-----and one night at the gala of the year, Alfred is thrust into conversation with a wealthy businessman from overseas. A witty individual, Alfred finds himself actually enjoying the company, in no small part because the man recognizes Alfred from his theatre days, being a lover of the arts, and because the man's daughter is one of the few people Bruce will willingly interact with.
A one minutre greeting turns into an hour-long conversation, and becomes an arrangement to meet outside the gala under the pretext of the children interacting. . . Thus beginning Alfred's short fling with Ra's Al Ghul, the only man to catch his interest after Thomas and Martha's passing.
It should've been a sweet love story, but Alfred's affection crumpled to ash after Ra's revealed his plans to train Bruce a successor for the league of shadows via kidnapping the child to take to Nanda Parbat.
Thus the scandalous butler/ecoterrorist love story becomes lover to enemies toxic yaoi, the way God intended.