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It didn't feel quite real when he slowly opened his eyes, head all groggy and a drowsiness weighing down his eyelids. Forcing his eyes to stay open, he was greeted with the view of a spotty white ceiling.
Tracing around the lines of the tiles until his eyes finally found a semblance of focus, Oswald blinked multiple times, before shifting his body and slowly turning his head.
Unsure whenever the lingering effects of whatever was making his head throb were also inducing mirages, he closed his eyes. Opening them again he concluded that, no they did not, or if they did, at least they were the persistent kind.
Carefully shifting his leg, he brushed against the sleeping man's hand, and a mix of euphoria and confusion washed over Oswald, as he realized that once it made contact he was indeed made of solid matter.
The movement hadn't woken the sleeping figure, but made him stir in his sleep. Edward Nygma, glasses crooked riding up his face, arms tucked away under his head, was sleeping on his... bed?
Carefully pushing his upper body up Oswald slowly looked around the room. The hospital room. His hospital room most likely, given his position.
The rustling of the sheets and the added movement finally did wake Edward from his sleep, and Oswald was equally surprised and not surprised at all to see the Riddler's face go through a number of emotions at once.
Opening his mouth, closing it again, sitting up straight and fixing his glasses, running his gaze up and down Oswald's length and flicking back to his face, only to avert his eyes immediately after, Ed finally jumped to his feet and hid his face behind a fist, raised to conceal a fake cough.
".. So you're awake then... I'll let the staff know!".
Before Oswald was able to answer, or even test if his voice would let him, the tall figure was already on the move and practically running out the room. Sinking back and closing his eyes again Oswald let out a deep breath he wasn't even aware he had been holding.
Listening to the noises around him he could discern disembodied voices, steps of varying speeds on linoleum, the noise of what must be the inner cities traffic outside. Never still, never sleeping, and neither was he now.
He turned his attention inward, listened for aches and discomforts, but it seemed the medication and painkillers he'd been given were the potent kind. Unsure he opened his eyes again and tried to gauge the reason for his hospitalisation with visual clues. Running his hands down his sides he flinched and made a mental note to not do that again. The pain was concealed well when not given direct strain of contact, but the gunshot wound close to his left hip was very real and very painful when probed.
The sound of hurried steps gave him something else to focus on, and he snapped his attention towards the door.
Whoever had hospitalized him might not have known his preference for the facilities just outside of city limits, but had known who he was evidently, by providing him with a private room.
The door swung open and a doctor in sneakers made her way towards him. With some distance he could see the lanky form of Ed hover undecidedly by the door. The doctor produced a small light from her pocket, checked his eyes and kept her inquiries to him short and to the point. Once he had tested his voice and found it working, albeit not in great shape, she was nodding sharply and jotting down the responses he gave her in a croaking voice. Before giving him one last check over, she fixed him with an intense stare.
"You were lucky your chauffeur brought you here so quickly. Real loyal too. He's been driving the staff insane having us work around him all the time. Whatever you pay the man, it's working. " Oswald's eyes followed her nod in Ed's direction.
¿?
"So you drive now?" was all that came to his mind after the doctor had left the room with a promise of returning in a few hours with the morning shift.
An uncomfortable silence hung between the two men in the room after, as, still unmoving by the door, Edward had taken to inspecting his fingernails.
Oswald fixed him with a stare, trying to figure out whenever he'd just turn around and leave or grace him with a reply. Silence and passing up the opportunity to talk about himself were not things the Riddler could usually resist. Much less leave a question unanswered. Oswald contemplated whenever he might just not have heard him, but repeating the question seemed even more unnerving than to let whatever this was take its course.
He did look the part though, didn't he? With hair that probably used to be slicked back before it turned into the mess of loose strands and ruffled edges he was seeing now. Sporting the dark double breasted uniform and matching trousers, with the gloves he must have worn sticking out from his pocket.
Oswald finally broke his stare to settle back into a more comfortable position. While the movement and rustling did make Edward glance his way, it only prompted him to shift his stance and in turn inspect the area around Oswald's headboard with intense interest. Despite his blatant avoidance, he didn't seem to have any plans to answer him or leave just yet. It'd have been all too easy for him to steal away after he had altered the staff. Or at any point really. He didn't even quite understand how Ed had ended up here in the first place, but had a general working theory.
Finally Ed tentatively opened his mouth to speak, still interested in anything around the room but the person on the bed.
"Tool of thief, toy of queen. Always used to be unseen. Sign of joy, sign of sorrow. Giving all likeness borrowed" reciting the riddle seemed to click something inside of him into place, as he straightened himself and finally returned Oswald's probing look. He even took a few steps towards him and leaned on the chair he had been sleeping on earlier, using it as a protective barrier between them.
Oswald stared at him for a few moments, lips pressed into a thin line. He then clenched the bedsheet in his fists shook his head.
