"What the hell did I just do?" Victor questioned himself. It wasn't supposed to go like that, he wasn't supposed to kill anyone today especially not in front of her. He'd already carved a mark for that low life that had tried to harm his-well he wasn't sure what she was, but people should't be touching her he thought. He definitely should't have asked her out, but he did and there was no way he'd stand her up, no matter how much she didn't want to go. He was a gentleman like that.
"Who are ya talking to Mr. Zsasz?" A voice asked from behind him. It was the desk clerk at his apartment building. Like the girls that worked for him he wasn't attached to this man, but had a level of respect for him that saved him from a bullet in the head.
"Nobody." His reply was short and dangerous, but the little old man didn't exactly know when to stop. He had three kids that now had kids of their own and he always believed talking helped in every situation.
"Mr. Zsasz, do you need anything?" The strong voice deeply contradicted the old man's appearance and the contradiction made him think of Novella. For some reason she always popped into his mind. It was annoying.
"Maybe." Victor turned to look at the man and deciding he was no threat began what some would call a civilized conversation, "If I talk with you you tell no one what I say, or my no kill order on you will be lifted." The man didn't blink before nodding and Victor started the conversation.
"I've got a date of sorts tonight and I'd rather it end with the good screaming not what normal people would deem bad." He chuckled a bit and the old man just looked on waiting for more. "I guess what I need to know is how would I go about that. You know what I do, she knows what I do and it wouldn't be bad if her uncle hadn't been one of my assignments, but he's still alive so that shouldn't be a big deal." The absolute lack of care didn't surprise the older man, he had worked in this building for years and had seen many like Mr. Zsasz come through here.
"Well, if you want my advice I'd say don't be a dick to her and you'll be fine. Although girls can be fickle creatures so the whole uncle ordeal could be a deal breaker, but with enough charm you should be okay. And don't lead with the screaming thing, that won't work well for you." Zsasz nodded as he took in the information and stored it away for later use. The audacity of the man was enough to keep Victor's respect and he left without another word or threat. People who knew him didn't need a second threat, unless they were Jim Gordon, because he's an idiot.
-
The nerve of Victor Zsasz was appalling. Truly brilliantly appalling. Novella was left covered in blood in the middle of an alley and had a date with a sociopath tonight. She had no idea how she managed to get herself into these situations. The best plan of action would be to call her uncle, which is just what she did.
"Hey Uncle Jim. Um, this is going to sound really weird but I was on my way to work and now I'm standing in an alley beside a dead body." The words didn't come out in the best way possible, but Novella hadn't ever been great with breaking news.
"No I didn't kill him! He had put a knife to my throat and the man that tried to get you yesterday just shot him and walked away." She was getting increasingly frustrated, but she needed her uncle down here.
"No he didn't say anything to me, just shot him and walked away. I have no idea why." She thought it'd be a bad idea to mention the date she had to go on, especially when Jim was already so stressed out.
When her uncle got to the scene he told her to go home while he figured everything out. As reluctant as she was to leave him, she obeyed and went home to get a shower and plan for tonight.
~
Novella pulled on the hem of her black dress. It was simple but lovely, and in her opinion, quite badass when paired with the red leather jacket she'd pulled on. She needed all the support she could get for this forced date, so she had put on the nicest tough girl outfit she had.
It was getting to be seven forty-five when the doorbell rang. Victor had said eight, but she guessed he was overly punctual to the point of being early. She opened the door to be faced with Zsasz, in a dark suit like the one she'd seen him in twice already and two silver guns just visible under the jacket.
"You really needed to bring guns on a date?" It was the first thing that came to mind and she always said the first thing that came to mind.
"You never know what'll happen." The careless attitude pissed Novella off, but she knew that this date had to go well if she wanted to live.
"Alright can we get this show on the road? I'm starving and I remember being promised a nice meal. It's why I agreed to this little thing." She motioned between the two of them and Victor nodded his head and took her hand. The thought of every despicable deed that hand had done rushed through her head. She had taken the liberty of sifting through his file at the GCPD, he was a professional assassin and overly enthusiastic when it came to any job he was given. She couldn't bare to even look deeply into the file, so she was sure there was plenty more she was missing.
"Where are we eating?" The question fell from her lips before she could reconsider, Novella hated silence when it wasn't necessary.
"It's a surprise. You'll like it though." Victor's voice, cold and detached as it was, wasn't that awful. It was actually a nice voice once you got used to it.
"Alright then."
"You look nice, I'm glad you listened to what I said." That comment added fuel to the fire in her blood, she didn't listen to anyone.
