Tomorrow

Christmas letters: part 2

Standing on his tiptoes, Oswald reached toward the top of the tree, in an ill-fated attempt to fit the star on top. Chuckling softly to himself, Edward took it from him and, in one smooth and easy motion placed it atop the Christmas tree. Oswald grunted in a way that meant "I nearly had it... but thank you". Standing back to admire their work, they gazed upon their newly decorated tree. One side, decorated by Ed, was meticulous. Tinsel, colour co-ordinated with baubles, which were all perfectly aligned to give the most structurally beautiful effect. The other side was a mass of sparkles, lights and colours, clashing, not only with the other things on the tree, but the room as a whole. Trying, as best he could, not to look disgusted, as he looked upon Oswald's creation, Ed attempted a smile, which looked strained, at best. "What a marvellous job we've done!" Oswald beamed up at him. All Ed could manage was a strangled "mm-hhmm" and a nod. "I'll tidy up!" Ed exclaimed, unable to look at the atrocious display any longer.

Later, as Oswald sat on the couch, watching Ed practise old carols and depressing melodies on the piano, he couldn't help thinking about all of those letters he wrote - his annual Christmas letter to Ed. Pink crept up the sides of his cheeks at the memory and all of a sudden, he wasn't in the mood to listen to music. "Can't you stop that for 5 minutes?!" He snapped, and Ed's hands met the keys with a jarring clash of notes. "I thought you liked that song?", the irritation in his voice, clear. "I do it's just... I'm not in the mood for this right now." 

"Fine." He replied after a moments pause. 

That evening, Ed made dinner, as usual and they sat in a stony silence. Ed was pissed off because Oswald was pissed off but with no clue as to why. Unable to handle the thick air of tension between them Ed asked "I can reveal everything or nothing, but to ask me is to -"

"I'm not in the mood for your stupid riddles Ed! Okay?" 

A few moments of awkwardness passed between them. "What's going on?" he asked calmly, after resisting the urge to shout back at him. Staring at his plate, head bowed, Oswald felt ridiculous. Ed noted that Oswald, did, in fact look ridiculous, reverting back to his old 'petulant child' stance, a frown firmly planted on his face. "It's nothing. Just forget it." As he started standing up from the table, Ed grabbed him firmly by the arm. "Don't be like that, obviously there's something", making a conscious effort to keep the irritation out of his voice. Turning slowly back around Oswald opened his mouth then shut it again. At a stern, inquiring stare from Ed, he opened his mouth to speak again. "Those Christmas letters I sent you. You never replied. It was fine though - after a while I stopped hoping for a response, I just enjoyed writing them. Gave me something to do, I suppose. But how can you just sit there and ignore them? Sit across from me at Christmas and not even have the guts to say anything?". As he spoke, Ed's face changed from confusion to anger and, after a moment of staring hard at the table, he stood up, stalked across the room, grabbed his jacket and hat and left, slamming the door behind him. Confusion and upset colouring his face, and a tightening in his chest, Oswald slowly made his way up to his bedroom.

Hours passed, and Oswald's hurt had turned to fury. How dare Ed walk away from him like that? Wasn't he going to explain himself? He deserved that much at least, didn't he? Finally, in the early hours of the morning Oswald heard the scratching of keys, followed by a triumphant shout of "Oswald!" from downstairs. Pulling on a dressing gown, Oswald hobbled down the stairs, ready to hit Ed with the angry rant he had been mulling over for the past few hours. "There you are! I am -" The anger died on his lips. Before him, stood Ed, blood splattered across his jacket, face and gloves. "W..What?" was all he could muster as he watched Ed place his hat back on the stand and procure a bundle of letters, from his jacket pocket. Walking over to him and placing the package into Oswald's palms, Ed started to explain himself. "I wrote back to all of your letters. All of them" Moving in closer, he put his hands on Oswald's arms, squeezing slightly in a reassuring manner. "The guards at Arkham had been reading them and keeping them their for entertainment. I can't say I'm surprised, but they got what they deserve" He added, gesturing towards the stains on his coat. Quietly, as Oswald stood unmoving and unsure, looking up at him he said "Lasting a moment, gone with a breath." and he leaned down and kissed him swiftly. Ed stood there looking at him expectantly, when Oswald stepped away from him and moved up the stairs to his room, leaving a disappointed and confused Ed staring after him.