Chapter 6: Breakfast At Alice's

It was sunrise at Wayne Manor and Bruce Wayne was currently sleeping in his master bed with the curtains drawn. The curtains were quickly pulled away by Alfred who didn't want him to sleep in too late like he sometimes does due to his usual nightly escapades. "Rise and shine, sir!", Alfred said letting the sun shine through the room. Bruce struggled to get up at first and then said, "Morning, Alfred.". "I take it another adventurous night for Gotham's beloved Dark Knight?", Alfred asked. "I'll say. Wait until I tell you who I ran into last night.", Bruce said. "And who might that be, Master Bruce?", he asked. "Well, you know Jervis Tetch was released from Arkham not too long ago?", Bruce asked. "Why I am not surprised that our friend from Wonderland goes back to his criminal ways as soon as he gets released. I wonder if any of your rogues will ever truly reform.", Alfred said. "It's not that. I honestly truly believe that the hatter has reformed. At least from what I saw last night and you'll never guess who I saw him with. My employee and his former love interest, Alice.", he explained. Alfred seemed shocked to hear this and said, "My word! I would imagine Ms. Pleasance would want nothing more than to be as far away from him as possible. Or has he brainwashed her again?", he said. "That's what I thought at first when I saw them together, but no, he hasn't. I guess they met up once he got out and rekindled the friendship they had. She said she's not angry with him over what he did after all.", Bruce said. "That's touching, but that is hard to believe how anyone can forgive someone for doing something like manipulating someone's will and mind. Especially when it's to force someone to love you.", Alfred said. "Well, I do remember that I have met Jervis a couple times before he became the Hatter and he really did seem like a good man. And we've all been there where we have feelings for someone who didn't feel the same way back. I know I have. And I guess it is true when they say you can love someone to the point of madness. But overall, I truly have faith that Tetch wants to turn his life around and he even told me that he still would've whether or not he ran into Alice.", Bruce explained. "That's great that you have faith in someone, Master Bruce. Especially when that is not too often.", Alfred teased. "Very funny, Alfred. I'll meet you downstairs. I'm going to get a shower first.", Bruce said as he got out of bed. "Very good, sir.", Alfred said as he left. Bruce then went to get a shower and get on with his day. Meanwhile, Alice was just waking up in her home to the sun shining through her curtains. She was awoken to both that and the smell of eggs, bacon, and hash cooking. Alice got up, went into her kitchen, and saw Jervis cooking up some breakfast for the two of them. Jervis looked at her and said, "Good morning, my dear.". Alice smiled and said, "Morning. What's all this?". "Nothing too special. I just thought I'd make you some breakfast as a thank you for allowing me to stay here and being so friendly to me since we ran into each other.", he said as he was finishing making the food. Alice was very flattered and responded by saying, "That's really sweet of you. I didn't know you knew how to cook.". "I've experimented with cooking a bit, but the least I know how to make is this stuff right here.", he said. "Well, either way, it smells delicious. And I'm sure it will taste delicious too.", she said. "It's pretty much ready now if you want it.", he told her. "Yeah, I'm pretty hungry.", Alice said. They both started to eat their food remaining silent for a while before Jervis broke the silence. "So, are we going to talk about that kiss last night?", he asked while blushing. Alice stopped eating for a second and severely blushed as she had completely forgotten all about that. "Yeah, I guess I was just caught up in the moment after reuniting with you. Part of it might also be because of me still recovering from the divorce. But also to thank you for being there for me when I needed someone.", she said. "Alice, I will always be here for you when you need someone. You were there for me a lot of times when I was feeling down at work.", he said. "I do want to tell you something even though you already know it and I really wish I would have had the courage to tell you a long time ago so that what happened between us never did happen. I love you, Alice. Even after all this time, I still love you. I never stopped even after I was committed to Arkham for the first time.", he admitted. "I know you do, Jervis. And honestly, another reason I kissed you was because maybe I always did feel a little something for you too. I just didn't realize it because I was too involved with my relationship with Billy.", she said. Jervis really felt his heart being filled with love and hope upon hearing this. "You really mean that?", he asked. "I do. You treated me like nobody else has, not even Billy. You treated me like a queen, almost like a goddess whenever you were around, when Billy often didn't pay as much attention to me as I tried to do to him. I know you once said that I was the only one who ever understood you, well I now realize that you were the only one who ever understood me and words can't tell you how much that means to me.", she said as she took his hand in hers. Jervis felt like he was living in a dream that he was finally getting even closer with the woman he loves. "You deserve the happiest life imaginable, Alice, with anyone who will help you achieve it.", he said to her. "As do you, especially after everything you've been through. This whole damn city has labeled you as nothing more than a psychopath and that's not who you really are. You deserve a happy life with anyone who will help you achieve it. And that's what it seems like we both need which seems like that makes us even more of a match.", she said. They both gave each other warm smiles and then finished breakfast. After he helped her clean up, he was about to leave when she walked with him to the door. "So, when should we see each other again?", she asked. "Whenever is good for me.", he answered. "How about this Friday at the park?", she suggested. "Sounds delightful. I'll see you then.", he said. They smiled at each other and kissed each other in a comforting way once again before they parted ways. When Jervis was down a block from Alice's, he began dancing merrily with joy and happiness. "O' frabjous day! Callooh, callah! Even after all that I did to her, I finally have her and she wants me back! Thank you, God for giving me this second chance at a good life and having an angel like Alice help guide me!", he cheered as he made his way back to his place.