Chapter Text
“You know, you could really try not making such a mess when fighting crime.” Alex murmured, stepping into her rubber boots. She was already wearing her sheer white coveralls, arms knotted around her waist, almost set and ready to start doing her job.
It was early afternoon and they were standing at the mouth of a dirty alley. The sky was overcast, as it usually was in Gotham, and it would probably start raining soon. The bad weather forced the forensics’ techs to hurry, but would make Alex’s job that much easier.
Harvey was sitting on the edge of an ambulance car, getting a nasty cut on his forehead stitched up.
Jim stood next to him, unhurt, if one didn’t count the splatters of blood on his face from shooting and killing the bad guys. Alex, having seen Jim looking much worse and much grislier scenes in general was inclined not to do so.
“I’ll try my best next time.” Jim murmured, wiping his face on the rag Alex had handed him.
The bodies were already packed up and ready to be carried off and forensics was about done taking their pictures of the scene. All that was left to do for Alex and Phil, her partner, was to clean up the mess everyone had left and make the alley look nice and normal again, as if nothing had ever happened. Give the general populace the illusion of safety and normalcy; that was what Alex liked to tell people she did. It sounded so much better than saying she cleaned up blood, shit and gore.
She had called Phil about an hour ago, but, like every time, he took his time showing up. Alex couldn’t blame him. Usually she’d arrive much later as well. Only when Jim Gordon was on the scene, Alex always happened to just be in the area, accidentally and showed up early enough for a quick chat with the detectives.
“You, me, beer, later!” Harvey ordered, getting up from the ambulance, pointing his index finger between him and her, before thanking the pretty paramedic for her good work.
“Yea, I don’t think so… do you see that mess? I gotta clean all of that up!” Alex scolded.
“I’m sorry!” Jim apologized, half amused. “I had to save Harvey from being beat over the head… more than the once.”
“I know, but did you have to spread that guy’s brains all over the pavement? Brain matter is a bitch to clean up…”
“Better theirs than mine.” Harvey interjected earnestly.
Alex rolled her eyes. Noticing Jim holding on to the bloody rag awkwardly, she lifted a finger to indicate he should wait a second and got the first of many trash bags she’d use that night from her car, holding it open for him to discard of the cloth.
“At least if it was yours, there wouldn’t be as much of it.” she teased. “Come to think of it…” she turned around to take in the scene once more, “I think actually might need a drink after that…”
Forensics was clearing out, packing their gear into their car.
“Yes, you will! Jim and I’ll teach you some manners, while we’re at it.” Harvey agreed, slapping his partner on the back.
Jim seemed hesitant.
“Come on, man. What else will you do but sit at the office and fill out paperwork? You can do that another day…” Harvey pressed.
“Come oooon! It will be fun!” Alex chimed in. The prospect of spending a drunken evening with Jim made her all giddy. “Harvey is no fun! He just drinks and whines about all his booboos.”
“Careful, woman!” Harvey again pointed his finger at her.
“But it’s true!” she insisted. “And he’s got an actual injury today. He’ll be unbearable!” she pleadingly turned to Jim.
“She’s right though, you do whine an awful lot, old man,” Jim agreed, one of his rare smiles appearing on his face.
“Oh the devil with the both of you!” Harvey turned around and walking off. “I’ll be at our usual table at 8, join me or don’t, I don’t care!” he said over his shoulder.
Alex rolled her eyes. “First round’s on you!” she shouted after his rapidly retreating form.
That left Alex and Jim on their own. And once again, as soon as it was just Jim and her, Alex was at a loss for words.
The sound of the forensics’ car door being slammed shut broke the awkward silence settling over the two of them. “We’re all done, Detective,” one of the guys shouted, taking a few steps towards the pair.
“Thank you!” Jim shouted back, then turned back to Alex. “Your turn.”
Alex sighed as she slowly shrugged off her jacket, put it into her car and unknotted the sleeves of her coveralls to pull them up over her shirt. She hated how misshapen her work clothes made her look and always made extra sure to wear a nice form fitting shirt whenever she knew she’d meet Jim. Even the nicest shirt was no match for his perfectly fitting suit and ties of course, but she did the best she could.
“See you later then!” she grinned, slowly zipping up her coveralls and binding her long dark hair up in a tight bun.
Jim rolled his eyes. “Yea, I’ll see what I can do.”
