Riddle me this...

Chapter 21

Fish loathed Oswald more than anyone else on the planet. It had crept up on her, much like his betrayal, leaving her hopelessly craving revenge. She spent most of her day plotting and up until the henchman, the one whose name always escaped her, had stepped into view she thought she had the perfect plan.

Of course she had heard about Oswald's honey, Porcelain, as she had been by his side now for a long while. Fish's sources told her that he had a soft spot for pale white girls and was desperate to meet the lady. She was still sore about her girl Liza and no doubt others that wouldn't have passed on if that soul sucking, betraying, murderous, conniving, evil man Penguin hadn't have been in the picture.

Turns out the Don had already got to her. Porcelain was no more. It tangled Fish up inside, she wanted to hurt Oswald badly, so why wasn't anybody letting her?

She stroked a falcon fingernail under her henchman's throat and across his jugular vein while emphasising her point.

"Find someone else I can hurt so that Oswald suffers."

*

Nina woke first to tangled up sheets and spread out body parts. Somehow both she and Edward had starfished across each other in some bizarre attempt at comfort...and somehow it had worked.

Had she really spent last night with Ed? The evidence sure was clear but she knew all too well that the mind could be deceiving.

As she untangled herself from the sheets she climbed out of bed happily, mentally preparing the breakfast she was going to prepare for the handsome man still lightly snoring, clearly still in the land of nod.

She looked at her clothes in dismay. This would be the longest time she would have gone wearing the same clothes that had been unwashed. There was something miserable about crumpled up clothes that caused a stir in her stomach so, like usual, she spent the next five minutes folding all of the clothes on the floor into neat and tidy Ed and Nina piles. Next she found an old shirt of Ed's which was just long enough to cover her rear and made her way into the kitchen to raid the cupboards.

Edward woke up to the beautiful sound of singing. He was dumbfounded, he wouldn't have left a radio on, imagine the electricity expense! Memories seeped back and he allowed himself to chuckle as he recalled the evening to its full extent before listening to Nina's melody.

He didn't recognise the tune but he recognised the smell and inhaled deeply, his mouth salivating as he could almost taste the bacon. Without much thought he climbed out of bed and pulled on a pair of boxers, he reached the door handle and began to pull before looking back at the bed, which alarmed his OCD. I'll just quickly do this then I shall get bacon, he thought, and then began making the bed.

Five minutes later he crept into the kitchen, watching Nina carefully place two slices of bacon onto the bread in two neat lines.

She nearly dropped the spatula when she saw Edward standing by the door.

"Bugger!" She exclaimed, "I was going to surprise you!"

Edward stepped forward tapping his nose,

"How can you surprise someone who has five functioning senses?"

"Touché." Nina smiled, handing him the neat plate and the ketchup from the cupboard.

He bowed his head with a smile and led her to the sofa to eat, switching on the TV to the news.

"The Joker strikes again in Gotham central with an attack last night on Bel-"

"So it was the Joker." Nina murmured after swallowing a small bite of toast.

"It is unclear as to whether another Arkham inmate was cooperating with the Joker as he was seen fleeing the scene. In images captured by our very own Chris Yuma from our police helicopters we can clearly see The Riddler, otherwise known as Edward Nygma, escaping the scene with one of his henchwomen, of which we could not determine at this time. As usual we warn Gotham civilians to stay clear of anyone that may fit these descriptions as they are dangerous criminals and will stop at nothing to get what they want. Finally the police calls for any information on the criminals spotted last night, these are to be reported to Jim Gordon at the GCPD."

The images on the TV flicked through a quick summary of the Joker and the Riddler, emphasising to the general public the severity of danger these criminals rendered. Edward's living room was silent as a dollop of ketchup dropped to Nina's plate as the sandwich hovered a couple of inches in the air.

"Henchwoman?!"

Edward's shoulders relaxed.

"Of all that you could have worried about you worry the most about your title?"

"I will not stand for second best." She laughed, mocking anger.

"Good. Because you are not merely Query or Echo-"

"Query and Echo are excellent sidekicks."

"Of course they are, I just meant- forget it."

Nina lost her smile and scooted closer to Edward, placing her plate on the coffee table.

"You meant I mean more to you than a henchwoman does?"

Edward nodded shyly placing his plate down next to Nina's and pulling Nina into a tight embrace.

"Please don't go." He whispered barely into her sweet coconut scented hair.

"I won't." Nina kissed the back of Edward's hand, pulling it up to her chest.