Poetry in Motion

17

"So, given any thought to date night?" Arthur looked at Imelda as they walked along the street, the rest of the day had been spent doing nothing in particular in Arthur's case. They were going home, and this seemed to spring up as a conversation topic for Imelda. She looked at him curiously, pulling her coat more around herself. "You forgot?" She asked, smiling with a raised eyebrow. Honestly, she wouldn't be surprised. He seemed so excited and happy earlier; she wouldn't put it past Arthur to get lost in a decent job and forget this from the morning.

Arthur shook his head, wide eyes and even holding his hands up. "N-no! Honest, I haven't, El. Just..."

"You forgot," she laughed and linked her arm with his. "It's okay, Arthur. It was just a suggestion." She smiled his way before they turned and walked towards the station. "Just thought it would be nice to not spend an evening stuck in either of our apartments." She for one felt like she could do with a night out. When was the last time she did that? Trailing through her memories, she winced. She may have gone on a bit of a bender when her father died. Then again after her mother's funeral. Those didn't exactly count. Those were bad times. But an actual night out? Well, Imelda thinks that happened way back before shit hit the fan.

Arthur combed a hand through his hair, he sighed which caused a small plume to appear in the air. It was cold tonight in the city, winter was hanging around longer than usual. But that was nothing new. Gotham wasn't exactly known for the nice weather which graced it, was it? No. No, it really wasn't. Admittedly, he may have forgotten the suggestion of date night. First date at that. There was something special about actually going out together to make it all very official feeling. And yes, Arthur forgot.

He inhaled and looked down at her, he looked guilty and she just smiled. Not bothered that he had forgotten. She looked sympathetic though, he got excitable over finally getting something decent come his way, who was she to get angry because he forgot one thing over that? She meant what she said earlier: she was proud of him. Arthur's wide innocent eyes slowly lowered. Going out meant getting dressed up, or, well, looking smarter than what they usually did, right? Whereas Arthur was sure Imelda may have something stashed away, he didn't, that he knew of. But the thought of seeing her dressed up, that did something to his stomach. Butterflies, yes, of course, but also anticipation.

"I know where we can go," Arthur suddenly declared as they waited for the train to appear. Imelda shifted from foot to foot, trying in vain to keep warm. She looked at him curiously, wanting an answer. Arthur just smiled and shook his head, "Not telling."

"Well...is it smart, or casual?"

Arthur narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "A bit of both, I suppose."

"Arthur!" She laughed, the sound echoed around the empty space around them. There were very few people waiting to get the train for once, considering it was rush hour. Arthur wasn't complaining, he didn't exactly like being bundled in close with crowds. And somehow, he suspected Imelda didn't either. Especially when it came to going through tunnels.

"You asked, I answered." Arthur said looking past her when he could see the lights of the train coming closer.

"That makes figuring out what to wear harder." Imelda pouted, beside her Arthur tensed and let out an awkward cough. She looked at him curiously, "Sorry." She whispered, Arthur's cheeks were lightly tinted. Imelda forgot how easily flustered he could become over the easiest and simplest things. Endearingly cute as it was, Imelda wondered whether he'd ever let it slip. He was still nervy around her.

Soon sitting down in the carriage, Arthur looked down at Imelda when she leaned her head against his shoulder. She shut her eyes with a quiet yawn. "Are you sure you're wanting to go back out?" He asked, she seemed tired. The last thing he'd want is to take her back out, make her more exhausted. That seemed hugely unfair. He'd feel really guilty about it too.