Alfred fell for Suzie because he felt like she was the one being whom he could let down his walls for. He was born alone, and he was going to die alone– that was the mindset he's had since he was young. But when he's with her, he doesn't think about hellfire or being damned for all of eternity for desire, or the sins he can never wash from his hands. He loves them because Suzie is familiar. Strong, safe. He doesn't have to worry about geopolitics if he's with her, basically lol. As much as he loves the spotlight, he also, above all, loves his fucking space. Again, he was born alone, and spent so much time being alone that any other way feels odd, somehow. Like he's just playing the fool. But with her, he doesn't have to pull back his emotions, his thoughts. He doesn't have to worry about her judging him even if he knows he deserves it. Instead, when he fucks up, or when he feels especially alone, they take his hand and squeeze it firmly– "We're going to be okay. We'll get back up somehow."

Suzie fell for Alfred because he made things feel possible. Being raised as the youngest daughter of some nobleman or other, Suzie knew early on that their duty to their family prior to being chosen for this job was to marry some wealthy nobleman, maintain his household, give him children, then die. A lot has happened since that little girl left her father's home, but even then, Suzie told themselves that whatever their duty or station in life is, they were going to fight like hell to make it a fulfilling one. She's always been endlessly curious– after a question has been answered, she has at least five more. Suzie wanted to see and experience everything, to have the knowledge, the capacity– the power to make things happen. She's always dreamed of the sky and the stars– and Alfred, with his all-encompassing, boundless optimism and fiery drive to accomplish whatever task he thought was worth the effort, Suzie can't help but feel similarly.

They both make each other discover things about themselves they never would've known otherwise. Alfred had no idea he too, hated the utter lack of complete independence when one's in the spotlight until Suzie told him how they felt about it. Independence to do whatever they wanted, whenever they want. He had no idea he was being so damn scummy until Suzie smacked him with cold, hard facts in the late 80s. He genuinely thought he was doing good things, deluding himself into thinking he was being good. But most of all, he had no idea about the depth of his compassion until she began involving him in her non-official excursions, helping out in communities and such. He loves his people, but just "loving" doesn't really mean anything if he's some kind of untouchable patron saint. Love doesn't mean a damn thing if the one half is unsure about truly returning it and the other is unsure of what, who it's loving. But Suzie was sure. She was always so goddamn sure of everything– and Alfred admires that. Sure, they take a while to make decisions, but they truly take the time to hear all possible reasons, study all possible scenarios, circumventing most problems Alfred would be blindsighted by.

It's definitely not perfect– their relationship has been on the rocks now and again. But the effort, the devotion is there. And, they make one hell of a good team.