Most times - I miss the voice that goes unheard
Alfred Pennyworth is out and about. He is dressed impeccably for a day out in the cold, and he is attempting to do some shopping. There's nothing essential to buy, at the moment, merely various things for projects he has waiting back at the hotel
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And the narration doesn't really know the reason Rachel is shopping, as well. Possibly she's trying to bake another pie. An actual pie.
Maybe. Not really.
"You look," Rachel decides with a sly grin on her face once she spots Alfred, "like a man on a mission."
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The narration winces at the implication that Rachel might consider attempting another pie...but with great affection.
"I am, indeed," Alfred replies, turning at the familiar voice. "A mission in several parts. There is a bit of cleaning to do, and I am afraid lemon oil is only suitable in my regard." This is said with no little bit of amused reflection on Alfred's part.
He is well aware he has more than one...'quirk'.
"It would seem the second part of my mission is achieved, as I have, most certainly, ran into someone who has brightened my day."
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"Ah. Cleaning. I might have guessed. And of course nothing more and nothing less than lemon oil."
He does have quirks, many of them, and Rachel loves them all. It's familiar, and in familiarity she finds great comfort.
"You've always been a flatterer, Alfred." She stuffs her hands into her coat's pockets. "Need some help?"
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He thinks that, of all people, Rachel can understand best the need for lemon oil. It is not the nature of it's effectiveness, certainly. It is not even, as some might assume, the need to bring a bit of Gotham closer. No...it is more to have the sense of home become all the more clear here in Chicago.
"It is hardly flattery when the truth is spoken," Alfred counters, and the look upon his face could easily be called...a grin.
"Help would be most appreciated." It is not the help, of course, but the company that is most appreciated.
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"Together, we will find exactly what you're looking for," Rachel says with a determined nod. She is nothing if not determined.
"I'd ask how you've been but we just saw each other recently," she adds with a bigger smile. She has pictures of their trip she'd like to show him later on.
They're memories worth having.
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Alfred's heart is warmed and his smile shows it. "Of that, my dear, I have no doubt."
There is a knowing nod at her next words, and he breaths out, the crystallized fog surrounding his face. "We did see one another recently, but I shall still inquire as to how you and your Robin are doing?"
He will love seeing the pictures, and agree entirely that the memories are worth having.
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Just because...it's Alfred. He saw all of her skinned knees and her running in the gardens with Bruce.
"Very well." She will not worry about the fact things have been going too smoothly. "Getting back into the swing of things now that we're back in Chicago."
It warms her heart that not only has Alfred reached out to Robin, he genuinely cares for him, too.
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It also reminds him that she is in love, and she is in love with a very kind, thoughtful young man (yes, young!), and that she is happyAlfred is happy because of this ( ... )
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She hadn't expected Alfred to agree to the trip at all, so the fact he'd go, if only for a few days, was a victory in Rachel's mind.
Bruce comes first. She knows this and that's honestly the way it should be. She doesn't know much of their relationship in this world. This isn't the Bruce she grew up with. This isn't the Bruce that she's known and loved, but he still is a Bruce, and Alfred Pennyworth, it seems, was born to stand by his side.
"It--it did me a world of good to get away, I think," Rachel continues after a moment. "Not just where we went to, which is the most beautiful place I've ever been in, but just to be away from this city for a bit."
She'd never felt that need in Gotham before. Then again, even in Gotham she'd never experienced what she has in Chicago.
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He believes he can understand that it was good for her to get away...to get away from Chicago.
This place is not what Gotham was to them. Not speaking in the sense of home, but merely of security...with all the terrible and dark things Gotham saw, each and every one was something acceptable to reality.
It was not always acceptable to one's heart, or to their needs...but in the sense of knowing what can happen in one's life...it was acceptable in that way.
This place they are in now is both sharp and muddled. It is very much like Wonderland, Alfred thinks, in that it is difficult to assimilate what one sees in front of their very eyes.
He is glad she got away for a while, and that it was a good thing. He is relieved. "Perhaps, you both can travel there again, some day." It is something he will hope for.
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Gotham was terrible in its dark beauty, but everything in it was within Rachel's realm of understanding. Even the darkest of crimes by the most atrocious of men.
Rifts she had never heard of. Angels with terrible callings. Demons that live there lives like the rest of them.
Magic.
None of this was something Rachel had experience with. And once she couldn't change her surroundings, she changed parts of herself. While her core, her foundation remains the same, she also knows in many aspects she is different. She is proud of those differences, and proud to keep what's always made her Rachel Dawes.
"You never know," she says lightly, though she doubts it. "For now, there is much work to be done right here, Alfred. I intend to see it through."
To the very end. Wherever and whenever that end may be.
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This does not surprise Alfred, not at all. It does concern him, of course.
Rachel's determination and persistence are admirable. They always have been. He simply wants her to remain as happy as she is today, as safe.
Realistically, naturally, he realizes that life never stands still, not for the wishes of any one person. Life moves, and takes those within it along for the ride.
It does not mean Alfred Pennyworth cannot hope. It does not mean he will not. He will.
"Should you require any assistance, Rachel, please let me know." He will be thrilled to help.
It is much easier to keep a watchful eye on someone when they allow you to help. Alfred learned this...somewhere...
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Alfred is one of those people that will never run out of hope.
They will never give up.
He has taught Rachel much of what that means so she can do it herself. She is and forever will be grateful Alfred is there with her.
"And now," she adds, linking her arm under his. "The lemon oil."
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