FREAKS || Jerome Valeska¹

25 || Sedate

The tired girl stood at the kitchen entrance, eyes widened in disbelief. She met her brother's worried brown eyes and crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "Why?" He sighed; he had already anticipated the objection. "Ed, out of all the miserable and poor citizens in Gotham City, you opted to save Penguin?" She motioned at the unconscious man on her brother's bed, who was snoring in his sleep. He had been changed out of his ragged clothes and slipped into a pair of Edward's pajamas. "Did he make it easy to bring him in? Heard he's... difficult."

The man pursed his lips, shrugging. "Well, I found him half-dead in the woods and had to carry myself... No, it wasn't easy."

Reese rolled her eyes. "Okay, what are you gonna do when Oswald wakes up?"

"Oh, he did. In the morning —" he started, making the young girl's eyes widen again before they squinted with confusion. She wondered how the man fell asleep again. The man gulped. "He freaked out... and I had to sedate him."

"You - What?"

"Okay, it was kind of a crazy idea -" The look she gave him made him hesitate with his words, and he chuckled as if it was amusing, "Actually, extremely crazy."

She laughed humorlessly, "Yeah."

A sigh was responded, "Ree, I couldn't let him die." Edward frowned and glanced at the older pale man, lips turning into a big smirk. "Plus, he's a crook. He can advise me."

"You think Penguin is going to 'want' to help? He's gonna run off and turn me in because it's at his best convenience." The latter looked between her and the injured man. Ree knew there was no way Cobblepot would make it out in his condition, but she didn't want to get involved with gangsters. She sighed, shaking her head. "He's gonna kill you for drugging him."

He frowned, worried. "Yeah, he will, but not forever though. I'm starting to believe this is all fate." The words left his lips with the most serious look.

"Fate?" Reese's eyebrows shot up, still unable to understand the change that had happened to her brother. "You're calling this fate?"

A switch had flipped, kind of like hers, but for him, it was apparent how it changed his confidence. Yesterday afternoon, Edward had left the loft a mess and returned past midnight a different man. He said he had come to terms with his madness. Of course, she thought it was great; that meant he would learn to manage it faster, but she didn't believe it'd make him do this.

He replied with a nod, "I've killed three people." Pride altered his expression, which made her tilt her head sideway, observing him amusedly. "This new side of me has just begun, and I need an entirely different perspective from yours."

She appreciated his honesty - He wanted to learn, not just from her, but from someone more experienced. Oswald was that person. She had heard about him, how he was quickly taking the place of all mobsters, becoming the 'king' of Gotham. He was scary, taking from others for his selfish power needs. "I don't know..."

Edward practically begged for an opportunity, for her not to ruin it.

"Fine, I'll accept -" Excitedness sprawled over Edward's countenance, causing her to roll her eyes, "but if he even tries to betray us, he's gonna get hurt."

He smirked. "I knew you were going to say that."

"Hey, I will always have your back." One of her fingers waved reprimandingly. It warmed his chest; she cared about him no matter how many mistakes he had made. They had a strong bond. A moment of silence lingered as Reese collected her thoughts. "When we first moved to this part of Gotham, I didn't get why you did it." She squinted.

Edward frowned, confused. "Did what?"

Her mouth twisted uncomfortably. "Why you changed our last name." She clarified, creating a tense environment between them, but she wanted to talk to him honestly. It was possibly the hardest decision he had to make. "I understand. Being a Nygma isn't easier than being a Nashton, but it's like a fresh canvas. It's given an identity to everything I do, how I see myself... We were never meant to be Nashton's."