so,,,, guess i'm writing this again,,,, i don't really like this chapter much at all but i really wanna start writing the actually good parts of this story soon so i'm not gonna dwell on it.

please inform me of any typos you spot! i write these on my phone, and i can't type properly to save my life, so lemme know if i've made any mistakes!

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word count: 2430
warnings: smoking, mentions of alcohol, a little bit of swearing (i think?)
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Part Eight: Warmth

Arthur ended up staying at the bar with Monika until about 11:30, only leaving when the bartender refused to serve her any more drinks because of some rule that said he couldn't give anyone more than five drinks in one night. obviously, she thought it was stupid, but Arthur's attempts to calm her down were proving futile.

"i'm not even drunk!" she huffed, leaning against a lamppost, rambling on about how stupid the bartender was as Arthur smoked a cigarette beside her. he agreed that she wasn't drunk, perhaps a bit buzzed, but it was late anyways, and he doubted they would have stayed much longer either way.

"who cares about what he thinks, anyways?" Arthur shrugged, taking a drag off his cigarette before speaking again. "you shouldn't care so much about what other people think."

"you're probably right. but that's easier said than done." she rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.

Arthur turned to face her, noticing she looked positively freezing. her legs, bare for the most part due to her short dress, were covered in goosebumps, and she was snuggled into her cardigan in order to avoid shivering.

"you're cold." he stated. "take my coat."

"what?"

"take my coat. you're freezing." dangling his cigarette from his lips, Arthur shrugged off his jacket, handing it to Monika, who seemed both confused and flattered.

"thanks." she smiled, putting it on over her cardigan. it was much too large for her, the sleeves covered her hands, and it hung down past her upper thigh. Arthur couldn't help but smile back, feeling foolishly proud of himself for having the courage to be a 'gentleman.'

"i should probably head home." Monika sighed. a bitter gust of wind blew by, prompting her to subconsciously snuggle into Arthur's jacket. "it's late. i'm tired."

he frowned, not wanting her to leave so soon. it had felt as if he'd just finally gotten her in his grasp, and she had already wriggled free (metaphorically, of course). something inside of him screamed at him to not let her go home, to not let her leave him all alone. he didn't want to go back to his cold, now empty, apartment, left to his own devices for the night. he didn't trust himself to not do something stupid in her absence.

"don't leave me." Arthur blurted without thinking. Monika didn't answer, only stared at him, one eyebrow raised in confusion. "i-i mean..." he sputtered, trying to think of something normal to say.

a pained laugh escaped his mouth. he coughed to try and cover it up, but it was no use - a humiliating fit of laughter had already begun. he stood there for what felt like centuries, but was rather only a minute or so, trying so hard to just shut the fuck up but it proved futile. Monika didn't say a word, her expression falling sympathetically ever so slightly. by the time his laughing fit was over, Arthur couldn't even remember what he wanted to say.

"you could at least walk me home." Monika shrugged, a soft smile grazing her lips. "i mean, this is Gotham, and my apartment isn't very well lit at night. i'd feel a lot better if i wasn't alone, given how late it is." she continued, clearly giving him a lifeline in his state of embarrassment.

"uh, y-yeah! yeah, of course! it would be my pleasure."

Monika continued down the sidewalk, and Arthur followed, staying by her side every step of the way. warmth radiated from her; a sort of light he wasn't used to seeing. her mere presence beside him gave him the illusion that everything was going to be okay.

it was clear that Monika lived in a nicer part of town, much nicer than the neighborhood his own apartment complex was in. he recognized the pub they first met at as they walked past, but all the other buildings were unfamiliar to him. obviously he'd ventured out towards this area before, but he felt out of place nonetheless. the people who walked by wore nice clothes, and overall appeared dignified and, well, wealthy. compared to them, Arthur looked practically homeless.

after another couple of blocks, they arrived at Monika's apartment complex, a tall brick building with two large potted plants before the front doors, which were well lit, unlike the shitty building Arthur lived in.

