Edwald Nygmobblepot One-Shots

K-I-S-S-I-N-G

"No, Ed would be too suspicious," Oswald said.

Barbara shrugged. "I think it would be better to have him be suspicious than to have him listen to a tape of this conversation." As she spoke she pulled a small tape recorder out of her pocket and Penguin's eyes narrowed.

Oswald hissed, "Fine, I will have the matter settled by tomorrow."

"Thanks so much!" Barbara said innocently as she pulled away from the table and left. "See you later Pengy!" she called just before the door latched shut behind her.

Once she was gone Oswald flopped down into a chair with a sigh and began nervously chewing his nails. It would be unreasonable to dispose of the woman in a timely manner, and harder still to avoid being caught if he did. She was surprisingly connected, and cunning besides. The more he thought about it, the more he began to cling to the one obvious solution.

He had to tell Ed before she did.

~?~

"I am so glad that you could join me," Oswald said with a small smile.

"Of course," Ed answered, giving him a half-hearted smile in return. "I think that it would be best for me to move on somewhat, or at least relax in my search for Isabella's killer. I may never find them, so I need to accept that and try to be happy with what I have."

Oswald's jaw worked for a minute as he digested Ed's words in uncomfortable silence. Though the timing seemed as though it couldn't be worse, it was the only reasonable chance he had to finally tell Edward what had happened. In the very least, he deserved as much.

He cleared his throat uncomfortably before saying, "That's...exactly why I asked you here, Ed. I...I know who killed her."

Ed's eyes widened suddenly in surprise. "Well who is it?"

Oswald sniffled and placed a hand gently on Edward's knee, enjoying what could be his last moment with the man he loved, before he began his roundabout explanation, "You were there for me when I needed you most, time and time again. I can always trust and count on you, and I find myself relying on you more and more as I-"

"Oswald," Ed interrupted impatiently, his tone pleading and desperate underneath the calm, cold expression that his face held.

"It was me," Oswald blurted, before he could listen to the tiny voice in his head that was yelling at him to make an excuse. Tiny traces of tears collected in his eyes as he continued, "I ordered Gabe to cut the brake lines in her car. I'm the reason she's dead. I'm the reason...that you're hurting so badly."

Edward's voice, his posture, his expression, everything about him was entirely devoid of emotion as he asked simply, "Why?"

Oswald wasn't entirely sure how to answer, so he looked away uncomfortably as he told the truth, "I...love you, Edward. I saw you spending so much time with her, giving so much of your life to her...and it tore me apart. I feel terrible that I hurt you this badly, but I was running out of ideas. I didn't know how I could make you stay."

Although Ed was visibly tense and possibly furious, he hadn't yet pulled away from Oswald...or grabbed a knife for that matter. It was a good sign, but Oswald was aware that he could, probably would, snap at any second.

"Why are you telling me now?"

Again, Oswald opted for the truth. "Barbara Kean found out, and threatened to tell you if I didn't offer Butch his old job back. Who knows what damage Butch could do to us...to you especially. But more than that it really did hurt me to see you suffering so much from not knowing. I knew I had to be the one to tell you."

"Even though you no doubt assumed that my initial impulse would be to kill you?" Ed pointed out, brutally honest.

"I only regret that I was cowardly and stupid enough to try and forget it entirely. I mean it, Ed, I love you and I want you to be happy." As he spoke, Oswald grabbed a steak knife from the table, put it in Ed's hand, and closed his own shaking hands around Edward's fist. "You saved my life, and I ruined yours. I can never forgive myself for that, and I don't expect you to. I don't deserve to breathe while she rots in the ground on my orders."

"I should kill you," Ed agreed.

He flicked the knife up quickly to Oswald's throat, and the smaller man let out a little whimper as the serrated steel dug into his skin. He clutched his chair and the table in white knuckles, felt the thin trickle of blood sliding down his neck. He didn't want to die, but he felt as though he truly had nothing more to live for if Edward wanted him dead. He had been the one friend, the only ally he had left after his mother's murder. Without Ed, he would surely sink back into some horrible depression that he likely wouldn't live through anyways.

Then the cold steel disappeared suddenly and Ed whispered, "But I won't."

Oswald felt as though his heart was jump-started, and he let out a deep sigh of relief. "Why not?"

Edward shook his head sadly and answered, "I said that I would do anything for you, and that you can always count on me. As much as I want revenge...I need to move on from Isabella, and I'm not sure if I can do that without you. I want to give you a second chance, and I don't know what else to do."

Oswald's mouth dropped open in shock. Before he could think it through he lurched forward and pressed his lips to Ed's. It took him a moment to fully realize what he had done, and even longer to remember hadn't exactly returned his affections. He finally pulled away after a few moments, very awkwardly.

Ed looked sad, but since it was some display of emotion Oswald considered it an improvement. Then Ed said, "I'm not sure if I can forgive you, Oswald, at least not for a long time. But, for love...I can try to forget."

And then Oswald felt Ed's lips on his again, as well as two hands on his back pulling him impossibly close. But the kiss was gentle and soft, albeit deeper and more meaningful than before. He could hardly process it; all at once his dearest dreams were coming to fruition amidst all the guilt he was feeling about what he had done. How could he possibly deserve this?

"Thank you, Ed; I don't deserve this, or you," Oswald said breathlessly. It sounded too cheesy, but he didn't think that could be helped.

Edward's lips twitched slowly into a small reassuring smile. "That was...better than I had expected, actually." He blushed slightly, and Oswald couldn't help but smile at the sight of his shyness, with the rosy tint of his cheeks. "Now...how shall we deal with Barbara? Blackmail should not be taken lightly...."

I'm pretty sure I want to make a part two for this one, actually. It would basically be Edward and Oswald working together to torture Barbara and maybe Butch and Tabitha, but it will probably be quite a bit shorter and/or focus more the slowly building relationship between these two. Let me know what you think, or if you have any other proposals for this or other prompts!

Someone started a petition to make edward and oswald a couple on the show!
There is a link in this book's description. You can copy and paste to your browser to sign!

Yeah same old, same old, I know