The Penguin's Heart (Oswald Cobblepot fanfic* orig charac)

A complicated relationship

Oswald P.O.V

It felt completely surreal to be the owner of a nightclub. I had to admit that I was a bit over my head in terms of management. Luckily this was Evy's area of expertise. She ran the business well and was a fantastic business partner. Falcone let her keep a few men as a gesture of goodwill. They were utterly loyal to her and begrudgingly listened to me. Evy kept them in line though and they were good workers. The club responsibilities hardly changed except I had more say in the final decisions and punishments. Our relationship was completely different.

She hardly spoke to me except about the club. She spent most of her time at the mansion which I couldn't be seen going to. If she wasn't there, she would visit Jerome in Arkham. The only Cobblepot she could tolerate was my mother. She always went there for lunch and my mother enjoyed the company. She always seemed happier after her visits. My mother really liked her and constantly told me not to lose her. That just made our reality hurt even more. However, it had only been a few days since the coup. It was lunchtime now so I decided to talk to her on her way out.

"Red can we talk for a moment please?" I asked sweetly as I stood in front.

"Ozy, i need to go or I'll be late for your mothers." She replied as she avoided my gaze.

"Red please. Can we try just a little a day." I asked as tears built up.

"You think a little a day is going to change what you did?! You told me that you sold out my mom through a letter. You couldn't even tell me yourself. Instead you used my best friend to be your messenger! Don't wait up for me." Evie yelled at me. She pushed past me and stormed off to my mothers. I ruffled my hair in frustration and decided to get some relationship advice.

Within 20 minutes, I reached Arkham, just time for the tail end of visiting hours. I signed in as a visitor of Jeromes. A guard led me to a talking area which was pretty deserted. The room was a row of cubicles with thick glass separating the inmates from their guests. Phones were attached to the sides of the short walls which separated each cubicle. This was the visitor room for the extremely dangerous patients. I sat in desk 8 which was in the middle and waited for Jerome to come in. He strutted in 5 minutes later with a giant grin.

"Hello umbrella boy. You're a sight for sore eyes. How ya been?" Jerome teased with a hint of sarcasm

"I trust that you know why I'm here. Red visits you quite often so I don't think that I need to inform you of our situation." I stated as I glared at him. Jerome burst out laughing as he realised my purpose.

"You want me to provide couples counselling. Oh boy, now thats a killing joke." Jerome said between chuckles.

"I'm trying to have a serious conversation on limited time." I reminded him as I glared at him. He stopped laughing to mock my serious demeanour.

"Right of course. Thats a tall order old man. Anyone could have seen this coming from a mile away. I mean you threw her mom under the bus in front of her and the only warning she got was in a letter maybe a week in advance. You did almost everything to make her hate you for a while. You reeeaaally put yourself in the dog house on this one boozo." Jerome replied

"I realize that so how can I fix it?" I demanded as I smacked the glass. Just as I did that, his demeanour turned dark. I just brought the monster out which made me instantly regret my rash decision.

"You think that I'm going to help an old creep like you touch her. You don't deserve her, a beautiful, smart girl like her. She doesn't need an umbrella boy dragging her down with his pathetic courting. You know who was there to comfort her while you were gone: Me! I still remember how it feels to have her body against me. How wonderful it feels to hold her and be held back. The best part is having her trust and never fearing about losing it. Thats the difference between you and I. You constantly have to prove your worthiness while I'll always have it. Thats because she'll always trust me." Jerome huskily stated as he gave me a cold stare.