this (for some reason) took me forever to write because i really lost motivation for a while, and while i was like halfway through writing this everything in the file deleted itself, including the previous chapter (which thankfully was already on wattpad so i could get it back), but i lost like 1000 words of writing so that was a bummer

anyways this chapter still feels a little weird to me but i guess it's alright, stuff is actually happening in this story now so that's good lol

also once again please inform me of any typos you spot!! there are probably lots lol i didn't proofread this

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word count: 3199
warnings: swearing, drinking, smoking
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Part Seven: Date Night

it was saturday evening. the sun had long since set beneath Gotham's horizon, the last glows of twilight still lingering in the sky. Monika paced around her apartment, all dolled up and pretty, the loud music playing from her radio doing nothing to ease her mind.

she was going on that blind date Mark had set her up on tonight. she hadn't really been on a date for months, and even longer before that. the only thing she'd had close to a relationship after her fiancé jilted her was the brief fling with Evelyn, but even that hardly felt like anything serious.

Monika desperately wanted this night to go well, partially because she was lonely, and partially because she would do almost anything at this point to stop thinking about Arthur, who she was likely only thinking about all the time because she was lonely. it was shameful, in her opinion, how much she actually liked him, and how hard it was to consistently shut him down like she always did.

two days ago, the afternoon he said he loved her, she cried for at least an hour when she got home. she was so distraught she couldn't even bring herself to sit on the couch, or lay in bed; she just sank down onto the floor in the doorway and sobbed like an idiot.

she was desperate, there was no doubt about it (especially given she let Mark of all people set her up with someone). but it was bad enough to want so badly to have someone love her, and even worse when it was right in front of her and she couldn't do anything about it. Monika wasn't sure if she actually loved Arthur, or if she loved the idea of him. it was confusing, all her feelings were, and having nobody to talk to made it even worse.

but this date was an opportunity. an opportunity to leave Arthur freaking Fleck in the past once and for all, if things went well, of course. Monika forced herself to be optimistic, telling herself over and over as she paced through her apartment that he would be a nice guy, who liked her, and wasn't anything like Mark.

it was 7:15 now. she was supposed to meet the guy, Fabian, at the restaurant at 7:30. deciding she would be okay being a few minutes early, she stopped pacing and elected to just leave now. the restaurant was only a few blocks away from her apartment complex, so she wouldn't have to walk far in her short dress and heels that hurt her feet.

"the things i do for men." Monika mumbled to herself, throwing on her favorite cream colored cardigan over her sleeveless dress, not wanting to freeze to death in Gotham's chilly late-autumn temperatures.

the restaurant was already crowded when Monika arrived, and she was relieved she made a reservation for the evening ahead of time. seeing as she had arrived before her date, she smoothed her already frizzy hair and approached the grouchy looking hostess to get her table.

"hi, how can i help you?" the young girl asked monotonously, loudly chewing a piece of gum.

"i have a reservation for 7:30? under Monika Vandertramp?" she replied.

"table for two?"

"yes, and, my date should be here any minute, so-"

"just follow me, ma'am." the hostess grabbed two menus and led Monika towards a small table in the back of the restaurant, not far from a large window looking out on the sidewalk. "Imogen will be your server tonight." she added, placing the menus on the table before retreating back to the front of the restaurant.

Monika ordered two waters, one for each of them, deciding she'd wait to order an actual drink once he got there. the clock on the wall near the bar area said it was only about 7:35, so it wasn't unreasonable to assume he may have just been a little behind schedule. sure, it wasn't classy, but it was something she could look past.

but then she kept waiting. and waiting. she'd sat there for over a half hour, and read over everything on the menu at least twice, also deciding on three different dinner options - lasagna if he was paying for both of them, a calzone if they were splitting the check, and a salad if she was paying for both of them. she'd spent so much time sitting there by herself, the almost somber orchestra music playing over the radio doing nothing to relax her.

"are you ready to order yet, ma'am?" the waitress, Imogen, asked again, a sympathetic frown on her lips.

"no, no, just give it, like, ten more minutes." Monika sighed, slumping down a bit. "he could be... 45 minutes late, right?"

"miss... i don't think whoever you're waiting for is coming." Imogen muttered. "would you like to-"

"no, he will come, he's just..." she trailed off, her voice breaking. she bit her lip, taking a deep breath, holding back the tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. "he's... he's not coming. he... stood me up. he couldn't even be bothered to show up."

"i'm so sorry."

"no, it's not your fault. i guess... i guess i'll get going." Monika grabbed a five dollar bill out of her purse, handing it to Imogen before standing up, pushing in her chair. "i'm sorry i wasted your time and didn't order anything, i really am."

"don't worry about it, miss. i'm sorry about your date."

without another word, Monika exited the restaurant, hot tears slipping down her cheeks as soon as she stepped through the glass doors and onto the sidewalk. she wanted to scream and cry and punch something all at once, but obviously couldn't do that in public.

further down the sidewalk, not far away from the looming hospital that Monika had always avoided was a phone booth. her irrational uncomfort instilled by being anywhere near a hospital was overtaken by anger, partially at Fabian for standing her up, but mostly at Mark for setting her up with an asshole who couldn't even be bothered to show up.

she stormed into the small phone booth, practically ripping the phone off the glass when she grabbed it. fumbling with her purse, she inserted the required change, dialing Mark's home phone number. she waited for a few moments, but he didn't answer. the phone sent her to voicemail.

