Warning this is a very short filler!!

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"Change is inevitable, growth is optional."

Autumn somehow had the power to make the deranged city of Gotham look pretty. The trees had fully reached their warm tones. The cold wind nipped at people's noses. New seasonal changes always bring out the best in people. Unfortunately, it didn't in Gotham. And it didn't take away from the fact that the Joker was still on the loose though. The crazed clown followers are still wreaking havoc. The longer he's in the loose the worse it seems to become. The petty crimes are ramping up. Bigger thefts, more brutal assaults. The city was swallowing itself whole.

Every night for the past week Alex has been with Batman, accompanying him on his night watches. Hell, she was already a night owl as is, so this was easy work. A majority of the 'shift' was then cruising around in his batmobile, or perched on top of buildings, scoping the busy streets. Mainly they were on the lookout for joker himself, but sometimes they found themselves intervening in some of the crimes that some randoms commit. Usually if the clowns were going after some innocent folk for fun.

Alex and Batman also staked out Arthur's old apartment, as there was a chance he may return, unless he's got somewhere else he's living at currently. Obviously they haven't got a clue. The information Alex got from Arkham nurses and from Riddler had been their last lead unfortunately. They knew his name, his face. But in a city full of clowns, he was a hard man to find. Especially when he's abandoned his old home, and there was no inkling of an idea of where he was residing now.

It has also been a week since the two partners had shared their kiss, and of course it was unspoken about. Both of them were too stubborn to have the first word. Maybe they didn't have to discuss it, or maybe they just didn't want to. It was just a heat of the moment kind of deal. They were partners in this case, they needed each other. They couldn't let something stupid come between them.

But you don't kiss someone that you don't want to kiss.

Honestly, Alex was so surprised that when she leant in, he met her halfway. She expected to press a lame kiss to his unmoving lips. Maybe if he didn't start to lean in she would have gone for the cheek as a thank you for saving her ass. But no. He leant in too. He wanted it as badly as she did at that moment. Bat's been denying the fact for weeks now. The moment he met Alex, he saw her as alluring, smart, intelligent. He needed her, just like she needed him. At first Bat assumed his need for her was strictly for detective purposes. But he found himself thinking of her when he wasn't working. The moment he woke up, when he was getting ready, listening to Alfred drone on about random meetings he had coming up. He wondered what she did on her time off, when they weren't working together. He knows she made work her life.

Alex had these same thoughts, but they grew much deeper than that. She knew Batman, well, barely, but she had no idea about who was under the mask which made everything all the more confusing. She didn't know who Batman's real identity. She was confused all the time, always questioning. But she had way less to go on about him, than he had of her. She didn't know who the hell she kissed that night, he knew he was kissing Alexandra Flores. All of it was a mess inside her head, but she compartmentalized and focused on the Joker. This was the other thing of her kind, besides the kiss.

They had a lot of silences between them, and if not it was filled with the two of them brainstorming theories about what his next moves could be, who could potentially be the next target. That's when Jim Gordon's name came up.

A couple days prior Gordon had been promoted to Commissioner of Gotham City. Bat and Alex had feared he could be another target. Obviously Gordon wasn't dumb and knew this, so he made sure he was extra safe. You can still take all precautions but never know who's lurking behind your back. Alex was also feeling a bit bittersweet, as she won't be working with Gordon as directly anymore, as close as before, but obviously happy for his promotion. He was the first person in the precinct to believe in her. He took her under his wing, showed Alex that being a detective was all about.

Bat also feared for Gordon's safety as well. He too was the first guy to trust him, when Batman himself came out and started trying to help better Gotham. Gordon wasn't like the other cops on the team, who thought Batman was some thug or criminal. He saw the good he was doing. They became the best of partners, which then inevitably led him to Alex.

All is to say, Gotham City had a dark cloud hanging overtop, and it wasn't looking to let up.