Work Text:
To Ryan, one of the few downsides of connecting with her birth family was the number of events that came as a package deal with being close to the Jets. It wasn't that she had to attend every single dinner and gala and award ceremony, it was just that Jada was really great at going on about what a great networking opportunity they were, and Ryan was out of practice at arguing her case to a mom.
So here she was, once again, wondering if she'd hit 'semi-formal' right and waiting for Sophie to finish getting ready. Not that they couldn't have done that in the same room, but they would inevitably have been late. Mary claimed it was the 'honeymoon phase'. Ryan privately named it as Sophie being just that gorgeous. Time would tell which of them was right.
Speaking of time, they were going to be late anyway if Sophie took much longer.
Ryan tapped on the door. “Hey, Soph? It's almost six. Are you–”
Sophie stepped out of the room, and Ryan's sentence died in her throat. Her girlfriend was wearing silver, her arms bare, a soft V-neck showing off her collarbones, her hair falling in careful waves around her shoulders. What business did anyone have looking that good in a dress?
She only realised how long she'd been staring, probably open-mouthed and everything, when Sophie grinned at her and raised her eyebrows. “Something distracting you?”
Ryan blinked at her. “Huh?”
Sophie shook her head in mock disappointment. “All those elaborate plans and weapons, and turns out this is all it takes to throw Batwoman off her game.”
“Who's off her game?” Ryan countered. “I'm fine. You just look good in a dress.”
Sophie laughed and traced Ryan with her eyes. “You're not so bad yourself, Wilder.”
Ryan gave her a blasé grin, playing it off like she wasn't slightly breathless and still kind of not over the fact that she got to call this woman her girlfriend. “You act like you haven't been obsessed with me since we met.”
“I still regret telling you that. Not that that's actually what I told you.”
“No, just that you were 'into me way before you knew I was Batwoman, and it's not your fault that your crushes seem to have a habit of turning into vigilante superheroes'.”
Sophie sighed. “I was drunk. Don't let it go to your head.”
“Too late.” Ryan took a step closer and slid one arm around Sophie's waist. “I'm never gonna forget–”
Sophie leaned in and kissed her before she could get another word out. Ryan recognised the ploy and let herself fall for it anyway, because no logical person would choose to keep talking when they could be kissing Sophie Moore. She let herself melt into the kiss, drawing Sophie in closer, one hand sliding into her hair and probably messing up half an hour of careful 'casual' styling, something she would've felt bad about if she'd actually been forming coherent thoughts. But Sophie was pushing her back against the closed door and hey, coherent thoughts weren't a priority.
Sophie drew back an inch and smirked. “You were saying?”
“That, uh... you...”
Sophie's grin widened, so completely self-satisfied that Ryan should have been mad at it. Only Sophie's smile was like a damn sunrise, and her brown eyes sparkled, and her hair was just a little messy, and Ryan was in love with all of it. In love, and oh, there was that thought again, demanding to be said. Ryan pushed it away, shelving it for later. She'd never been the greatest with 'I love you', but she would tell Sophie. Just not tonight.
“I really like that dress,” she said instead.
“And I'm the obsessed one?”
“Shut up.”
Ryan drew Sophie into another kiss, wondered if I love you could be said without words, if she could press it into her hands and lips and tongue, tell Sophie a hundred ways before she told her at all. Then wondered just how late it was getting. Then stopped wondering anything at all, until a ringtone broke the moment in half.
Ryan cursed and fumbled for her phone, keeping her other arm around Sophie's waist.
“Hello?”
“Ryan, it's gone six o'clock. Are you on your way?” Jada sounded like she was aiming at casual, but casual wasn't exactly her strong suit.
Ryan looked at Sophie and weighed up her options. “Sorry. We're gonna be a little late.”
Sophie shook her head silently, like she was trying really hard to disapprove, but a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
“Is everything okay?” Jada asked, well-used to Batwoman's life being the reason Ryan couldn't make an appearance.
Ryan grinned at Sophie and hovered her thumb over the 'end call' button. “Oh, everything's fine. Let's just say it's, uh... kind of a dress emergency.”