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Hal was waiting for Bruce at the entrance of the manor when he was approached by Alfred.
"Mister Jordan. Lovely to see you,"
"Oh, hey Alfred. I'm just waiting for Bruce. Tim said he would be down soon,"
Alfred's lips turned up in a ghost of a smile, "I'm afraid Master Bruce will be taking a little extra time coming down,"
"Oh?" said Hal, feeling a little confused
"Yes," said Alfred, "I thought that perhaps you would like to take a walk through the gardens with me,"
Oh. Oh. Hal had been waiting for this. Alfred might not be the most traditional definition of a guardian or a parent but he was the man that had raised Bruce and like every other parent in the word he would definitely be giving Hal the 'shove talk'. Bruce had warned him of that much.
Still, it didn't stop Hal from being slightly afraid. Scratch that. Very afraid. Alfred was scary when he wanted to be.
However, there was no way to avoid, He nodded at Alfred and followed him to the gardens beside the manor. They ended up in the flower garden planted by Martha Wayne, the only one Bruce still personally attended to.
There was a bench right beside the rose bushes and Alfred gestured for him to sit down, joining him once he was seated.
"As you know," said Alfred, after a moment's silence, "I have raised Master Bruce since his parents were taken from us. I've watched him grow into many things. First an angry young man, then a driven one, a fighter. I also watched him grow soft and kind and loving. I watched him grow into a father. All these facets of him have always made me proud. Even the dangerous ones, you understand?"
Hal nodded.
"And now?" continued Alfred, "I'm watching him grow into something else, a man in love, in a way that I haven't seen in his previous relationships. Seeing you make him happy makes me glad that you came into each other's lives,"
Hal nodded, feeling relaxed. Maybe it wasn't the conversation that he had expec-
"That said, I know ten different ways to incapacitate a person,"
Okay, it was totally that kind of conversation.
"And that's without a weapon," continued Alfred, "I'm sure you understand Mister Jordan,"
Hal found himself nodding.
"Yes, Sir. I definitely understand,"
"Oh come now," said Alfred, a friendly smile in place, "No need for such formalities. Let's walk back. I'm afraid I might have kept you too long,"
They walk back in silence, Hal sill turning over the older man's words in his head.
They found Bruce waiting for hem just inside the doorway. He smiled at Alfred before taking Hal's arm.
"I hope it wasn't too bad," said Bruce, leaning close to him
Hal smiled, "Nothing more then I had expected,"
"Oh?" said Bruce, raiding an eyebrow
"Yeah," said Hal, "Though I think he wants me to become his son-in-law,"
Bruce laughed and kissed him, "Huh, We'll see about that,"
Hal couldn't help the way his heart fluttered.
"Yeah," he whispered, "We'll see,"