Tomorrow

tomorrow: part 2

*KNOCK KNOCK*

.....

*KNOCK KNOCK*

....

"OLGA! The Door!"

.....

*BANG BANG BANG BANG* 

"What? I'm Coming! God!" Oswald shuffled down the stairs, wrapping himself in a rich purple dressing gown, which matched his striped pyjamas, to the front door. On the other side of it, stood a sopping wet Edward, water dripping from his hair and clothes into a puddle by his feet. Expecting to laugh, Oswald' lips turned up into a smile, but the crushed look on Ed's face stopped him. An uncomfortable tightening started in his chest as he looked into Ed's vulnerable eyes and he mentally reprimanded himself. 'You've been there before Oswald. Stop this. Ed is just a friend.' 

"It's raining." Ed stated. "Yes. I see that." They stood staring at each other for an awkward minute before Ed broke the silence. "Can I come in. Please" He added begrudgingly. "Of course", he stepped aside and shut the door behind Edward.

"What happened to you?" Oswald asked, peeling the drenched jacket off of his friend, as Ed put his hat on the counter. "I... I don't have anywhere to go." Unable to make eye contact, as he spoke, he focused on the tuft of hair that always stuck up in the middle of Oswald's head. "What do you mean? How come? - OLGA!" he screamed up the stairs. "What about your old apartment?" From atop the stairs, Olga emerged "What?" She shouted down at him "Get Edward some towels!" With a look of disgust at Ed, Olga went to the cupboard. As an afterthought Oswald added "And some night clothes!" Nervously, Ed sat down and started fiddling with his glasses, something Oswald hadn't seen him do in years. Now that he was in the light, Oswald could see Ed had blood, mixed with the water soaked through the front of his jacket. 

Perching on the sofa next to him, Oswald placed a hand on Ed's shoulder. "Ed, what's going on? Are you okay?" Ed just looked at him in embarrassment and whispered "I can be a building, I can be a person. Anyone can have me but I must be chosen. What am I? " before he fell backwards, collapsing into the chair, eyelids fluttering shut. 

Earlier that night ...

When they could run no more, the two men stopped in the street, gasping for breath, relieved to be as far away from the man bat as possible. "So. What now?" Ed asked between  breaths. "Now my dear Edward, I get to go home and spend the night in my own bed for the first time in ten years. I assume you will be doing the same?" The truth was, Ed hadn't thought what he would do once he got out of Arkham, probably because he still had time left on his sentence "ah. Yes of course" 

"I've already had Olga and the maids get the house ready for my arrival" Beaming up at Edward, Oswald put his top hat back on, getting ready to walk away. "It was so good to see you Oswald" Ed was surprised by how much he meant it and after an embarrassing pause, they reached out and held each other for a few moments, neither of them wanting to let go.

Edward stood there watching Oswald walk away until he had turned a corner out of sight. "What to do now" he muttered to himself as he turned on his heel and walked away. He assumed some other pathetic, under-payed fool was now residing in his old apartment, but he couldn't exactly go anywhere else, with the whole of the GCPD presumably looking for him. As he walked the familiar roads of Gotham, he pondered other potential ways to take down the Bat-man, barely noticing the light drizzle which had started to soak through his jacket. 

Turning the next corner he walked by  a group of hooded men, all gathered around a fire, passing a bottle between them. Judging from their expensive coats, they weren't homeless, and were clearly trying to act out against their rich parents. Rolling his eyes, Ed walked on the opposite side of the street to them, unconsciously speeding up his pace slightly. A few moments later he heard one of them say something along the lines of 'That riddle guy who escaped' and he subtly reached into his jacket for him gun. To his horror he realised it wasn't there; the guards must have taken it when they found him and Oswald hanging from that streetlight. He cringed at the memory. Ed had never been fast or strong. His mind was his weapon (excluding guns and knives) and he really didn't want a confrontation right now. Too much had happened today, and he just needed to rest. 

Deciding to ignore them he carried on walking, noticeably faster now, but behind him he could hear three of them starting to follow him. Desperately , he cast about for something he could use as a weapon or to make them go away but he was in a deserted part of Gotham, the rain coming down in sheets now, making the darkness feel somehow more inescapable. "Hey! Your're that riddle guy right?" One of them called and as he turned around, he realised they were closer than he had thought, now only a few steps away from him. He opened his mouth to answer but suddenly saw the glint of a blade in the man's hand. Shit. 

As the other man took a step forward, Ed felt a wave of anxiety hit him and he practically felt himself revert back into the man he had once been. A nervous, jittery loser, desperate for someone to notice him back at the GCPD. All of a sudden Ed couldn't think, couldn't move, could barely breath, as the three men surrounded him. They were saying something, talking to him or to each other but he couldn't hear what they were saying, only see their mouths moving. A painful tightening in his chest and the familiar feeling of a panic attack stopped everything from making sense. His mind and his body stopped working as one and all he could do was watch as the men kicked him to the floor. The physical pain of their attack sharpened his senses and he became aware of their laughter. Images of his childhood bullies flashed through his mind, accompanied by the faces of officer Dougherty, Jim Gordon, his father. "God Ed, you're still pathetic. After the last 10 years, calling yourself 'The Riddler'? You're ridiculous" He wasn't sure if it was his fathers voice or his own which had spoken. 

The knife glinted again in the man's hand and Ed felt his mind focus, as a plan unravelled in front of him. Swiftly he kicked his legs up at the man in front of him, knocking him backwards. Rolling to the side, away from the others who were momentarily stunned, Ed jumped to his feet and punched another one in the nose. Immediately he cried out and clutched his bleeding face. With a shout of surprise the other man ran at him, but Ed managed to duck out of his way, reaching the man with the knife as he stumbled back to his feet. In one fluid motion Ed grabbed the knife from his hand and shoved the man against the damp brick wall. Before he had the chance to overpower him (which, Ed knew wouldn't be difficult), Ed shoved the blade deep into the man's throat. The screams of the other two, and the choking noises of the man falling to the ground were drowned out by Ed's own laugh; a maniacal and bizarre sound that sounded wrong to his own ears. Dropping the other man to the ground, Ed turned to see the others running as fast as they could away from the scene. 

Once the sound of their footsteps had faded completely, the laugh died on Ed's lips, and he straitened his tie and continued walking, letting his legs carry him forward. In a complete daze, Ed didn't notice where he was going until he was there. Soaked to the bone, he stood there shivering, staring up at the renovated Van Dahl mansion feeling an odd mix of relief and shame. Part of him wanted to make sure Oswald never found out about his humiliating ordeal and just wanted this horrid day to be over, but another part, which was stronger than he realised, wanted nothing more than to see Oswald and be with someone he trusted. Reluctantly, he moved on numb legs towards the front door and with numb hands banged on the oak door.