+++
Two excruciating hours later, Alex and Phil were finally done with the scene. All of the brain matter had been painfully scooped up and packed into a set of plastic bags for incineration, all of the blood washed away with a pressure washer. The alley had probably never been this clean before. A light drizzle had started half an hour into their work. It had done nothing to help them clean but a lot to piss her off. Only the thought of seeing Jim again later helped her get through the afternoon.
Phil had showed up way after she’d started, high as usual, and she left him to deal with disposing of the trash. His fault for not being there earlier.
She had better things to do. It was half past 6 and she had to go home and clean up before going to O’Malley’s to meet her two favorite Detectives.
On a normal day, she didn’t bother much in the way of makeup or hairstyling, not when she was only meeting Harvey. Today though, Jim would be there and she wanted to look her best. Silly, since he was more into the model type of woman, obviously, the tall and skinny ones with perfect skin and hair. That didn’t keep her from trying though.
She was tall for a woman, but not skinny by far. Cleaning up crime scenes was hard work and she had the muscles to prove it. Some fat too, most of it in the right places, some of it not. Still, she cleaned up nicely and knew it.
+++
Alex made it to O’Malley’s around half past 8, her hair in a high, bouncy ponytail, wearing a dress that nicely showed off her muscular legs. A short jacket kept her warm enough in the cold Gotham night.
Harvey was already sitting at their usual table, a half drunken beer before him, a bluecoat still in uniform, in the booth next to him. Jim was nowhere to be seen. Bummer.
Sighing, Alex walked through the crowded room. Cigarette smoke and laughter filled the warm, damp air. “Hey there.” she slowly sat down on the empty chair, nodding at the barman. She was here often enough for him to know what she wanted and he brought her a beer without having to be told.
“Now don’t look all put out. Jim got held up at the office, he’ll be around soon.” Harvey chuckled. He was always teasing her about her obvious crush on his partner. Obvious to everyone but Jim, it seemed.
“You still pining for Gordon?” the bluecoat joined in. “The Cleaner and the Detective. A modern day fairy tale,” he joked.
“I’m not pining…” Alex corrected. “I’m just making sure he knows I’m available.”
“Well, if you ever get over him, I’m available too.” the Cop winked and got up, taking his drink with him.
“Me too, you know…” Harvey piped in.
Alex snorted. “You’re old enough to be my grandfather.”
“Begging your pardon?!” Harvey’s eyebrows rose till they almost vanished under the brim of his hat.
“Alright… old enough to be my father. That better?” Alex cocked her head and shot him a grin.
“Somewhat.” Harvey agreed.
“We’ll find you a woman tonight, don’t worry.” Alex murmured, looking around the room. “What about that one over there?” she pointed at one of the Hookers that always hung out at O’Malley’s, despite most of the customers being Cops.
“Candy? Nah… I’ve had her… She ain’t worth the money.” Harvey waved her off. “I like ‘em a little less addicted to crack and a bit more having their original teeth, ya know?”
Alex chuckled. “Good to know. I’ll make sure to take that into consideration.”
“Appreciated.” Harvey tipped his grimy fedora at her. He sat with his back to the wall, facing the entrance as usual.
It was a Cop thing, he had explained. Alex didn’t mind. No one would try to sneak up on her with Harvey sitting across from her in a room full of Cops. One really couldn’t get much safer than at O’Malley’s in Gotham City.
Something seemed to catch Harvey’s gaze and she turned around to see what it was. A slow smile spread on her face, as she saw Jim approach.
He had changed into a fresh suit jacket but wore the same shirt as before, Alex detected by the sight of the tiny blood splatters on the white fabric and for a moment felt very much her crush’s equal, detective-wise.
Jim slid into the booth and the bartender quickly brought him a beer as well.
“All done with work?” Alex asked.
Jim nodded.
“Did my part as well, I hope?” Harvey chimed in.
Jim nodded again. “You know how the guys at the archives hate it when I let you do your own reports. You make it look like a toddler did them.”
Alex raised an eyebrow at Harvey. “So by ‘he’s been held up’ you meant Jim had to do your work? Nice! Classy! Second round’s on you too, I hope you know that.”
“Isn’t it always?” Harvey groaned. “Somehow you manage to make me put up the full tab each time.”
“Yea, because you make way more money than me. It seems only fair. I mean… I clean up after you lot all day long after all.”
Harvey was on his third beer, Alex as well, while Jim was still nursing his first one.
Many of the others started clearing out slowly.
“I’ll get going.” Jim downed the last of his beer and got up.
“Already?” Alex protested. “I thought I could get you drunk for once.” Alcohol making her bold, she took hold of his arm.
“Nah… another time.” Jim said smiling, carefully taking her hand away from his arm.
