Chapter Ten
Third Person POV
Allyson was beyond nervous, not that she was going to voice this out loud. She was nervous about what Alfred had planned. To be completely honest with herself, this was her first real date. She'd always been too busy for a relationship.
John was nervous too. He hadn't had a date in months. None of his relationships had worked because every girl he had dated said he was "too into his work". He hoped this wouldn't be the case with Allyson. She was different than the others, in his opinion.
They were both brought out of their thoughts when they heard what sounded like soft violin music. Allyson blushed when she realized what Alfred was doing. John looked down at her with a confused look. She just shook her head and continued walking.
They followed the sound of the music and paused at the door before heading inside. "I think I may have to apologize beforehand. I may have underestimated Alfred and his abilities." Allyson said, turning to face John. All he could do was chuckle and he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "No need to apologize. Don't worry about it." he told her.
Allyson laughed and, before he could stand up straight, leaned up to kiss him lightly on the lips. She pulled away and laughed at the blush that crept to John's cheeks.
"You're absolutely adorable when you blush." she said, taking his hand in hers and dragging him through the door.
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Allyson couldn't describe how wrong she had been to underestimate Alfred and his abilities. It was beyond extravagant. When they walked in from the warehouse hall, it was like walking into Gotham's most expensive restaurant. Allyson and John stood in the doorway shocked.
The room was large, big enough to hold two or three tables. In the center of the room was a round table that was set for two with assortments of flowers in the middle. The lights were turned off and there were wonderful smelling candles everywhere which gave the room a romantic glow.
Alfred stood in the corner in his best suit trying to hide the huge smile that was spreading over his face. He had been excited that Allyson had come to him for advice and he was more than willing to set this up. After all, it wasn't every day that Allyson found someone she felt this way about.
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Allyson pulled her car up into the garage and sat in the driver's seat for a moment, a smile forming. She quickly got out of the car and hurriedly made her way to the house. She wanted nothing more than to thank Alfred and give him the biggest hug possible. Everything had gone perfectly in her opinion.
Over dinner, they'd talked about a little bit of everything. He asked her more about her travels overseas and she would ask him what inspired him to become a cop. After she drove him home, she made sure to wish him a happy birthday again and gave him a short, but sweet kiss before he headed back up to his apartment.
She even squealed when she got back into her car over how perfect the night had gone.
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Allyson POV
Walking into the kitchen, I wasn't too surprised to see Alfred sitting at the kitchen island with a cup of tea and what looked like a mystery novel. "I'm surprised to see you home." He said, glancing up from the leather bound book. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, grabbing a cup from the cupboard and pouring some hot water into it before putting a tea bag into it. Alfred waited for me to sit down before grinning and closing his book and setting it down in front of him.
"Nothing. Just thought you might be spending your night differently." He explained.
I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face before hiding it by taking a sip of my tea. "As much as I'd like to, I'm not the type to put out on a first date." I said and Alfred only chuckled. "If I went by how much time you two have been spending together, I, personally, wouldn't consider this your first date." Alfred said with a grin.
"Well, it's the first official date then." I defended. Alfred chuckled and stood up, his cup now empty. "Thank you, Alfred. What you did tonight meant the world to me." I said, putting my own cup down before standing up. Before he could answer, I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him for all I was worth. "You don't have to thank me for anything, kitten. All I want is to see you happy. I could see the difference in your personality when you were with Officer Blake. It was a good change. A change I wish your father could achieve." Alfred said into my hair and hugging me back.
I pulled away and wiped the few tears that had fallen from Alfred's cheekbones, giving him my own sad smile that let him know I understood completely what he meant. I leaned up and kissed Alfred's cheek before saying goodnight and heading upstairs after the long day.
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Despite the wonderful day I'd had with John, what Alfred had said in the kitchen made it difficult to get any sleep. I hoped and prayed that one day my dad would be able to get over Rachel and be able to go on with his life. I hoped that one day he would completely give up the Batman. I knew these were all unlikely to happen, giving how far deep he was in now, but that didn't mean I couldn't hope that he'd realize it would one day be the death of him.
A/N: I'm really looking forward to seeing what yo guys think of this chapter! I'm excited for the next one as well, but it might take me a while to finish. Please R&R and let me know what you guys thought!