The lights in the courtyard struck the tall buildings with a sparkle one could only see in early winter, when the walls are lightly littered in frost. The crisp air sears through a person's lungs like a breath full of Vic's Vap-o-rub. Alan crunched through the snow, hands pocketed, muttering to keep himself warm. He wasn't sure if the mutter was actually making him any warmer, but it did keep his mind off of the fact that he had been waiting there for almost an hour. He had even moved across the courtyard to pace on new snow, since the snow he had been pacing on before was now packed and hard, and definitely less crunchy.

"I'll just give him a few more minutes... a few more minutes." Alan continued to pace and mutter, pace and mutter. Then, for a little bit of a change, he muttered and paced. Mutter and pace, pace and mutter. It was all Alan could do to keep from exploding in a fiery ball of frustration and anger.

"Alfred should have been there by now." Alan muttered. "What could be taking him so long? He's had tons of time to run to the computer lab and back. Doesn't he know I'm still here?" Alan glanced through the entry to the courtyard, a small gate where a path led downhill away from the courtyard to the less-than-busy street below. At normal hours, the street was bustling with traffic, the sidewalk was usually teeming with tourists. At three in the morning though, there wasn't a soul to be seen, including Alfred. Alan shook his head and paced more. He wanted to sit down, but he didn't want the seat of his pants to get wet. His cuffs, socks, and sneakers were wet and cold enough already.

"I should just leave. I should just find another place to stay." Alan thought to himself. "I can't though. Alfred's got my damn car." Alan mentally kicked himself in the ass as he muttered and paced. The roar of an engine split the silent night with a rumble, then a thud. Quick footsteps accompanied by a light jingling crunched their way up the hill to where Alan was waiting.

"Alfred! You bastard! Where have you been?" Alan rubbed his hands furiously, partly to keep his fingers warm and partly to stop himself from punching Alfred in the face.

"I'm sorry!" Alfred replied, "The keys weren't where I left them." Alfred fumbled with the heavy key ring. "I thought they were in the computer lab, but some guard picked 'em up and took 'em to the lost and found."

"At three in the morning?!" Alan stomped his legs and folded his arms in an attempt to make himself look colder than he was.

"No, the guard found the keys earlier than that." Alfred opened the door and held it as Alan entered into the foyer of Alfred's apartment building.

"And you didn't think to look for them until we're supposed to meet each other at your apartment? How can you miss a giant wad of metal like that?" Alfred closed the outer door behind them and began fumbling with the key ring again in an attempt to find the key to the inner door.

"It's not like it's in my pocket all the time. I carry it in my laptop bag" With a sigh of relief, Alfred located the key and unlocked the inner door.

"You mean your purse," Alan sniped as he walked past Alfred.

"It's not a purse. It's a laptop bag." Alfred opened the first door on the left, and entered into his apartment. Being the superintendent of a building did have its perks.

"It's only a laptop bag if you actually carry a laptop in it. The only thing you carry in that bag is your keys. Well, you did until you lost them." Alan stomped the snow off of his legs and stepped inside.

"I didn't lose them. I just set them down." Alfred flicked on the light to reveal his apartment. It was a typical bachelor pad, with minimal furnishing and utilitarian accessories. The lamp was just a lamp, the TV was just a TV, the couch was just a plain, old couch. There was nothing fancy in his apartment, just a lot of mis-matched stuff that did what it was supposed to do.

Wordcount: 732
Notes to self: try writing when you're not so sleepy, and figure out a better way to describe a bachelor's apartment.