Paralyzer [Gotham]

6

Victor had us stay in a hotel for the night, he'd taken control of the wheel after the shooting range. He hadn't told me our destination yet, but my only inclination was North. We'd been moving North consistantly but we hadn't left New Jersey. He mostly wanted to take the night for me to deal with whatever was left lingering after my minor mentality split.

By the time I'd woken up properly and displayed a much better mood, we were on the road again. He'd been extremely quiet, more than usual at least, and despite not wanting to spiral into another of my moods, irritation had me wondering why. I stared at his stoic profile as he drove for a long while, trying to pick out anything I could. "If you keep watching me like that, I'll drive in the oncoming lane," he warned, the mild humor in his voice telling me he was only half joking.

"I know I was off, but I'm better now," I huffed, folding my arms over my chest as I turned my body away from him. "Doesn't explain you, though." I watched out the windshield a moment before turning my head to the window, getting lost in the blur of the landscape.

"I'm just fine, thanks for asking," he mused, having to close my eyes to fight off the wave of anger.

"You're not making this about me, right?" I breathed, my eyes drifting back to him.

"No, I told you, I always leave this time of year. Yesterday, sure, you could say I made it about you," he shrugged, eyes drifting to me every now and again. "But today's about someone else."

"Who would that be?" Victor didn't answer, just grabbed one of my hands and placed a kiss to the back of it. I sighed and pulled my hand from him, turning my gaze back out the window.

[]

We had only driven for a few hours before he pulled off the highway, taking a dirt road for a long while. "Penguin didn't tell you to murder me, did he?" I asked as I cautiously surveilled the almost farmland. It wasn't quite rural enough, but there were open fields, a barn that was empty by the look of the opened doors, and rows of trees.

"I wouldn't do that to our company," he chuckled. "You're safe." Oddly enough, it didn't set me at ease. I could pass of the suburban Zsasz fairly well, but I just couldn't picture him having anything to do this TLC getup. The constant cloud overhang in Gotham tended to make our summers humid, but the heat here was bearable, the sense of comfortability sinking in confusing me more than anything. I went to grab our stuff but he simply said, "Don't worry about that," and nodded me to the raised porch.

I took in everything as I trailed behind him, frowning when he pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the door. It wasn't on the ring he kept his key to my place, or any ring for that matter. I don't think I'd ever seen it before. He took hold of my hand as he led me through the house, walking even when my feet stilled. Nothing was making sense, not even when he approached a little old lady cross stitching in a chair.

She set the fabric down and held out her hands, fighting a frown of confusion as Victor knelt before her and kissed her knuckles, the two speaking just quietly enough that I couldn't decifer the mumbles. He nodded me over as he sat beside her, her wrinkled face turning to me. I slowly came and squatted before her, allowing her to run a hand over my cheek. "Such a flower," she admired. "Victor tells me such lovely things about you." Her smile grew as she turned to Victor. "Thank you for the gift."

"Of course, bubby," he hummed. There was a smile to his lips, and though it didn't hold that same awed quality as when we were expecting, it held that familiarity.

I turned back to her and took a second to find my voice, more than a little thrown off, but not in a bad way. "Happy birthday," I guessed, easing into the feel of it all.

"Thank you, Lucian. Thank you isn't big enough for all that you've done." I smiled but tilted my head down, my muscles relaxing under his hand as he brought me up to sit on the arm of his chair. I knew Victor said he liked surprises, but I didn't expect it to be so many surprises in one day. The two let me adjust as they caught up with one another, the gloved hand he kept on my back doing a lot more than I'd anticipated.

[]

It was a Zsasz family tradition that for bubby's birthday, she made cherry pie. The next morning, it was leftover pie for breakfast. Victor always cooked his grandmother dinner, apparently, getting to work in the kitchen as I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and washed my hands. I sat with bubby at the dining table, drying my hands as she halved cherries and threw out the pit, directing me to use her recipie and make the pie from scratch.

"You've done quite a lot for my boy, as I hear. And, heaven help me, I know he doesn't tell me everything," she began as I folded ingredients into the dough.

"He's spent a long time protecting me," I shrugged. "I believe in paying it forward." There was a smile to her lips that made it clear she knew there was more going on.

"Victor was in a dark place after the boating accident. He spent his parents' inheritence gambling and got tied in with some bad people." I looked to the kitchen, staring at his back a minute before turning back to the dough. "I'm sure you're no stranger to his...behavior."

I took a deep breath and began halfing the dough, balling up both halves at her instruction. "He was cold at first, even more when he noticed that he caught my eye." I gave a small smile and shrugged again. "He never let me see him, even when his life depended on it. He's so picky when it comes to me." Bubby set down the knife and put a hand to my arm, her warm smile that never seemed to wan being the source of all my comfort around her, let alone how homey her place was.

"Victor has done a lot. Despite what he may say, he's not proud of it all." No, but he did enjoy a large, sadistic portion of it. "Here, I'll roll the dough. Dust these cherries with sugar and make sure there's enough to go around." She waited until she had finished applying her methods to me to continue. "Once he'd made back a good majority of the money he moved me here, out of the city. I know he did it because he wanted to do something nice for me, but there's a reason you hadn't heard of me until now. Victor's secrets keep him and those around him safe. If he tells you any, he holds you in a much higher regard than me."