: ONE-SHOT: You live next door to Arthur and decide to make the effort to get to know him after he does you a good deed
-- 1st person POV -
Okay, so you already knew your next door neighbour was kinda weird.
You didn't actually know him all that well, only to say hi to whenever you passed in the lobby, but it didn't take a genius to work out that he was pretty odd.
But he was also kind, and kindness was a rare thing in Gotham.
You hadn't been living in the building all that long when he'd knocked your door, nervously clutching your wallet in his large hand.
"Hey, uh, y-you dropped this in the hall." He'd said, awkwardly shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
"Shit! Thank you so much." You'd exclaimed, resisting the impulse to pull him into a forced hug.
You wasn't big on hugging people you didn't know but the relief was overwhelming. Your last few measly dollars were in that wallet and without it you'd have been totally screwed.
"You're welcome." He'd replied shyly and nervously stuck his hand out for you to shake. "My name's Arthur by the way."
"Nice to meet you, Arthur." You shook his hand. "I'm (y/n)."
"(y/n)" He gave a boyish, almost secretive smile. "That's a nice name."
You didn't know and had no way of knowing just how much that simple physical contact had meant to him. Nobody ever touched Arthur other than his mom, so when he'd stared down at your small hand clasped in his much larger one you'd felt a little uncomfortable, wondering why he seemed so mesmerised by a simple handshake.
How were you to know that he didn't want to let go? That he liked the way your hand felt dainty and feminine in his.
Just like you were oblivious to how he'd known you'd accidentally dropped your wallet. It never occurred to you at the time that you'd been alone in the hallway as you trudged to your front door.
But Arthur had been expecting you. He'd come to notice what time you got home from work and he'd watch silently through the spy hole.
Other days he'd orchestrate it so that he'd "accidentally" run into you in the hallway or elevator. Never brave enough to speak but just to be in your vicinity was enough.
He was content to admire you quietly and from a distance. Knowing he lacked the confidence to ask you out on a date he could settle for this. The rejection would've been too humiliating to bear if he asked and you turned him down.
Because he'd been kind enough to return your wallet and not steal it like many others would, you felt you owed him for his honesty.
In a broken city where everyone was ruthless and suspicious of everybody else, his act of kindness restored your faith in humanity a little.
Good neighbours still existed and they ought to look out for each other.
Which is why you were worrying right now.
You'd come to realise that Arthur was noisy. That was a bit of an understatement.
You'd lost count of how many times you'd laid in bed listening to the bizarre laughter echoing through the paper-thin walls of the rundown apartment building.
It didn't particularly bother you as much as it did the guy who lived on the other side of Arthur. He would regularly thump on the wall aggressively and yell for Arthur to shut up.
On one occasion you'd headed out to confront the asshole, after he'd pounded on Arthur's front door screaming threats.
"What is your problem man? Can't you give the guy a break?"
"A break! I'll give him a break alright! You tellin' me this freak doesn't get on your fuckin' nerves laughing all the damn time?" The obnoxious man growled.
"It isn't his fault. He has some sort of medical condition. What gets on my nerves is when people like you don't cut him some slack!"
"Cut him some slack? One of these days I will cut him. I'll hurt the bastard real bad!"
Shaken, you'd glared at him, watching as he stomped back inside.
Those words, that threat, was the first thing that sprang to mind when you heard a different kind of noise tonight.
It had sounded eerily like a gunshot, the loud bang reverberating through the walls, making the little hairs rise at the base of your neck.
Anyone who lived in downtown Gotham knew what a gun being fired sounded like.
You wouldn't exactly mistake it for someone uncorking a bottle of champagne.
"Arthur!"
Pushing your feet into your sneakers, you hurriedly rushed for the front door.
Maybe you were being nosey but it was your duty to be a good neighbour. You had to check that he was okay, never giving any thought to potential danger.
After knocking frantically you waited impatiently for what felt like an age, until the sound of his door being unlocked finally came.
"Oh, uh, hey (y/n)" Arthur's tired face greeted you from around the door, as if he was reluctant to open it fully.
He looked shocked to see you standing there, which was hardly surprising. You'd never knocked his door before.
"Arthur, is everything okay? I thought I heard a gunshot."
His dark brows raised. "A gunshot? Oh, that was just the TV. I'm watching an old war movie."
Your felt yourself relax a little. "Oh. I see."
"Everything's fine, really." As if to prove his point, Arthur came out from behind the partially closed door and opened it wider. "See? We're all good."
See? What you did see was Arthur's bare chest. Even though you tried to keep your eyes up and on his face you couldn't help your gaze drifting downwards.
The poor guy was painfully thin. Like, it looked like he was seriously undernourished. But skinniness aside, the sight of him shirtless still made you blush for some reason.
You weren't even the blushing type, not really, yet here you were turning as red as a beet.
"Yeah I can see you're fine, I mean...good. Not you, that is the situation." You rambled, tripping over your own words.
He reached up and scratched the back of his neck. "Um, yeah. But why wouldn't it be?"
He looked perplexed and you could hardly blame him. Arthur did seem to be jumpy and nervous by nature, but he looked genuinely mystified now too.
"I dunno, I panicked I guess." You gave a nod in the direction of the hostile neighbours' apartment. "I know what a jerk that guy is so I just wanted to check on you."
"On me?" Dark brows dipped into a confused frown above his bright green eyes.
Damn. You'd never noticed how beautiful his eyes were before. How could you have missed that?
"Yes you." You smiled at his naivety. He was so earnest it was adorable.
Blinking, a slow, cautious smile curled his lips. "You mean you were actually worried about me?"
"Of course. We're neighbours. We should look out for each other."
The smile faded a little. "Oh. Right. Yeah."
Awkwardly, you began backing away. He probably already thought you were acting weird and the irony wasn't lost on you. The resident weirdo, thinking you were weird too.
"Anyway I've already kept you long enough." He nodded, watching you as you hovered by your door. "Enjoy the rest of your evening Arthur."
"Y-yeah, you too."
You disappeared inside then hesitated, a reckless idea forming in your mind. Would it be such a terrible idea to ask him over for coffee sometime? What harm could it do?
This building was certainly lacking in neighbourlyness. Why not try to get to know your neighbours better?
"Hey, um, Arthur?" You poked your head back out and was surprised to find him still lingering on his doorstep.
"Yeah?" He asked eagerly.
"Would you like to come over sometime for coffee? I've lived here a while now and I think it's time I got to know my neighbours a bit better."
"Really?"
"Sure."
"Y-yeah, that'd be great!" His face split into a huge smile. A smile that seemed to light up the dingy hallway and made his green eyes sparkle with excitement. "Thanks (y/n)."
"Cool. Hopefully see you soon then."
"W-when should I come by?" He asked, wanting to pin you down to an actual day and time to make it more official. "After you finish work? Tomorrow?"
Smiling, you had to suppress a giggle due to his sweetness. He seemed so eager and giddy, as if you'd just asked him out on a date or something.
"Yeah sure, why not. I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Okay."
He watched you disappear and waited for the sound of the door closing before slowly closing his own front door.
Leaning back against the rough wood he smiled to himself and gave a small fist-pump in triumph.
You'd asked him over for coffee, and it meant the world to him. For once he actually felt thankful for his clumsiness and wished that he'd accidentally fired a bullet into the wall sooner.