"Look her mister," she stopped in the middle of the street and pointed a finger at her date, "I didn't listen to you, I took your advice. I would have worn this either way, I'm not a dog that will heed your every command." The glare she had set on Victor didn't phase him, quite the opposite actually.
"My apologies, of course I just assumed you listened. That doesn't change the fact that you do look beautiful." The way he spoke, as if it was the hardest thing in the world to be polite shocked Novella, but she decided if he could be civil so could she.
"Well thank you, you don't look half bad yourself." She wasn't looking at him when she said this, so she didn't see the small smirk he had at her words. Unbeknownst to her he'd actually spent a good while picking out what exactly to wear, so her compliment was much appreciated.
They walked in silence the rest of the way. No matter how much Novella hated the quiet, or how much Victor wanted to talk to her neither started a conversation, at least until they got to the restaurant.
"In here." Victor pulled her hand, that he'd held the whole way there, up the stairs and through an ornate set of doors.
"What is this place?" The girl that had always seen galaxies in everything was seeing a piece of night sky brought down to Earth. The entire ceiling was a window leaving just a view of the starlit night, and the full moon was on full display. Novella didn't need to tell Victor she was in heaven, because it was written all over her face.
"It's an all night restaurant. I did my research and thought you'd like this place the best." The blatant admittance of his stalking slipped right past her she stared up at the sky.
"You can see every star, how did I not know about this place?" For a brief moment she forgot that she was on a date with a contract killer and she wasn't supposed to be having any fun.
"It's not exactly open to the public. It's reserved for a certain person's inner circle, which I happen to be apart of." He looked quite proud of himself at how he had put a smile on Novella's face.
"Our table is that way," he pointed at a secluded table that still had a perfect view of the sky, "the food is great and they're discreet, nobody will see us or hear about this night." That took Novella aback, the mention of secrecy.
"And why shouldn't anyone know?" She furrowed her brow in a way that deeply attracted Victor. The way her blue eyes sparked with curiosity was the most wonderful thing he'd seen since he got his first gun.
"If someone was to find out," he leaned down to her ear and whispered, "they'd kill you in the most painful of ways. Just in an attempt to hurt me." The words sent a chill down her spine, but she didn't shake in fear like any sane person would do. Perhaps it was because she really was that fearless, or perhaps she was just as stupid as her uncle,
"Then we should probably do well to keep to ourselves. I have no idea why someone would think hurting me would hurt you, seeing as we just met, but I'd rather not die just yet." She began to walk in front of him, pulling him behind her towards their table.
And for the first time Victor Zsasz was speechless, but this would not be the last time the lilac-haired enigma left him without words.
-
They were a good bit into the date when Novella asked the question that had been picking at her mind since she met Victor. "Why didn't you kill me in the parking garage? Obviously it wasn't because I wasn't part of your job, so why?"
Victor thought over his reasoning before answering, "You're different. I like different." He took another bite of the cake they had ordered waiting for he to say more.
"Well I'm glad that you decided I shouldn't die." It was such a ridiculous sentence that she laughed at it, just a bit but enough to draw Zsasz's attention to the noise. She noticed the eyes on her, but didn't really care. She laughed when she felt like it and at this moment she felt like it.
"So," Victor jumped into conversation when she'd calmed down, "why purple hair?"
"It's fun. Simple as that really, and it reminds me of galaxies and I'm just too in love with space not to always have it with me." The answer didn't shock him. It was clear she was a girl that always was looking towards the sky, and that was a rare thing in Gotham. Everyone was always such a zombie, it was nice to see something different.
Their conversation went on like that well into the night. Her answering questions directed at her and him dodging anything too personal. He'd give her small details, favorite color-black- and favorite food -muffins- but when she asked deeper questions he'd change the subject. As much as he didn't care about anyone, something about this girl screamed at him. He didn't want to pull her head out of the stars by weighing her down with his many issues, but she was too curious to let it go so he had to continuously redirect her with seemingly meaningless facts about himself that she seemed to like. Her favorite question was what animal would he be given the chance, and much to her surprise he went with a cat. His reasoning was simple, they get to eat or sleep whenever and are first rate hunters in the wild.
When he asked her the same question she answered with a bird, because they could fly, simple as that. Anyone that saw the pair would have been shocked. They were so different that they went together, her bold hair and eyes always turned to the sky, paired with the intimidating presence went perfectly with the cold and calculating killer that stared at her with wonder. It would've been hard to tell that this was their first date, but it was.