Strange - A Nygmobblepot Story

Old Friends

They walked down the stairs together. Not hand in hand, but together, in the sense that they would never truly walk alone again. Neither of them had experienced such a feeling of belonging before, and it was like a drug; addicting, and dangerous. Each step they took felt like such a final thing, as if they could be torn apart at any second. Ivy came around the corner as they reached the bottom of the stairs, and after looking at their faces, she immediately realised what had happened. She pursed her lips and rolled her eyes at the pair.

"So, I'm guessing that this is Gotham's newest power couple?", she said drily.

Ed and Oswald turned different shades of pink, embarrassed at how obvious they must have been.

"Uhh, well, y-yes-", Oswald began.

"With your blessing of course, Ivy," Ed interjected smoothly.

Oswald shot him a confused glance, but said nothing. Ivy's mouth dropped open and she struggled to find the right words to respond.

"M-me? My blessing? You want my blessing?"

Ed simply nodded, and his hand reached for Oswald's, their fingers intertwining perfectly. Ivy noticed this and a soft smile appeared on her face.

"Well... yes, you have my blessing. You've won me over, Eddie. You really love him."

She then reached out her arms to give Oswald a hug, lifting him off the floor in her excitement. Ed struggled to keep himself from laughing as Oswald's legs danced around in the air for a few seconds, making him look even smaller against Ivy's taller frame. When she put him down, he looked shell shocked. He glared at her, clearly never wanting that to happen again, and shot the same glare at Ed, who was now giggling uncontrollably. He then caught sight of himself in a nearby mirror and saw what Ed was laughing at. His hair was sticking up in all different directions, forming a sort of mohican.  It looked ridiculous. Oswald rolled his eyes and fought back a grin as Ivy also began to laugh. Eventually he gave in and a smile shone across his face, conceding to the hilarity of the situation. This was the scene that Dectectives Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock burst into moments later, and that was when things got complicated.

                           ****************

"So you two are friends again, huh? Even after Nygma tried to murder you, and dumped your body in the sea?"

It was a good old fashioned police interrogation, although obviously not an official one. If it was, they would have been dragged down to the station by now, but they were just sitting in Oswald's living room. Bullock was clearly just helping Jim with something off the books. One of Gordon's famous hunches. If Oswald wasn't so fond of Jim, he would have considered killing him for ruining the moment.

"Yes, Detective, we're... friends. I had his girlfriend murdered, he tried to kill me in revenge, we're even."

Ed was standing behind the couch, his hand resting on the back of it, near Oswald's shoulders. If the remark about Isabella affected him, he didn't show it. Jim and Harvey, however, were the opposite. Their faces were twisted into terrible impressions of being shocked. It was obvious to Oswald that they knew what had really happened to Isabella, they just had no concrete proof. His confession wouldn't be enough, especially now that she was back in the world of the living. The detectives decided to let the circumstances of Isabella's death pass without comment. They knew how Gotham worked.

Harvey leaned forward in his chair, staring at Oswald. Neither man blinked.

"Say I believe you, which I don't. Why would you trust him again? Why would you let him into your home, especially without any protection?"

Oswald stiffened slightly at these questions. He couldn't tell them about Ivy's perfume; he'd never go a day without Jim needing some... That is, if they didn't confiscate it altogether. He tried to relax himself, and replied,

"I know Edward Nygma, Mr.Bullock. Better than anyone else. I can tell when he is lying. And as for trusting him, well... I have my reasons. Now, what is your reason for coming here?"

Jim and Harvey shared a look. It was just a sliver of a moment, a tiny glance, but Ed caught it. He stepped around to the front of the couch and sat down beside Oswald, slightly closer than a friend would have. Neither Detective made any comment.

"Jim, Harvey... don't lie to us. I know you hate me, and I can understand why. I can even tolerate you coming here with no warrant and demanding we answer your questions... But Oswald deserves the truth. And he would just tell me whatever you tell him if you make me leave, so.... if you want to make progress on your case, one that I'm assuming is "off-record", then you need to tell us why you came here. Or else."

Jim was keeping his cool but Harvey seemed close to throttling Ed. He stood up, and was staring at him with something close to loathing. He still hadn't forgiven him for killing a cop, even after all this time. He hated that Ed now walked free, and he could do nothing about it. Oswald moved closer to Ed, feeling protective. He stared up at Harvey defiantly, daring him to try anything. Jim saw Oswald looking at Harvey and he stood up too. He placed a hand on his partner's shoulder and he relaxed almost immediately. He turned to face Jim, who dragged him over to the wall, and started whispering something in his ear.

While the pair were distracted, Oswald reached over and gave Ed's hand a small reassuring squeeze. Ed smiled down at him and squeezed back, feeling brave. This relaxed them both. They quickly pulled apart, however, as Harvey and Jim walked back towards them.

"Ok fine, fine, let's confide in the murderers then, shall we?", Harvey said, as he collapsed back down on the couch.

Jim sighed.

"Yes, Harvey, unfortunately we shall."

Jim sat down too, but he was more careful than his partner. He looked over at Oswald, as if sizing him up, deciding on whether or not to trust him. Jim's eyes were piercing, and seemed to stare into his very soul. Oswald squirmed a little and looked away, meeting Ed's eyes for a moment and seeing his concern. Oswald gave him a tiny nod and he relaxed. He looked back over at the detective, who had an odd smile on his face. Jim waited until he had gotten the pair's full attention and then began to talk. Apparently Oswald had passed his test.

"It's about Ed's g..."

He looked at the pair again and continued.

"...ex-girlfriend, Oswald. The one you had killed, Isabella Manning. She's alive."