Title: Sometimes
Summary: Alfred has always been the one to fix everything for Bruce. But sometimes he's kept awake at night by the things he can't fix.
Word Count: 580
Date: December 26th, 2007.
Author's Notes: My first Bat fic – YAY! Also, English is not my native language and this is not beta-ed, so feel free to point at any errors you find.
Disclaimer: I own nothing or no one. Do you really think I'd be crazy enough to have the Bat all for myself? He would probably kick my ass just for considering the idea.

--o--

Alfred Pennyworth has always been the one to fix everything for his young master Bruce Wayne. He has proven himself loyal and reliable beyond the duties of a butler. But sometimes Alfred is kept awake at night by the things he can't fix.

Sometimes life is sadder than it's supposed to be. And sometimes there's nothing we can do about it.
Sometimes life is wicked, just plain mean. And there's nothing we can do about it.
Sometimes life decides we're supposed to be only the audience, forcing us to watch the world around us fall apart. And there's nothing we can do about it.
Sometimes life takes from us those we hold closer to our hearts just to show us how frail we are, just to remind us that we can be the next ones. And there's nothing we can do about it.
Sometimes life shows us with full strength how awfully violent and cruel our kind can be, how vile and disgusting creatures we are able to be. And there's nothing we can do about it.
Sometimes life is the best teacher we can have and, more often than not, life decides to teach us the hard way. And there's nothing we can do about it.
Sometimes life forces us to remember our lessons by carving them in our hearts with pain and fire. And there's nothing we can do about it.

These words echo in Alfred's mind as he catches young master Bruce at the manor's library during the late hours, sitting alone in the dark, and longingly staring at his parents' picture. The poignant sight reminds him of how hard he tried to fix the heart of that little boy, who had so cruelly watched impotent as his parents' life were ripped apart right in front of his eyes. There was nothing Bruce could have done to save his parents, just like there was nothing Alfred could have done to bring back the happy and bright kid Bruce had once been. So he watched as that sad and brilliant kid turned into this sad and brilliant man. And it breaks his heart to watch Bruce quietly long for his parents, night after night. But before Alfred has time and heart to feel sorry for the young man, Bruce rises from his own shadows, and follows in his nightly quest to prevent the world from being dominated by the darkness. A man with a mission. Alfred is sure master Thomas would be as proud of his boy as Alfred himself is.

As he watches Bruce putting on Batman's mantle, he's once again reminded that sometimes life is wicked. But sometimes – and only sometimes – there's something we can do about it. Sometimes we can take matter in our own hands. Sometimes we can protect and even save the ones we love. Sometimes we can show how compassionate and loyal we can be. Sometimes we can make sure life will be fair, even if it is only for one night. And there's nothing life can do about it. There's nothing life can do to stop Batman. Life knows it, because life has tried to stop him over and over, since he was just a little boy. And life has failed over and over again, getting close to break him, but never actually accomplishing it. Sometimes even life needs a hero to save the day. And sometimes the children life almost destroys are the only adults who can save the world.