"hi, this is Dr. Mark Romero! i can't get to the phone right now, so please leave a message letting me know why you called, and i'll get back to as soon as possible. if you're a patient of mine, or simply calling for a work-related issue or emergency after hours, please call my office number and have social services transfer your call. thanks!"

the message stopped, and at this point, Monika was fuming, any and all sadness temporarily replaced by sheer anger. she pressed the button to leave a message, seething with rage.

"hey Mark! your stupid fucking friend couldn't even be bothered to show up to our date!" she started, practically shouting into the phone. fortunately, the hospital phone booth was far away enough from the main sidewalk that nobody would have seen or heard her, at least not at this hour. "yeah, he fucking stood me up! i waited at the restaurant for almost an hour! what happened to him being some 'super sweet guy' who 'would totally get along with me' and 'can't wait to meet you, Monika!' what the fuck happened to that, Mark? are you out of your goddamn mind? you're the one who set this whole thing up, you can't even be bothered to make sure your friend shows up to the date you set up for him? thanks for wasting my whole fucking evening, Mark! and, you'll be pleased to hear my whole weekend will probably be ruined because of you, too! hey, maybe if you're lucky, i'll get so drunk because of how sad i am and just straight up die! i bet you'd like that, given how much of a shit you seem to give about me!"

before she said something she really regretted, Monika slammed the phone back into the glass, positively livid. she wiped at her eyes, trying to force the angry tears from falling, but to no avail.

not even bothering to collect herself, she exited the phone booth and planned to head straight to the nearest bar. she knew she was irrationally upset over being stood up on a blind date, but it felt to her as if all the anger and stress that had been pooling up inside of her for the longest time was all coming out, in a hideous explosion of feelings.

she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, slumping against the phone booth as regret began to sink in. she shouldn't have called Mark just to leave an angry message; if he didn't hate her before, he really did, now. but it didn't matter. it was his own fault for setting her up on the date in the first place.

Monika opened her eyes, no longer crying as hard as she was before, and much to her suprise, saw Arthur standing a few yards away from her, not far from the hospital entrance. he hadn't seemed to have noticed her yet, and she shook her head and blinked, almost positive she had imagined him, but he didn't disappear.

"Arthur?" she called out. he turned his head, cigarette dangling from his lips. his eyes widened in suprise.

"Monika? what are you doing at the hospital?" he asked, shuffling over to her.

"i was just using the phone booth. what are you doing at the hospital?" she questioned, a concerned frown grazing her lips.

"my, uh, my mom had a stroke." Arthur shrugged, taking a drag off his cigarette. "i was thinking about heading home though, i can't exactly spend the night here."

"Arthur, i'm so sorry!" Monika gasped, bringing a hand up to her mouth. "is your mother okay?"

"she's alive, but... i don't know when she'll be able to come home."

"oh, you poor thing!"

"i'm okay, actually. but why do you care?"

"why wouldn't i? your mother is in the hospital, anyone would care about that!"

Arthur laughed and shook his head, dropping his cigarette butt to the ground, stepping on it with his shoe. Monika was going to say something about how littering was bad, but decided to keep her mouth shut. it didn't matter too much right now.

"listen, i probably shouldn't be even telling you this, but i was on my way to the bar, and..." she trailed off, unsure of whether she wanted to actually finish her sentence. "i wouldn't mind some company, if you'd like to come along."

"i thought you wanted me to leave you alone from now on." he muttered.

"well maybe that doesn't apply to tonight." Monika smirked. "come on. you don't even have to drink anything, just hang out with me for a while."

Arthur smiled widely, chuckling to himself. he stuffed his hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels, akin to a happy child.

"i suppose i could come along, if you so insist." he teased. Monika felt a smile graze her own lips as he grinned at her.

the two walked down the sidewalk together, not going far before they reached a bar. Monika didn't really care where she went for drinks, she just wanted to get hammered. she noticed Arthur stiffen a bit, catching sight of all the people once they stepped inside.

"i've never been to a bar like this before." he said to her, having to raise his voice a bit over the loud music and throngs of people laughing, talking, dancing.

"really? you're, what, 30 something? how in the world do you manage that?" she laughed. she sat down on one of the stools farther away from the dance floor, in a less crowded area. or at least, the closest you could come to 'less crowded' in an evidently popular bar at eight o'clock on a saturday night.

"i've only been to a bar once, with an old friend from work." Arthur explained, taking a seat beside Monika, scooting his stool closer to her. she was unsure if he did so to be near her, or to be away from the drunken college guys on the other side of him. "i didn't have any fun. it was kind of a scary place."

