Caffeine Withdrawal | T. Drake ✔

[48] Last Night

The Iceberg Lounge as usual was full to the brim with its eccentric members. Alex was at the counter of the bar, serving his duties for the last time.

It was his last night at the club since the contract had finally come to an end. And even though he should have been relieved about it, his mind was occupied elsewhere.

Tim and Stephanie had talked to him about enrolling Dora for a vocational course and he had been thinking over it. The idea wasn't bad and he knew studies would definitely take her mind off the terrible incident that had happened to her.

But then he couldn't help but think how much Dora had changed. She used to be so cheerful and a bright ray of light in the earlier days when she had come to Gotham. But with his time consuming jobs, he had somehow become distant from her such that he missed the cheerfulness she radiated a lot.

And after the whole abduction, that ray of sunshine in her personality had reduced a great deal. Some way or other, he blamed himself for it. For not being there at that time, for being too consumed with his jobs to spend time with her, for everything that he could think of as an element that led to the change in her.

Alex had realized that he had been working so hard to give Dora a normal life but all the while he had neglected the fact that it could be done without him overworking himself as such only if he left things to adjust with the course of time.

He had taken up the job at Iceberg Lounge to pay for her college fees but now she didn't want to go to college because she felt he was burdening himself due to her. The fact was that all she had ever needed was Alex to stay with her and he had not realized that until it was too late.

But he didn't want it to get any later than it had already been so. Hence he had decided to manage his life such that he would spend time with with his little sister much more than before because she needed all of them to be with her.

Alex was shaken out of his thoughts when a thin hand laid upon his own and he looked up to see Helena sitting across from him on one of the stools placed in front of the counter.

"Happy Independence Day in advance," a playful smile danced in her features as she remarked.

He knew she was referring to the fact that he would gain freedom from his nightly job soon enough. "Thanks," he replied, smiling slightly.

"This calls for a celebration," Helena's lilting voice seemed to resonate with in him, relaxing his frayed nerves for he had been a bit troubled earlier but with her around, he felt a bit better, "how about you treat me to a drink and we could call it Last Night?"

His smile widened recalling the first time he had met Helena, "my drink mixing skills are just as terrible."

"Yet unexpected. And I like to be surprised."

"I hope it isn't bad," he mumbled as he considered what drinks to mix for her that time.

She had noticed that his mind was drifting off to other thoughts and he wasn't fully concentrated on his task unlike earlier. She took her time to silently observe him for a while, trying to deduce what was wrong.

His brow was furrowed slightly, honey colored irises flickering as if worried about something. And though she had a hunch it was related to Isadora, she spoke up after a while, breaking the silence. "Everything okay, Alexander?"

He looked up startled, "of course. All okay."

She had tilted her head slightly, cheek resting on her left palm and grey eyes focused on him, "how's Dora?"

"She's fine," his voice had dropped lower, "can we talk later about this?"

"Sure."

He placed the glass in front of her and she took it, admiring the rosy pink color before downing it in a few gulps.

"It was strong, Helena, not to be taken so fast."

"I can handle it," her grey eyes flickered in slight amusement seeing his baffled expression, "not bad. You should start noting down your accidental mixing recipes. Some of these are really good."

When his shift ended, he breathed in relief knowing that he would never have to step foot in that place again. A lot of the people had come to him wishing him luck for the future because as he had discovered, not all of them were cold ruthless people.

Despite being known as Gotham's criminals, most of them were quite nice in the premises of the Iceberg Lounge.

Especially the Riddler.

It seemed as if he was the most disappointed to see Alex leave because the entire night he had stayed by the counter asking extremely easy riddles for a change, telling Al that he was going to miss his company a lot, until Helena had to shoo him away at last.

With the night coming to an end, Alex had closed the bar and wearing his trench coat he was about to head out when his eyes stopped on Helena. She raised an eyebrow as if to ask him what was going on in his head and he offered her his hand instead.

"Your place or mine?" She asked gently interlacing their fingers as the two stepped out of the club.

"Mine."

"Good, I'll get to meet Dora too."

He nodded, "probably at breakfast. She will be asleep by now."

The walk to the Beaumont's place wasn't long and soon enough they were standing at the door as Alex fumbled in the pocket of his coat, fishing out the bunch of silver keys.

He turned in the key in the lock and opened the door for her to step in first.

"Always the gentleman, aren't you?" Helena stepped inside, watching him as he locked the door after him.

"Shhh, people are asleep."

He had caught the bell on the door before it could keep ringing to announce their arrival, reaching it with ease due to his decently tall height.

After he let go of the bell making sure that it wouldn't chime right then, she flung her arms around his neck. "What people? I just thought it would be Dora..."

"Dora and Steph. And trust me you wouldn't like waking Steph up," he remarked though a smile played upon his lips as well, "she'll unleash hell on us if we disturbed her sleep."

"Sounds fun," she laughed lightly and Alex stepped forward, hands pulling her close by the waist as he kissed her, the sound of her laugh muffling as she dissolved in the kiss.

He did not say anything but as he pulled apart he recognized the meaningful spark in her flecked grey irises.

"You know what sounds even more fun?" Her voice had dropped to a seductive whisper and her hands trailed up to cup his face in between her palms raising an eyebrow suggestively, "you and me..."

She had left the sentence deliberately incomplete but he got the meaning and leaned in to kiss her again.

And though Helena was never submissive, that once she just let go. For the first time ever, she allowed her strong defensive walls to fall as he picked her up in his arms, carefully ascending the spiral staircase that led up to his room.

Her head rested on his shoulder as she took in the softness of his features, finding herself almost entranced. The light brown hair that curled at the tips, framing his face and the honey shaded eyes covered by spectacles. 

Her hand reached up, fingers gently curling the wisps of his hair and he looked down at her with a soft adoring smile. A smile that lit up his face and reached down to her soul making her feel as if she was finally at the right place. 

She had never felt that way with any of the people she had dated or had had flings with before.

To her, Alexander was different.

Different but perfect.

And she had fallen deeply in love with him, an emotion she had never felt with anyone she had been with before.

***