Rapunzel <J. Valeska>

4.1

"Princess... princess wake up. C'mon baby, we gotta get out and walk the rest of the way," Jerome purrs in Daisy's ear.

The girl slowly blinks awake, only slightly startled to see the man's face hovering above her own.

"I would have carried you there, babygirl, but we need to ditch the car further away and there's still stuff I need to bring in," he says. "That, and I wanted you to be able to see where our new home is."

The car is parked at the edge of some woods, reminding her a lot of their old hideout. Jerome wouldn't be so dumb as to stay in the same forest would he? How many forests does Gotham even have?

"Are we even still in Gotham anymore?" Daisy asks as they climb out of the car.

"Yes, actually. This is a different park than the cottage was in but we're still in Gotham. I'm gonna come back and move the car further away so the cops don't trace us here once we're all moved in," Jerome explains. Daisy nods once in response before helping him unload stuff.

Thankfully there isn't much in the car to bring since Jerome moved most of their things in the time Daisy was gone. The two take what little there is and head into the woods.

"So how do you keep finding all these hideouts?" Daisy asks curiously.

"It's so weird having you speak and ask questions," he says fondly. "I've become so used to interpreting hands and facial expressions that it always startles me when you pipe up. Anyway, the first one I tricked my murder bosses into finding for me, and this one I had my eye on before I even killed my mother. I was going to run away from her and the circus, and then after it happened, that was where I was going to hide from police, but I never got to flee to it."

"Oh. I forgot you killed your mother," the girl says quietly.

"Don't tell me that out of everything, that's gonna be the deal breaker," Jerome sighs.

"It depends on why," Daisy replies stubbornly. "That was your first kill, wasn't it?"

"Yes, my mother was the first person I killed. She... wasn't good to me," he reveals. "I don't wanna give you some sob story; she just turned to words and fists when she was angry or drunk. The guys she had over were worse, and she never defended me from them, she'd just laugh right along with them. Eventually one night it grew to be too much, and I snapped."

"I can't believe your mother would do that to you," Daisy exhales.

"Hey, I don't need your pity, baby. I corrected things on my own, as it were," Jerome smirks.

"Stop that. I'm just expressing sympathy," she retorts. "You're allowed to mope about your shitty life every once in a while. I know I have."

"Language, princess, lest I punish you," he teases. The blonde crosses her arms over her chest, fighting back a blush at the notion. "Don't pretend that doesn't excite you baby. Now that you can speak I'm gonna make you admit these things to me instead of just blushing redder than my hair."

"Focus, Da—I mean Jerome. We were talking about your childhood," Daisy says firmly after correcting herself.

"What was that baby?" Jerome asks. "What'd you call me?"

"What are you talking about? Tell me about your childhood some more and maybe I'll remember," Daisy suggests, still blushing from her mistake in speech.

"You're a little therapist aren't you? Well, I guess you were a very good listener for most of your life," he jokes. When she doesn't laugh, he sighs and continues. "I don't know what else you want me to say, doll. I thought my dad was dead until the day of my arrest and he's some blind old fortune teller. I didn't have very much of an actual childhood.

I don't think I ever felt positive emotions until I killed my mother. Relief, that I wouldn't have to fear her or her boyfriends anymore. Excitement, from the adrenaline rush and from finally being free. For a long time I thought that murder and violence were the way to achieve these feelings of happiness. Until I met you, that is."

"Me?" Daisy squeaks. "What do you mean? What did I do?"

"You taught me what it means to have compassion and affection for another person, that I could feel happy without killing," Jerome explains. "I still had occasional issues with bloodlust, but it had been getting better the more time I focused on taking care of you and making you happy instead. I never had any examples of positive interactions—and nowhere to direct them—until I met you."

"But we barely knew each other!" Daisy protests. "How could you feel so much so quickly?"

"The little affection you gave me was a great deal more than I've ever received from anyone else in my life. And you needed me. No one has ever needed me before," he replies. "It helped of course that you didn't know to be afraid of me. That's what drew me to you in the first place. Everyone else gives me looks of disgust or fear, but you didn't. Not until today that is."

Daisy looks down at her feet, remembering her reaction to him earlier that day. It must have been terrible for him that I was just as scared as everyone else was.

"You scared me. After learning about you and... what you did to Pepper... I was questioning a lot about us," she admits. "You sounded so angry, and knowing what you can do is very different than hearing and seeing it happen. I thought you were angry with me, too, for hiding and not listening. I'd never disobeyed you before, and knowing what you can do made me afraid of what the punishment would be—if I'd end up like Pepper."

"Now hold on a minute," Jerome says, setting down all the things he's carrying and turning to face her. "You didn't honestly think I'd hurt you, really hurt you, did you? You are quite literally the only person I've ever loved or had any kind of affection for. I would never hurt you, let alone kill you as some sort of punishment. Spanking and kink aside, you have to understand I could never do anything you didn't want, especially hurt you seriously. You are far too important to me for me to ever even consider it. If I ever hear something along those lines out of your mouth again, I really will punish you."

The declaration shocks the words out of her mouth, so all Daisy can do is nod, mouth dry. She's beginning to realize the degree of control she has over him, a known killer.

"You can speak now, so use your words princess. Do you understand what I just said to you, Flower?" Jerome repeats firmly, giving her a hard look until she relents, response unwillingly driven from her lips by a deeper instinct.

"Yes Daddy, I understand," she says quickly.

The man nods approvingly and then breaks into a smile, licking his lips. "Let's get moving then, princess."

Jerome regathers his things, shifting them such that they only take up one hand and offers Daisy the other one. She smiles, if a little uncertainly, and does the same, taking his hand and letting him guide her home.

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A/N
Phew, I got it done and up in time! Let me know your thoughts on their progress and what the future holds for them (watch out for spoilers in the comments as a result). That's all from me until next time. Love ya!
Gingy