were true you would have called, or texted, or told me where the hell you were!" She forced the words out of her tightening throat. "You have no idea what the last year has been like for me." The words came out sad, broken. And that hurt Dick more than any insult she could throw his way.

"Sophie-" He spoke her name so sincerely it was almost painful to hear.

"Don't bother." She warned and forced herself to look away.

She breathed in a deep, shaky breath, and blinked away the tears that clouded her eyes. "You want me to forgive you, to just magically act like you didn't abandon six years of friendship, but I can't."

She didn't look his way again only because she was scared of seeing the heartbroken look in his eyes. She knew that if she saw that look, her tears would fall and her fleeting strength would crumble.

She just didn't want him to see her cry, so she left before her tears could fall.

The iron door slammed closed behind her and her booted feet carried her quickly down the metal steps. She left the apartment building and walked with no destination in mind. She just needed to be alone.

****

By the time Sophie had returned to the apartment, night had set and a blanket of dark clouds covered the stars in the sky. Her cheeks were rosy from the hours she spent outside.

She had needed the air. Her head and heart were at war, and only time could fix that. She loved Dick but when he left he tore her heart in half.

Since that night she forced herself to bury that anger and sadness, just like she was taught. Then Dick showed up on her doorstep and every emotion she tried so hard to ignore came flooding back. She was like a ticking time bomb from that moment on.

The elevator dinged and the old silver doors slid open to the dimly lit hallway. Sophie walked quietly down the grey hall, her hands shoved deep into the pockets of her sweater.

She knocked lightly on the door at the end of the hall and waited in her own nervous silence. The door opened and Hank stood just beyond it.

He let out a huff and pressed his lips into a forced smile. "Hey." He stepped aside, letting her back in.

The door closed with a small thud and she glanced back at him. He looked tense, his shoulders were tight and his jaw was clenched.

Sophie raised a brow. "What's up with you?"

Hank scoffed, his eyes darting over to the guest room before flickering back to her. "I think we both know the answer to that question."

"Hey, you're back." Sophia's attention snapped over to the taller woman who was leaving Rachel's room. She was dressed nicely and the long wool coat she was wearing told Sophie she was heading out.

"Just in time it seems. Where are you heading?" She asked.

Dawn smiled and glanced over at Hank. "We've got some stuff to take care of. We'll be back in a few hours." She said.

Sophie quickly picked up on what she meant and nodded. "Need a hand?"

"I thought you got out of the life?" Hank asked, a smirk spreading across his lips.

Sophie scoffed and tilted her head to the side. "Come on Hank, it's me."

He chuckled before Dawn was whisking him away to go fight crime.

Sophie waited for the latch in the door to click shut before she let her shoulders slump. Every part of her wanted something alcoholic but before she could even move towards the kitchen she felt the tension in the room rise.

"Hey." Dick muttered. Sophie closed her eyes and breathed deeply before she turned to face him.

"Hey." She greeted him calmly. He looked her up and down, almost like he was trying to figure out if he could talk to her or not.

He sighed and walked closer to her, stopping far enough away that if she lunged at him he'd have the time to dodge. "I wasn't sure if you were coming back."

"I made a promise and I don't break promises." Sophie watched the way Dick's eyes dropped to the floor after she spoke.

He sighed through his nose and shook his head, his gaze meeting hers once again. "Dawn and Hank are going on a mission tonight, I was going to back them up. Can you watch Rachel."

"Yeah." Sophie sighed before she brushed past him towards the sofa. "Just be careful." She muttered.

"I always am." Dick said just as quietly.

Sophie sighed quietly as her eyes fluttered shut. A part of her relaxed just by hearing him say that.

Because no matter how many times she'd told him to be careful he'd always respond the same way. And every time he came back he had a new wound for Alfred to stitch up.