“Too bad.” Alex pouted.
“You want me to take you home?” Jim asked.
“Umm…” Alex blinked at him a few times.
“This is Gotham… the streets ain’t save by night, especially not for a drunk woman.” Jim continued when she didn’t reply.
Harvey gave her an encouraging nod. “He’s right! Go with him. See ya soon, probably.” He made a shooing gesture with his hands.
Alex slowly slid out of the booth and got up, glad she’d taken the time to clean up after work.
“Huh…” she made, upon realizing she was more drunk than she’d initially thought, grabbing hold of the table to steady herself. Good thing she wasn’t one for wearing high heels, ever, or she’d have broken both her ankles.
“C’mon, my car’s parked right outside.” Jim murmured, holding out his arm so she could steady herself.
A few heads turned as they passed on their way out but no one said anything. They didn’t dare tease as long as Jim was close. They’d save that up for when they got her alone.
Right that moment, Alex didn’t care though. She gladly held on to Jim and let him escort her outside.
His car was some old sturdy black thing, Alex thought she’d heard him say it was a Dodge once, but it might also be not. She didn’t give a shit about cars. They all looked the same to her.
Jim unlocked the vehicle and opened the passenger door for her, helping her in without hitting her head. A habit he’d obviously picked up from maneuvering captives into his car.
He had taken her home a few times before and knew the way to her place. Alex closed her eyes and let the low hum of the engine lull her into a comfortable half daze. Some talk show played on the radio, but the gurgle of the engine almost swallowed the words.
Traffic wasn’t as bad at this time of night and they made it to Alex’s apartment building in about 20 minutes. She opened her eyes as Jim parked the car and looked around in confusion.
“Wow, that was quick.”
“Nah, it wasn’t… you were just sleeping.” Jim chuckled lowly.
“Was I? Sorry…”
“Don’t worry. Come on, let’s get you inside, it’s getting late. There’ll be scenes to clean up tomorrow.”
“I can make it alone.” Alex waved him off and unbuckled her seatbelt. “Thank you for taking me home, Jim.” If it was anyone else, she’d have bent over and given him a quick kiss on the cheek, but with Jim, she just couldn’t be so casually affectionate… or could she?
No, she couldn’t. The thought alone made her blush.
“Good night!” she said instead.
“See you soon.” Jim called after her as she got out of the car.
Yea, she hoped so too.
The streetlamp directly in front of her building had burned out weeks ago and no one had bothered replacing it. Mayor Cobblepot didn’t much care for her area of the city. He was more interested in making the good parts even better and kissing Gotham’s top 1%’s asses.
Searching her bag for her keys, Alex stumbled towards her building in the half dark. The alcohol clouded her senses and she didn’t notice the guy running at her until it was too late.
Before she even knew what had happened, he’d grabbed her bag and ripped it out of her hands.
“What the….” she exclaimed, turning to look after him.
Jim had of course seen what had happened. He was out of the car and running after the thief in a second, but damn, that guy was fast.
Alex tried to follow the two men but quickly ran out of breath and had to stop, feeling awfully exposed and vulnerable alone on the dark walkway.
She heard Jim shout somewhere before her and hurried towards his voice “Jim?” she shouted, hugging herself, feeling like a lost kitten.
Fog was laying low above the pavement, dampening the cities sounds and lights. His voice might have come from anywhere.
“Are you alright?” Jim suddenly said, coming out of an alley. There was fresh blood on his shirt, but he had her bag in his hand.
“Are you?” she exclaimed, closing the short distance between them, stopping short of hugging him in relief.
“Yea…” breathing heavily he dragged his hand through his hair. “He got away, but I got your bag.”
“Thank you!” she whispered, extending a shaking arm to take it. Dead bodies and gore she could deal with, but live criminals were an entirely different matter.
Jim shrugged out of his trench coat and put it around her shoulders. “Come on, let’s get you inside.”
Alex pulled his coat around her shoulders but couldn’t quite enjoy being encased in his scent and warmth. She’d never been mugged before. What the actual fuck!
Jim put her arm around her shoulders and led her towards her building.
Her hands were shaking so bad, she couldn’t get the key into the lock.
“Let me…” Jim took the keys and let them in.
The building was old and depraved, the elevator out of order, as it had been ever since Alex had moved in five years ago. None of that seemed to matter to Jim. He followed her up the stairs, half a step behind her, his hand reassuringly resting at the small of her back.
When they reached her apartment, he unlocked all three locks on her door and pushed it open to let them inside.