"god, almost everywhere in this goddamn city is scary." Monika shook her head, smiling slightly. "i saw one of those super-rats they were talking about on the news on my way home from work a few days ago. scared the shit out of me."

Arthur laughed, and the bartender approached the two of them.

"welcome to the double tap!" he said with a smile. "what can i get you two tonight?"

"i'll have a beer, and two whiskey shots please." Monika replied with a grin.

"could i, er, have a, um..." Arthur gazed down at the table, embarrassed. "a shirley temple?"

the bartender nodded and quickly brought over their drinks. Monika downed both shots fairly quickly, as Arthur simply watched her, bewildered.

"so i take it you don't drink?" she lamented, gesturing towards his drink.

"i've never really had alcohol before. my mom always told me it was bad for me, so i never tried it." he shrugged.

"i can respect that. honestly, i wish i didn't drink." Monika sighed. "i feel like every time something bad happens my first instinct is to just drink until i can't remember what was bothering me. you'd think as someone who tells people how to solve their own problems for a living, i'd be able to solve my own."

"it's always easier to tell other people what to do than it is to tell yourself."

"god, you're the only person who understands me, i swear."

Arthur grabbed one of the plump cherries floating at the top of his drink and popped it in his mouth before nudging the drink towards Monika, inviting her to eat the second one. she gladly accepted, appreciating the small gesture. she couldn't even remember the last time someone had seemed to care about her as much as Arthur did.

"Monika, i need to tell you something." Arthur said after a moment, his previously happy expression fading. Monika raised an eyebrow as she sipped her drink, waiting for him to continue. "your friend Mark is a real asshole."

"and you know this... how?" she asked, furrowing her brows.

"there's no way for me to tell you this without sounding weird, but when i was leaving your office on wednesday, i heard him on the phone with someone." Arthur began. "i didn't even know who he was at first, he was just talking so loud it piqued my curiosity, but as soon as i saw him, i recognized him. i don't know who he was talking to, probably someone close to him, but he kept talking about how he wanted to take advantage of this girl while she upset and 'hysterical,' but..."

"but what?" Monika's voice wavered, having no clue what Arthur was going on about, but knowing it couldn't have been good.

"he said, and this might not have been exactly what he said, i might not remember it-"

"get to the point, Arthur. what did he say?"

Arthur bit his lip, a sad, sympathetic look in his eyes as he stared at Monika.

"he said 'all i'll have to do is show up at Monika's house after her date doesn't show up, and she'll fall right into my hands. i can't believe i managed to set her up on a date with a guy who doesn't even exist; getting her is going to be as easy as taking candy from a baby.'"

"he said fucking what?!" Monika practically shouted, livid with rage.

"i-i wanted to say something to you then, i really did, but i wouldn't have been able to go back to your office without looking like a creep, and..." he sighed deeply, placing his head in his hands. "i'm sorry."

"Arthur, i'm not mad at you." Monika said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "i'm mad at Mark. actually, i'm really fucking mad at Mark. you didn't do anything wrong, honey, i-"

she stopped herself, unsure of why the term of endearment had slipped out of her mouth. in all the hypothetical scenarios she had created in her head while laying in her bed at night about being with him, she had never once even thought about calling him honey. her cheeks flushed, and Arthur's did too.

"what did you... call me?" he asked softly, not breaking eye contact with her, except to blink.

"i... i don't know. it just slipped out-" she replied, planning to try and come up with some rambling excuse to save herself from the embarrassment she was experiencing, but he cut her off.

"can i kiss you?" he asked. Monika realized how close they'd gotten to each other, so close if she moved her face just a few inches forward, their noses would have been touching.

"please do."

Monika wasn't sure if it was the alcohol she'd consumed, or the fact losing her job for making out with a patient didn't seem like such a scary thing due to her increased hatred for Mark, but she didn't feel guilty for being with him, didn't feel guilty for giving in to her desire to let him love her.

Arthur leaned forward, gently placing his lips on Monika's, giving her just a small, careful kiss, as if afraid he would mess up, or disappoint her. it only lasted a moment, but after he pulled away, he stared into her grey eyes, almost unsure if she was even real.

"oh, Arthur..." she sighed, kissing him again, harder, with more passion. he kissed her back, more confidently now, their lips moving together in perfect harmony.

Arthur placed his hands on her waist, pulling her closer to him, so much closer she almost fell off her stool, which would have really ruined the moment. Monika wrapped her arms around his neck, enjoying the feeling of his slender hands grasping her hips through the fabric of her dress. he slipped his tongue into her mouth, deepening their kiss even further.

they pulled away from eachother for air after a couple moments, too wrapped up with themselves to really notice what was going on around them. Monika broke into a wide grin, brushing a small lock of hair behind her ear. Arthur blushed, looking back down at his nearly empty drink, but she could see the sly smile on his lips.

"do you want to dance?" Monika asked after a moment, looking over at the crowded dance floor.

"i would love to." Arthur hopped off his stool, taking her hand.

as they made their way towards the dance floor, Monika realized she hadn't felt quite so happy in a long time, and wondered if maybe letting Arthur into her life wasn't quite so bad.