"well, this is me." she said warmly, turning to face him. Arthur felt his palms start to clam up, and he didn't know what he was supposed to say. "i'll... see you soon, okay?"

a plump drop of rain plopped down onto Arthur's nose. and then another down onto his shoulder. Monika turned to head into her building.

"wait!" he choked out, finally. she turned around, an inquisitive look on her face, her grey eyes twinkling beneath the lights outside the apartment complex. Arthur cupped her face in his hands and kissed her softly, his lips barely brushing over hers. her cheeks were soft and warm against his calloused hands, and after he pulled his lips away from hers, it started to rain.

"you should come inside for a bit." she muttered, rain drizzling down onto her hair. "you can't walk home in this, you'll catch a cold."

"are you sure?"

"of course i'm sure." Monika grinned, leading him inside and out of the rain.

"this place is really nice." he lamented as they entered the warm lobby, making a beeline towards the elevators. the floors were polished, and his wet shoes squeaked against them as he walked.

"it is, isn't it?" Monika agreed, pressing the button on the wall near the elevators. "some of the neighbors are assholes, though."

"really?" with a ding, the elevator doors slid open.

"oh, yeah! the farther up you go, the more expensive the apartments get, and the people who live in them are wealthier, as a result. and we all know how the wealthy people in Gotham are."

Arthur laughed, a genuine laugh, and stepped into the small elevator after her. he noticed that there were about 30 floors, not including the five that required a key to even press the button to.

"how come you can't press these buttons without a little key?" he questioned, unsure of why they'd be cut off from the rest of the residents.

"those are the penthouses, and instead of making the residents get into them through the hallway, the elevator goes straight up inside them. you need a key to press the button so just anybody can't go in there"

"oh. that's cool, i guess."

"it's bullshit, is what it is. there are so many people in this city who would kill to have an apartment half as nice as mine, but to the cake-eaters and their fancy penthouses, i'm the poor one. sometimes i think they don't even see how the 'other half' really lives."

before Arthur could say another word, the doors slid open once more, and they arrived at Monika's floor. her apartment, number 824, was near the opposite end of the hallway, beside the stairwell. after fumbling through her keys for a moment, she pushed the door open and led him inside.

her apartment was considerably warmer than the hallway was, which Arthur had found to be rather cold. the walls were painted a pleasant cream color, and the floors were covered with a warm, tawny wood everywhere but the doorway, which was tiled with linoleum. music crackled out of a small radio on the counter in the kitchen, and the apartment smelled vaguely like vanilla.

Monika slipped her shoes off before stepping into the apartment, and Arthur did the same, not wanting to be rude. he stood in the entrance awkwardly as she hung up his jacket, which she was still wearing, and the cardigan beneath it.

"would you like something to drink?" she asked Arthur, stepping into her kitchen. "i've got water, soda, hot chocolate-"

"i'm alright. thanks." he responded, swallowing a laugh, not wanting Monika to think he felt uncomfortable in her home. it was quite the opposite, actually. her home was warm, and cozy, nothing like the shithole he lived in. he didn't want her to realize that he didn't know what to do with himself in a place so pleasant.

"you can turn on the tv, if you want." she said from the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of water after dripping three ice cubes into her cup. Arthur took a few more cautious steps inside, still taking in his surroundings.

a large bookshelf to the right of the sofa caught his eye. it stood tall beside the window, which was open just a crack, causing the curtains to flutter gently whenever a breeze blew by. Arthur wandered over towards the shelf, running his hands along the dusty spines of Monika books, most of them fiction or true crime novels. his mind wasn't in the present, and he hardly noticed his hand knocking off a small picture frame leaning against some of the books until it was plummeting towards the floor.

it hit the ground with a soft clatter, but thankfully didn't break. embarrassed, Arthur tried to pick it up and put it back, but his hands were shaking so bad and he felt a suffocating fit of laughter building up in his throat, and he cursed himself over and over in his head.

