It turns out that the hideout Jerome found way back when was a cave. Daisy can't quite hide her look of apprehension when he presents their new home to her.
"Oh, relax, babygirl. It's not like there are critters in there—well, not where we're living at least," Jerome scoffs.
He leads her into the cave and they turn down a few side tunnels, Jerome being sure to point them out so she knows how to get in and out. After a bit of climbing uphill, there is suddenly a door.
"How is there a door in the middle of a cave?" Daisy asks, perplexed.
Jerome ducks his head and scratches it sheepishly. "I may have hired a contractor to come out here and furnish the hideout... and then killed them after so they couldn't blab about it."
Daisy slaps his arm, frowning at him as he opens the door and leads her inside.
"What? We need doors and indoor plumbing and stuff if we're gonna buckle down here!"
"You can't just go around killing people because it's convenient! And how long did you plan for us to hide here?" She demands.
"Realize who you're talking to, princess," Jerome deadpans. "We are gonna need to hide out here for some months until the hype dies down enough for us to escape to another city somewhere and live our happy little lives."
"Will the hype be that bad?" Daisy wonders, sitting down on the couch.
"Of course it will, baby. Not only have we killed citizens, we've attacked the GCPD, not to mention what's gonna happen in the final act!" He exclaims.
"What's the final act?" Daisy asks him a bit fearfully.
"The final act is when we kill the deputy mayor and Bruce Wayne," Jerome explains. "That's several days away from now."
"We?" Daisy demands, crossing her arms.
"The rest of the Maniax and I," Jerome sighs. "I can't back out yet, babygirl, or Galavan will be all over us worse than the GCPD. And he has the money to actually find us. I've gotta follow through with these guys at least through the final act, and then I can book it and we lay low here until it's safe to flee. We're only helping Galavan with all this because he busted us out of Arkham. Once it's done, he has nothing to keep us with him."
"Who is Galavan anyway?" Daisy asks curiously.
"He's some billionaire boy that's new to town. Really hates the Waynes for some reason. Must be a rich people jealousy thing," he shrugs.
The girl nods slowly in a kind of agreement, a silence descending over them. Jerome sits down next to her on the couch, sighing as he faces her.
"Daisy, you need to know that I'm really sorry. About everything—especially Pepper. I had no idea who she was to you—it was just a random killing," he apologizes. "Before I started changing myself for you, I enjoyed random violence like that. But not anymore. Any life I've ended has had a reason. I know that doesn't seem any better, but I'm starting to see why it's wrong. When I saw what her death did to you, it made me think about who all was affected by all those other killings. I won't say that I'll never kill again because I know that's not true, but I'm trying to be better—for you."
Daisy sits and thinks on that for a minute. She both wants better out of him and is floored by how much Jerome has already changed.
"I can't forgive you for that—not right now, and maybe never at all. I can appreciate how far you've come, but I still expect better from you in the future," she explains. "But I believe you that you weren't trying to hurt or control me by killing her, that it had nothing to do with me. At the very least, I know that the feelings we shared weren't a lie, even if everything else was.
And if I'm being honest, I still have those feelings for you. Somehow, you make me feel safe and loved and special and happy. I missed you while we were apart, even when I found out what you did. I missed how you made me feel, and I wanted you there to make me feel better even though you were the reason for me being upset. I do need you—honestly, I think we need each other. No matter how messed up this whole situation may be, I understand why you have done the things you have and I'm willing to try and start over again if you are."
"Thank you, princess, but I don't want to start over," Jerome smiles. "Starting over would mean forgetting about all the time we had together and the experiences we shared, and I won't do that. I want to keep sharing my life with you, to continue on with our relationship, whatever it may be.
If you want me to slow down again and take it from the beginning, I will. If you want me to pick up where we left off, I'll do that too. I want you to be happy here with me. But, I would prefer if you were to call me Daddy again, not only because it turns me on, but because it reminds me that I am supposed to love and protect you and to make you feel as safe and happy as possible."
Daisy blushes furiously at that notion, but is curious enough to ask, "That's what the name 'Daddy' means to you?"
"Of course, princess. When you would call me it—in your head at least, until recently—wasn't it because you looked up to me and trusted me to care for you? To keep you safe?" Jerome replies.
"I guess," Daisy relents. "I never thought about it too much aside from wondering why you wanted that and what your actual name was. Referring to you as Daddy felt natural for some reason. It made me feel small, but in a good way somehow."
"That's the way it's supposed to be, babygirl," Jerome grins. "Whenever it feels natural again, feel free to say it. Until then, call me whatever feels right. I want you to be comfortable."
"Okay," she replies, looking down at her fidgeting fingers shyly. "So what should we do now?"
"You hungry? You can color while I make us some food," the ginger offers.
Daisy can't help the way her eyes light up, so Jerome chuckles and gestures to the side table, which has her coloring books in it. The two can feel themselves settling into a new, but oddly familiar dynamic as they go to their separate tasks.
There's something there that wasn't there before.
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A/N
Sorry she's a little late here guys. I've been studying all weekend because I have two exams on Monday, which is technically today I guess. Let me know what you think and have a great day/night!
Gingy
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Rapunzel <J. Valeska>
Fanfiction"What's the matter gorgeous? Cat got your tongue?" So, after the breakout, Jerome found a mysterious blond girl on the street and decided he wanted to keep her. He's got issues, but she's got some too, though maybe not the same kind. Jerome must ha...
