Chapter Text
"There's no way they could have possibly found out."
The blonde pulled her alcoholic beverage away from her lips, and placed it back onto the surface of the bar. She adjusted her position in the stool, so that she could address her partner more directly.
"There isn't." Barbara agrees. She hasn't said or done anything that could give their little secret away. She also knows Ed is far to smart to spill something this important, so accusing him of dropping the ball was out the window. "This isn't about that."
Neither of the two spoke about what had happened until now.
Both criminals have spent the last several days running around Gotham to deal with Penguin, leaving them both too distracted to worry about Tabitha or Butch finding out about their special rendezvous.
This made Ed especially caught off guard when hearing the troubling news from the Barbara, regarding said duo.
He crossed his arms over his chest. "Are you sure you aren't mistaken?" His tone seeped of concern.
"Nygma, I've known these two muscle-heads for a long time now. I think it's safe to say I know what I'm talking about."
"But why the hell would Butch and Tabitha want you dead?" Ed exclaimed.
Barbara sighs, taking one last gulp of her drink before continuing. "Probably because of you."
Ed scoffs. It was no secret how much the two of them despised him. Not only has he tortured them both (cutting off Tabitha's hand in the process), he has made their lives a living hell ever since he teamed up with Barbara. It's been such a joy watching them squirm.
"If they want me dead that badly, they can kill me themselves. What would they get out of your death?"
Barbara hesitates, choosing her words carefully in her head before speaking.
"The truth is, I'm the reason you've been alive this long."
Ed tilts his head. "Pardon?"
Barbara always knew he would find out eventually. She just didn't expect to be the one to tell.
"When we first started working together, it sickened Tabitha. All she wanted was your head on a silver platter. I can't remember the last time I've seen her so hungry for someone's blood." Ed nods. "She was especially pissed at me for constantly defending you. So naturally, I had to keep her at bay."
He said nothing, waiting for her to continue.
Barbara looked at the ground for a few seconds, bracing herself, before looking back up at Ed.
"I made a promise to her, that once you're done helping me take over Gotham, and securing my place at the head of the table, she could kill you."
Ed's eyes widened. Whether it was with shock or fury, she couldn't tell. Possibly both?
The Sirens grew completely silent. The only noise to be heard was the traffic outside the window.
Once several moments passed without either of them saying a word, Barbara decided to continue.
"Since I obviously didn't go through with it, her and Butch want me out of the picture, alongside you."
Ed doesn't respond right away. Instead, he scoffs and walks over towards the window.
Barbara waited anxiously for him to say something. She originally called him in so he could help her deal with Tabitha and Butch. But he just kept asking questions and now… she might need to worry about Ed getting to her first.
"So why didn't you kill me?" He asked, without turning around. His voice was monotone.
She opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out.
When not hearing anything, Ed continued.
"You have control over all the gangs in Gotham. You now know about the Court of Owls. You have Tetch at your disposal, and the city on its knees. You have everything you wanted. I'm useless to you now. You could've had your friends kill me days ago."
She didn't respond.
"In fact," Ed continued. "killing would be more beneficial to you than anything. Butch and Tabitha aside, there's still Penguin to deal with. You could have used my death as some type of ceasefire. I'm the one who dumped him in the river and destroyed his empire. He cares more about me than he ever did about the three of you. Killing me could save you a lot of trouble, especially now that he and Fish are out there, planning God knows what."
Barbara straightened herself on the stool. "I guess it just never crossed my mind."
Ed turned back to her. His expression was cold and collected. However, he didn't appear to be angry, which came to Barbara as a pleasant surprise. Despite this, she decided it was better to not get too relaxed, especially now that he was walking towards her. Nygma has always been difficult to read.
"I don't believe that." Ed took the seat directly next to her. He turned himself so that he was facing her directly. He let one elbow rest on the counter, so that his arm could hang in front of him, his hand intertwined with the other, as his other elbow rested on his knee.
Ed cleared his throat. "You can be extremely emotional, but I you're not stupid."
She wasn't entirely sure how to feel about that statement.
"You have to have thought that killing me would make all your problems disappear." As he said 'disappear' he lifted his hands, and waved them in a circular motion, before folding them once again. "So what made you change your mind?"
His dark brown eyes glared through lenses of his glasses, and stared right into her light blue ones. Barbara felt like those eyes could see into her soul, like he knew everything about her, even the things she didn't want him to know.
He could see right through her. Like glass.
Tension rose, and the question still hung in the air. Both the adults sat in their seats, completely silent.
"I don't know." Barbara stated. "I just did."
Ed tilted his head again. "Ms. Kean, I'm finding it very difficult to trust you as of right now. So if you still want me to help you deal with Tabitha and Butch, I'm going to need a real answer."
Barbara looked to her empty glass, and back to Ed. She sighed exhaustively.
"I didn't want you to die because after awhile, I actually did enjoy having you around." She admitted.
Ed raised his eyebrows.
"You helped me out a lot. With business, with Tabitha…" She gets quiet as she remembers their time together. It was almost a week ago, but it felt like just yesterday. So new, and still exciting. "I considered you to be a friend."
Now it was Ed's turn to be speechless.
He straightened himself in the stool, as if waiting for her to say something else.
"Tabitha and Butch don't need to know all that, of course." Barbara quickly added.
"Of course." Ed agreed.
Hearing her say all this made him both relieved, and quite glad. When he originally agreed to sleep with her, it wasn't purely out of lust. He knew she was not herself while simultaneously dealing with the stress of Gotham's underworld, and Tabitha's backstabbing. He lent her the emotional (and physical) support she needed to get back on track, so hearing that she cared about his well being was almost… comforting.
It was enough to convince him that she won't turn on him. She'll be by his side as he takes down Penguin once and for all. And he'll be able to watch her rule Gotham for years to come.
"I expected you to be much more upset." She admitted. Barbara stepped off the stool and made her way around the counter to refill her cup.
"Trust me, that deal of yours is the least of my concerns." Ed retorts. "What I am concerned about now is tweedle dumb and tweedle dumber." Barbara pulls out a bottle from under the counter and begins to fill her glass up again. "What do you plan on doing to them?"
Barbara pulls out a second glass from behind the counter and pours a drink for Ed. "For now, I'm gonna keep on eye on them; send men to watch them, bug their cell phones, etc." She picks up the glass, now filled with red wine, and holds it out to him. A small smile appears as she continues. "Once I catch what their plan is, that's where you come in."
A smug smirk grows across Ed's face, as he takes the drink. The thought of him being the one to put an end to those two thorns in his side was absolutely electrifying.
"Don't worry, Ms. Kean. If either of them so much as try to hurt you, I'll deal with them both myself."
The partners in crime clink their glasses together, and drink their glasses empty.