Encrypted <?> (Edward Nashton x Reader)

Concrete walls and fancy homes

The events of yesterday were still lingering in your head.
What do I do? I know he's the Riddler, but does he know I know that? Do I keep playing along?
The most logical answer was yes. Keep playing his games until the right moment, arrest him, and get the hell out of Gotham.

The pleasant morning rain greeted you, maybe even lighting up the dreary day. It was rare and very odd to see any weather other than rain, considering you literally live out in the ocean. But other than the rain, the smell of wet concrete delighted your nose as well as the aroma of fresh dough wafting by from a bakery. It pulled you out of the longing sadness and worry from Edward, and reminded you to be happy with the other things.

It took 3 minutes before you could step inside of the office.

"What took you so long?" He giggled.

"Good morning to you too, Eddy." You replied with a plastered smile.

"So I was thinking we could look at the suburban houses down the street, see if any of those were something we're looking for."

"Do you have a permit?"

"Sure do." He whipped a piece of paper from a stack of multi colored notes.

"When did you have time to write all that down?"

"I've been here all night."

By the way his eyes looked, he wasn't lying. You gave him a small nod in reply, and looked at the warrant.
This isn't a warrant, he must have been tired as fuck when he wrote it. You can tell it's his handwriting.

He looked gleeful today, a little too gleeful. "I was thinking we could go in an hour or so, and maybe grab coffee afterwards."

"Edward Nashton, are you asking me out on a date?"

He smiled and pushed up his glasses. "Only if you want it to be."

Thoughts scrambled through your mind, what if something goes wrong, what if he finds out that I know he's the Riddler. Calm down, we can't prove that for sure. "I'll see you at 11:00 then." You scrambled out of the office as fast as you can, trying to piece together what just happened.

His smile grew even wider, and he turned his head back to jotting down notes. Edward's heart thumped hard in his chest. He really liked you. A bit too much. And now you were going to be his. All his. Oh what a glorious day! He raced through all the things he could do with you, blushing at a few of them.

You, on the other hand, could not belive you were going out on a date with the Riddler.
He's not the Riddler for sure, stop saying that.
But either ways, this is Edward we're talking about. He was a completely different person. He was smart, funny, and kind of good looking.
Maybe I do like him a little.

Your phone buzzed with a message from the man himself, Edward. "You ready to head out? I know it's only been 10 minutes, but it's boring in here without you." Giggling, you typed up a reply: "sure, I'll come inside." Heading in, Edward was already waiting.

"How's it cooking, good lookin'?" you said, hoping for a reaction.

He blushed furiously, and you were satisfied with your job. "L-let's get going."

"Geez Eddy, you're getting all worked up over a pick up line."

He glared daggers at you, in which you replied by laughing.

"Get in the car for the love of god." Edward said as he opened the passenger door.

You gladly sat down, crossed your legs, and watched him open the drivers door. 

"Where do we start?" you asked.

"That one," he pointed to a gray house, quite nicely decorated for the holidays. "We'll look around, and if there's nothing else, I have one more place we can go."

You both got out of the car and went up the front porch. Edward rung the door bell, no answer. He rung again, no one came to the door. 

"You think anybody will notice if we go in?" He asked you.

"Probably not," You swiveled your head around furiously. "There's no security system or cameras as far as I can see." 

He took that as a yes and began picking the lock on the door. A click followed shortly thereafter, and you walked in. It was damp, dark, and musty. Edward turned on his flashlight, and ran it over the various items and shelves in the house.

"Rich people and their doo-hickeys." He murmured.

You started to move upstairs, watching underneath your feet for any rubble or something that could cut your shoe. Something swept by you, in a quick flash, but it was enough for you to quickly be frightened.

"Eddy! There's someone in the house! Get out of here!"

You bolted down the stairs and out the door. Edward was no where to be found.
fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck, what do I do without him? If we get caught, we're absolutley fucked.
You frantically looked for him, but he wasn't there. He didn't pop out of a bush, didn't scare you, didn't do anything. Simply because Edward was not outside. Staying there would have been an absolute shit show, so you took off back towards the office. It wasn't that far of a walk anyways.

Walking there was awful. You'd just left your only co-worker back at that weird ass house and he could be dead for all you know.
But what if he was the one that passed me in the hallway? Do I go back for him? Or would that get me involved too?
This was Edward's idea, so you decided that you could blame it on him. If that was the owner of the house.

Sitting down at your desk was the best thing that happend to you all day. The comfort of the chair, the smell of Edward.
God fucking damnit. He just won't leave my mind. Does it really matter though? I'm almost positive he is the Riddler. So what if he gets caught. At least It won't be by me, and I won't have the guilt of working with him. I could just play it off as if I never knew anything.

Fin.
1056 words

A/N
Sorry it took me a hot minute to pump out this chapter. I've been trying to figure out the plot and how I'm going to be working it into the storyline lmao.
Anyways, drink some water, maybe have a cup of a warm drink, and enjoy the lunar eclipse tonight!

Cheers,
- Luca