Professor Fear III

Chapter 50

"This place has a panini press!" Daria shouted with excitement to Jonathan who was still cosying himself in the bed a ten feet away. Cocooned in a thick white duvet that Daria had, with overemphasis, tucked him up in after she'd gotten out of bed. She heard a faint mumble of acknowledgement in return. It made her smile. 

It was possibly the first time Jonathan had allowed himself to relax since he started synthesising his master-plan maybe even a month or so before. Daria had felt full of energy and ready to seize the day for the first time in a while. Being in a new house that allowed more light into it definitely played a role.

Jonathan's house was 'homey' but murky. The bathroom being the only place where sunlight could properly shine in through. The light brown blinds in the bedroom were always down since they'd be jammed before she'd even moved in. Also, the view was simply a wall which thankfully stopped just before the bathroom so the view of distant walls and trams could be seen while taking a shower. The whole downstairs had no windows, not counting but lest we forget, the basement. The kitchen light was offensively bright in an uncomfortable clinical way. It led into the living room which was lit by dull orange lights that most definitely assisted to strain Jonathan's eyes while he read through student papers and books. She'd occasionally seen him move to the kitchen to read small-print - understandably.
Yet all dysfunctions and dissatisfactions aside, it was home.

This place was just a short term holiday.
She hoped it was short term, she missed routine and the excitement of her new job. She was a fresher to the psychiatric and clinical world. Jonathan had been a part of it a long time and she understood why he'd be so comfortably free at the current moment.
Well, she was sure Scarecrow was having a ball of a time. Perhaps, or definitely, feeling incredibly proud of himself for pulling it off.
She wondered what Edward Nygma was up to, and the Hatter, and The Joker and Ivy and Harley...

Daria blinked herself back into being present and continued to scavenge the cupboards for a potential breakfast. The original dweller had seemingly preempted the chaos and stocked up their shelves with canned foods in anticipation. High end canned goods, as this was no cheapside of Gotham.
Everything is the people's now.
Well, those who were still lucid.

She started making what she would call a breakfast sandwich. After all anything eaten after waking is breakfast and breakfast foods as separate entities were solely for advertising and consumer purposes.

There had been no warnings of Jonathan creeping up behind her and she jolted, making them both laugh as he pulled her into a hug.

"I smell coffee," He reached an arm around her and drank from the cup she had been using. It was a navy upside-down bell shape and allowed a lot of liquid in it.

"I smell a stinky man," She teased. He was sweating. She imagined there was probably a damp spot on the bed with his body shape.

"Yes, Daria, I'll take a shower now," Wearing all that gear and being out in the warm Gotham air definitely warranted a shower.

She followed him into the bathroom to check out the shower. She'd not bothered to look the day before whenever using the bathroom.
"Ooh one handheld showerhead and one overhead, how luxurious." The bathroom was not shy of any cosmetic products. So many hair and skin products were laying around.
"Will you be joining me or did you just want to watch Ms Morrison?"
Why did she still enjoy when he called her that?
It was probably the homage to the beginning days. She now cherished those memories, despite their twisted romance. 
Of course that was and is extremely unhealthy as noted by modern psychologists and clinicians, but she was present with her feelings of comfort and love for Jonathan and felt she had successfully moved past those problems.

Besides, Daria thought to herself, Everyone is dealing with the toxin I had to deal with now.
Jonathan had not brought up the conversation from weeks before about her childhood memories either. He had been so actively enwrapped in the incredibly chaotic yet successful Gotham attack.

But what was to happen now? Surely the toxin would soon dissipate or move alike a cloud to a different part of the states or the Atlantic.
Gotham would, over time, return to its civilised state. Scarecrow could potentially be wanted by the big authorities as a criminal along with the other rogues. 

Sometimes it felt like Gotham had a bubble around it and news of it never reached the outside world.

"Darling is something on your mind?" Jonathan was in front of her, placing a kiss on her forehead.
She pulled off the shirt she'd been wearing, ignoring his question. "Let's try out this shower."