Auroral » Titans

6|| Hank And Dawn

The sun lit halls of the Washington apartment felt dreary. The walls were a tonal gray and the old hardwood floors seemed colorless.

Sophie could hear Dick and Rachel talking softly but the conversation was lost on her. Her mind was hyper focused on the child like giddiness that built in her chest.

She hadn't seen Dawn or Hank since the Titans were a thing. Even with her efforts to stay in touch with them it had been a while since she had seen them face to face.

The three came to a stop at the end of the hall and Dick knocked on the blueish grey door. The floorboards on the other side creaked before the heavy wooden door was pulled open. Light from inside of the apartment spilled into the hallway, casting a ring around Dawn. She stood in the small opening, her curious eyes widening as they landed on Dick's stoic face.

"Hey." Dick greeted. There was an uncertainty to his voice. Almost like he was afraid she would slam the door in his face.

Dawn's lips turned up into a soft smile and her entire body seemed to relax. "Hi." She spoke softly. Her gaze flickered away from Dick and landed on Sophie.

"Wow." She looked her up and down in disbelief. "It really has been a while."

Sophie's lips pulled up into a smile and a twinkle filled her green eyes. "It's been too long." She chuckled and Dawn nodded in agreement.

"Hi." Rachel pipped up and Dawn's gaze darted over to her. "I'm Rachel." She stuck out her hand and Dawn's soft smile widened.

"Dawn." She shook Rachel's smaller hand.

Rachel's shoulders suddenly tensed and her eyes rounded before she yanked her hand back. Dawn gave her a curious look before she turned her attention back to Dick.

"Can we talk?" He asked.

Her lips parted as if to say something before she gulped and nodded. "You're about four years too late, but sure." She stepped aside and the three of them trailed into the large apartment.

"Wow this place is huge." Rachel said, her eyes traveling across the large living room.

It was a nice place. A hell of a lot nicer than her apartment back home. Sophie glanced back at Dawn as she closed the front door and walked over to her.

Dawn stood beside her, her arms crossed calmly over her chest. She had a relaxed almost relieved look in her eyes, a look that only changed when her gaze shifted over to Dick.

Sophie smiled to herself. It seemed like she wasn't the only person that wasn't too fond of him right now.

"How've you been?" Dawn asked kindly as Dick brought Rachel to the spare room. "I mean, I haven't seen you since you were seventeen." Dawn looked over at her with a sweet smile.

Sophie chuckled softly. "It's been a weird few years. I split from the family."

Dawn raised a brow. "Sound's like you're really following in Dick's footsteps."

A shiver ran down Sophie's spine and her stomach began to turn. She hated that comparison. He left his family, she just decided it was time she did this on her own. She would never abandon her friends and family.

Sophie faked a smile and shook her head. "More like trying to find my own way."

Dawn nodded, but the look in her eyes that told Sophie she saw right through her facade. Still, she didn't say anything because Dawn knew that Sophie would open up to her on her own time.

****

"She killed someone? She's just a kid." The look of disbelief on Dawn's face mirrored Sophie's own.

She found it hard to believe someone as innocent and young as Rachel could hurt a squirrel, let alone a person.

Sophia glanced over at Rachel. She sat on an overturned bucket, watching a group of doves inside their bird enclosure.

She had a look in her eyes that Sophie could only describe as innocence. She didn't see the birds as dirty, or loud, or inconvenient; she saw them as beautiful. She was still young enough to see the beauty in the world. And that was something Sophie wanted to protect.

"-Think about what i'm gonna do." Sophie caught the end of what Dick was saying.

Her head snapped back over to them. "What we, are going to do." She corrected. Dick's eyes flickered over to her and the corners of his lips twitched up into a smile.

"What about Bruce?" Dawn asked, innocently.

Dick shook his head. "He's no good with kids."

Sophia would have argued with Dick on this but she couldn't. Bruce only trained her after school, it wasn't until she was much older that she moved into the manor. Whereas Dick was raised by the man, he spent hours in that house, just him, Bruce, and Alfred.

Dawn nodded before her gaze drifted between the two of them. "What's going on with you two?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Sophie asked with a furrowed brow.

Dawn sighed through her nose. "You two have barely spoken to each other since you arrived. The Dick and Sophie I knew were practically the same person."

Sophie switched her gaze to the city beyond the building's roof. She could feel Dick's gaze burning a hole in the side of her head, but she couldn't meet it.

"We're- it's complicated." Dick answered in the same tone he got whenever he was giving commands.

"Right." Dawn sighed, knowing this conversation was over.

"Hey!"

Sophie's head shot towards the roof entrance. Hank stormed towards the three with a bitter frown on his face. "What the hell are you doing here, Dick?"

Dawn closed her eyes for a second before she turned around to face him. "Hank."

Her voice was smooth and calm. Unlike Dick who, tensed, shoving his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. "I had a situation." He told Hank.

Hank looked at him with a glare that could kill even the toughest of men. "Nice little reunion you got going here." He growled.

"Shut up you big oaf." Sophie groaned and walked over to him.

Hank's head turned towards her and his angry expression melted away. "Shit," he smiled, "you grew up."

"Yeah, that tends to happen." Sophia grinned and stepped towards him, opening her arms wide. Hank chuckled and wrapped her up in a tight hug.

She had always seen Hank and Dawn as older siblings. Before the Titan's were formed Sophie would sneak out after Dick. She would always find herself with them.

She still remembered the way Hank had hated her in the beginning, wondering why someone so young was trying to hit it with the "big leaguers". But her optimism and indubitable skills quickly won him over. Dawn however always loved having Sophie around.