Alex forgot to be embarrassed by the chaos inside and instead went straight to the sofa to sit down, hugging herself again. “Shit, I’m sorry… I’m not usually that easily fazed.” she murmured, trying to get a grip on herself. “Fuck, you’re all bloody.” Glancing at Jim, she grabbed a box of Kleenex from the couch table and handed it to him before changing her mind and pulling him into the bathroom.
“At least it’s my own blood this time.” Jim joked.
Alex looked at him for a second before bursting out laughing, the uneasiness momentarily forgotten.
“Give me that shirt, I can still get the blood out while it’s fresh,” she murmured, handing him a towel.
“I…” Jim tried protesting but she had already freed him of his jacket and was holding out her hand for his shirt. Jim awkwardly loosened his black tie and unbuttoned his cuffs, seeming more self-conscious than a man of his stature and position had any right to be.
Shrugging off his shirt left him in a tight white undershirt. Considering how much clothing he usually wore, he might as well be topless. Hot damn!
Alex put his dress shirt to soak in the sink, in cold water, mind you, and walked them out of the bathroom again.
Her flat was small, not to say tiny. Kitchen, living room, bedroom was all in one. The kitchen was settled into a small nook in the wall and her bed was hidden behind a curtain. There was no hiding the fact that the place was shit.
It was chilly. No wonder, the heating, like so many other things in her crappy place only seemed to work when it felt like it. Today didn’t seem to be one of those days.
“I…” she started, but didn’t know how to finish the sentence. How was one supposed to act when they had their crush in their flat in the middle of the night, slightly drunk and practically undressed?
She finally settled on “Do you want something to drink?”
“Yea, some coffee would be nice.” he murmured, awkwardly sitting down on her ratty old sofa again.
“Is instant okay? Machine’s broken…” she admitted, rubbing the back of her head.
Jim nodded.
“Are you… are you cold? Sorry, my place is shit…” she turned back towards him.
“Don’t worry, my place ain’t that much better…”
“And here I was, thinking big and mighty Detective Gordon lives in a penthouse in the nice part of town.”
Jim snorted. “Yeah… no.”
“But when you were with Ms Kean….”
“Don’t remind me of her…” he interrupted.
“Sorry.” Alex wanted to slap herself. Why did she have to start about his ex now? Stupid! Stupid!!!
Making his coffee thankfully gave her a reason to turn away and occupy her hands with something to do. Pouring a cupful of hot water and stirring in a spoonful of instant powder, she walked back to the sofa and set the cup in front of him.
Getting a glass and a bottle of cheap whiskey for herself, she sat down next to him, pulling up her legs, momentarily forgetting she was wearing a dress.
“That was fucking scary out there… I mean… I’ve been living in Gotham for a few years now, but somehow I’ve never been mugged before…” She downed her whiskey in one big gulp and bent to refill the glass.
“Shit, I’m sorry.” she murmured, hastily putting her feet on the floor and pulling her dress down to cover her thighs.
Jim, all the gentleman, didn’t comment on her slip and concentrated on his coffee instead, taking a careful sip of the steaming black liquid. “Damn, this… this is really bad coffee… and that means something, coming from a Cop.”
“Sorry,” Alex snorted. “Can I interest you in some bad booze instead?” she held the bottle towards him.
“John’s Daphne, Tenderness Whiskey?” Jim read the label out loud, disbelief tainting his voice.
“It’s cheap and it gets me drunk.” Alex shrugged. “Actually, Harvey introduced me to it. I’d like to say it grows on you, but it really doesn’t. Each glass is equally or more disgusting than the last.”
“I’ll stay with this then.” Grimacing, he took another sip.
Alex downed another glass of whiskey, the liquid burning the back of her throat and warming her belly. Shaking with disgust, Alex took a deep breath. Her alcohol level rising again, made her bold enough for her next statement. “Hey Jim, umm… would you mind….umm could you… could you stay tonight?” she stammered, “I mean… I’d understand if you didn’t want to, but… that was scary earlier and… it’d make me sleep easier. You don’t have to of course I just… I thought I’d ask.”
“Sure.” Jim said without a moments’ hesitation.
It took Alex a second to process his answer. “Really? Thank you! You can have the bed of course… I mean… I… I should probably change the sheets before you…”
“I’ll sleep on the sofa, don’t worry.” Jim set down his coffee and shot her a tired though genuine smile.
“You’re the fucking best, you know that?” Putting her glass aside as well, she hugged him tight before she could remember to make the situation awkward again. “I’ll buy you breakfast tomorrow.”