Nygmobblepot Fluff

Regret, Forgiveness, Love.

*Ed's POV, after 3x14- at the mansion. 2 weeks after the death of Oswald Cobblepot*

I can't stop thinking about the bastard. He killed Isabella, but the hole that he left in my heart is much greater than what she left. There's no point in lying to myself- I'm sad. Why? I'm not really sure. Constantly, I find myself pushing down the thoughts of Oswald and his heartfelt words right before I killed him- but that doesn't mean anything. Despite my "grief," or whatever you may call it, I don't exactly miss him.

But that doesn't explain why he's here right now.

Of course, it's just a hallucination, but I feel a single tear run down my cheek as the fake Oswald Cobblepot speaks. He wears exactly what he was wearing the day that I shot him. Except now, his hair and clothing is drenched. A streak of what appeared to be smudged mascara is barely noticeable underneath his left eye.

"I bet it's been hard," Not-Oswald says lightly. "How do you really expect to run Gotham City without my help? Even worse, how do you expect to do it while you're an emotional wreck?"

"I'm anything but," I respond, "an emotional wreck. I wish you were really here so I could... kill you all over again." Even I heard the hesitation in my voice as my words played out. He smiles.

"You love me, Edward Nygma."

"I do not."

"You are in love with me, and you just feel that killing me was necessary because of that wretched bimbo Isabelle-"

I spin around quickly, trying to rid of the mocking Penguin behind me. He's making me... confused. Confused, hurt, unloved... and... and guilty. For what, though?

"Oh, stop pretending like you don't know," the hallucination shrills in response to my thoughts. "You're guilty for shooting me, despite how much I loved you! Despite how much I still love you."

He nears me, pinning me against a wall, although he's just a part of my imagination.

"Ed... You miss me, dearly. How unfortunate it must be to feel what you're feeling right now. But as of now, I can see that you're at a loss for words. That's where I come in. Let me tell you a story...
This story is about a man named Edward, a woman named Kristen, a man named Oswald, and an idiot named Isabella- I'll make it sweet and simple.
Edward fell in love with Kristen. Kristen was in love with another man, so Edward killed him for her. Later, he killed Kristen also.
Oswald fell in love with Edward. Things were going well, until Edward met a Kristen-doppelganger named Isabella. Edward 'fell in love' with Isabella, so Oswald killed her for him. Later, he was also killed at the hands of Edward. What Edward doesn't realize is that he's a total HYPOCRITE, AND KILLED OSWALD FOR DOING THE SAME THING HE DID FOR KRISTEN, WHO HE. CHOKED. TO. DEATH."

The imaginary Oswald seems as if he's about to burst. I taste something salty and wet- and realize that it's my own tears, running a marathon down my face.

"Now," he continues, more calmly, "Edward is hallucinating an image of the man he's in love with. But he doesn't want to admit that, because as much as he tries to, he misses Oswald twice as much as he misses Kristen and Isabella combined."

"Os- Oswald," I whisper. "You're right... I... I miss you so much. I wish you were here, but..." My voice trails off in a series of sobs and meaningless mumbles. Out of nowhere, I find "Oswald" nearing my face for a kiss, a kiss I've secretly wanted for a long time. I bend down, meet him in the middle, so our lips meet without feel-

And he vanishes into thin air. That's all he was here for, I think. To make me stop lying to myself- to help me understand that I'm in love with someone I regret killing...