"here, let me." Monika appeared beside him, gently taking the picture frame from his hands and carefully placing it back on the shelf. "there we go, all better."

"you're not mad?" Arthur mumbled.

"no, it's not a big deal. everyone's a little clumsy sometimes."

it was then that Arthur truly got a good look at the framed photo. three girls, one of which looked to be Monika, were sitting in front of a twinkling christmas tree, smiles across all of their faces.

"is that you?" Arthur questioned, pointing to the girl on the right.

"yeah, it is. and those two are my sisters, Shannon and Claudia." Monika replied, pointing to each of her sisters.

the younger Monika looked nearly identical to how she did now, only her hair was longer and frizzier, and she wore thick glasses. Shannon looked like she could have been Monika's twin, if not for her dark, nearly black hair. Claudia had choppy hair the same shade of honey brown as Monika's, but her reserved demeanor made her appear out of place besides her sisters, who were smiling widely.

"this picture is really special, actually." Monika hummed, a nostalgic twinkle in her eyes. Arthur turned so he was facing her, but she didn't tear her eyes away from the photo. "this was the last time the three of us were all together before Claudia died. it was christmas, 1974, and my mom really wanted us all to be together, since she hardly ever got to have all three of us visit at the same time. she took this picture on christmas eve, after we got home from the church service. when we were kids she always let us choose a gift to open early after church, and..."

Monika trailed off, her expression falling. Arthur didn't know what to say. he didn't have any siblings, so he had no idea what it felt like to lose one.

"how did she die?" he asked after a long moment of silence. "i-if you don't mind me asking."

"suicide." Monika sighed. "or, at least that's what the police said. i think her fiancé shot her. she had told me she thought she might be pregnant, and she was scared because he didn't want kids. he was also, just... really prone to lashing out at her. i knew he hit her sometimes, even though she always denied it. i think she told him she was pregnant, and he got so mad he shot her."

"i'm so sorry."

"Claudia was afraid of guns. my dad was a hunter, and made sure my sisters and i each knew how to safely handle a gun, but Claudia couldn't even hold one without getting so scared she'd start to cry. if she was going to kill herself, she wouldn't have used a gun. it just doesn't make sense."

Arthur noticed Monika's eyes beginning to swell up with tears, and shyly placed a hand on her shoulder in a silent demonstration of support. she turned her head towards him, a solemn, appreciative smile on her lips.

"sorry. i didn't mean to get so emotional." she chuckled softly.

"it's okay. if you want to talk about it, i don't mind listening."

"i..." Monika hesitated, biting her lip. Arthur could tell she was thinking long and hard about something, and wished he could know what was going through her head. "that's... really sweet of you, Arthur. and i appreciate it, i do, really! but, um, lets just... sit down and talk about something else, okay?"

somehow, Arthur understood, but was confused at the same time. regardless, he couldn't help but smile a bit, following Monika as she took a seat on her plush sofa. he sat down in the armchair, not wanting to make her feel as if he were invading her privacy.

"i'm sorry, i just... don't want to get into my family issues right now. you understand, right?"

"i'm just glad to be here with you. i don't care what we talk about. we don't even have to talk at all, if you don't want to!"

Monika yawned, letting a natural silence fall over them. Arthur could tell by the bags under her eyes that she was tired, and wondered if she would have gone straight to bed if he weren't there.

"let's watch tv." he suggested, taking her sleepiness into consideration. he hoped it would give her a chance to rest a bit without feeling obligated to stay awake because he was there. she picked up the remote, flicking through the channels a few times before eventually deciding on an old rerun of Happy Days.

Monika turned off the lamp, leaving them in almost total darkness, with only the glowing tv screen and a dim light in the kitchen casting light on them. she kept her gaze fixed on the television, but Arthur couldn't tear his eyes away from her. he could hear the faint patter of rain outside, and a siren in the distance, but it didn't bother him. and as he felt himself drifting into unconsciousness, curled up in the soft armchair, he thought about how he'd love to stay near Monika forever.