Brawl At The Ball (Batman Fanfic)

The Valentine’s Day ball was one of the biggest social events of the year. It was hosted by Gotham’s finest fashion designer who was one of the greatest in the country, and only those of special privilege and social status were worthy enough to garner an invite to his events. It was a black tie, red carpet affair that over the years became the city’s most beloved social gatherings that not only interested the public but was an annual trend setter for the fashion industry. Bruce Wayne was invited to this ball every year but was always a no show, for obvious reasons. He was sitting in the cave one night when Alfred came down with the mail and a cup of coffee. He passed the batch of letters over and placed the thick coffee mug onto the console. As Bruce was flipping through the letters, he recognized the flamboyant elegance that usually came with an invite to the Valentine’s Day ball of Marcel Rousseau.

Bruce took a quick look at it and then shot a glance back at Alfred. “And why didn’t this go into the shredder with the rest of the junk mail?”

“I thought you might want to attend this year’s gala, Master Wayne.” Alfred said. To Bruce’s surprise he was dead serious.

“What makes you think I want to waste a full night of work attending a ‘gala’ dedicated to an event that I normally don’t pay much attention to in the first place?”

“Well, Master Bruce, I do remember having a conversation with you a few weeks ago about a certain lady friend that you’ve been itching to ask out. I seem to recall you looking for something to invite this special lady that you work with for some time now.” Alfred was treading very lightly but his point seemed to be coming across. “Last time I checked, there is hardly a woman alive that will turn down an invitation to anything hosted by Marcel Rousseau.”

“What makes you think she’ll react the same way?” Bruce said as he took the cowl off and opened the envelope, “She doesn’t seem to be the kind of person who might care for something like this.”

“Most ladies enjoy an excuse to wear something fancy, especially a new dress.” Alfred said as he walked over and handed him a small list of names and numbers. “If you want to get a positive response from your invite, I would recommend surprising her by adding a dress to go with your invitation.”

Bruce paused for a second. “I don’t even know her size.”
 
“You’re the detective Master Wayne, I’m sure you’ll find a way to get the figures you need.” And with that the butler took his leave and went back to the manor.

Bruce sat there looking at the invitation and decided he was going to take a chance and invite her to the ball. To get around to finding out her numbers, he made a proposal at work to introduce a new work uniform. Everyone didn’t like the idea, but humored Bruce long enough to get everyone’s measurements, including the lady he was eager to take out for the special event. After that he pretended to change his mind for the sake of morale and let the issue go, and a week later invited his lady friend to the gala event. He surprised her with a very expensive designer gown inside a box with the invite for her to look at.

Bruce was very nervous to see her response because unlike Alfred, he was afraid that she was going to toss both the invite and the dress into the trash and possibly him with it. Yet to Bruce’s complete surprise the old man was right, as she smiled back at him with a glow that he had never seen before. She of course accepted the invitation to the gala and showed complete eagerness to wear the gown that Bruce had tailor made for her. Everyone at work was completely surprised that the lady, who was usually very tough on everyone, was very easy going and light on everyone that week. Not taking things too seriously and obviously looking forward to the event that was to come.

Bruce was in his dressing room in the manor, putting on one of his better tuxedos when Alfred came in to check on his boss. He took some lint of the back of his jacket with a roller and straightened out the shoulders. “There’s no need to worry about tonight’s watch. Master Dick has come back into town take over your tour of the city and make sure you’re not interrupted. Wally is the watchtower tonight and Master Clark told me to let you know that he will help Dick should he require any assistance.”