"A disguise. As much as I'd love to get into that, Ed, would you..." he gestured in the vague direction of his legs.
"Sit? I don't think that's a good idea given-"
"No, Edward, fill in the blanks?! Last thing I remember is meeting with one of Tony's guys about the... infrastructure plans."
That elicited a snort from Ed, not even trying to hide his expression this time. "'Infrastructure plans' is such a nice way of naming your renewed delivery routes through his turf, yes. "
" So you know. "
" So I do. "
" So then? " it was hard to keep an edge out of his voice. It wasn't that he was particularly annoyed with having his plans known, they were middle dealing at best. Having too many blanks he couldn't fill in himself however irritated him, especially given the other man clearly had a good grasp on the situation.
"So you've been shot."
Closing his eyes and bringing up the blanket to cover his face Oswald took a deep breath and muffled a scream. When he looked back up he did catch the last traces of a smile carefully sliding off Ed's face.
Steading himself with another deep breath he put on a patient smile and fixed Ed, who seemingly had lost a lot of his earlier apprehension and was now leaning over the chair in a relaxed, almost playful manner, arms crossed on it's back.
"So I've noticed. It really does not lose it's edge the second time around, despite what they say." He smiled sweetly, not waiting for a reaction, ignoring the shadow that crossed his counterparts face, and continued on "What I want to know, Ed, is where my men are, and if THAT DOUBLE CROSSING FILTH IS STILL ALIVE!" practically spitting the last part.
Whatever tenseness had left Ed's body earlier returned with a vengeance and he visibly went rigid, drawing his arms closer, yet didn't break eye contact. His voice was neutral, almost cold when he answered " What do you think, Oswald? They're dead. Somebody didn't do their homework and got ambushed."
The accusation heavy between them but Oswald didn't feel like taking the bait. He was still burning with rage, but lowered his head, kept his breathing deep and even to prevent another outburst, and sort his thoughts.
Edward watched him behind unreadable eyes, without a word. Good.
Despite everything this was a considerable blow, not so much to his dealings, but more importantly to his reputation. Somebody had gotten the upper hand, had betrayed him, had decreased the number of his men, and most importantly - had wounded him. Made him mortal again and chipped away at his carefully crafted public facade he had built over the past years. He had survived blackgate stronger and with more manpower than he had entered it, forged connections and made deals that would be untraceable yet undeniably connected to him, muscle and information flowing his way freely. And still some middle man had decided to take a jab at him... and had succeeded. He had almost died, if not for... If not for what?
He raised his head again, still taking deep breaths to steady himself.
"You."
It wasn't a question, it wasn't even an accusation. It was a plainly stated fact.
Edward waited a few beats before reassuring himself that nothing was to follow that statement. He finally straightened himself again and rounded the chair, discarding the protective shield he had chosen earlier.
"Me."
"You... were there. You drove us there. You... What did you do? Did they promise you a cut? A fine piece of territory when I was done with? What did it take, Edward?" his breathing had finally turned from even to shallow and erratic, he could feel his head spinning.
For a moment the riddle in front of him stared at him with wide eyes, before tilting his head back and bursting into a shrill laugh.
" Of course. OF COURSE you would think that. Yes, Oswald, I drove you there. And my grand plan was to watch you bleed out in an alley never knowing it was me. Because that's what I ALWAYS do isn't it?" he sucked in a breath and almost to himself muttered "Valiant leaders will keep this. But only after they have given it."
They mustered the other, each reeling and turmoiled in their own way. Oswald had shifted back into a sitting position, leaning forward snarling in the other's direction, disregarding the underlying discomfort this provided. His head was still racing and his thoughts didn't find any solid purchase and kept slipping back into the ongoing maelstrom. Edward watched him over the rim of his glasses, any trace of real and fake joy gone from his face. Not letting the other one out their sights they just sat there.
After what felt like forever Edward let out a bitter laugh and stood up. His hands reached for a driver's hat stacked on an adjacent drawer.
"A promise. I gave it to you, and I intend to keep it. Goodbye, Oswald."
Something finally gave and he started shouting again "BY ALL MEANS, TELL. ME. EDWARD. YOU COULDN'T FINISH THE JOB? COULDN'T COLD LOGIC THE LOGISTICS? What happened, old friend?" his voice twisting higher and higher with each word, until it finally plateaued and then dropped back to a snarl.
With his back turned the tall man halted his steps. Not turning around the strain still seeped through his words
"Yes, I drove you there, and yes, I dropped you off here. No, I didn't think you'd walk into a trap this obvious. I just... didn't… think... Os, I just really didn't think any of this would happen. I knew but I... didn't know." he helplessly lifted and dropped his arms from and back to his side.
Even though Ed was unable to see it, this confession was met with nothing but an open mouthed stare. Gasping like a fish he could feel his heart seize. It didn't add up. It didn't fit the bigger picture. It didn't make sense. And despite the logic puzzle suddenly having so many new pieces, he couldn't fit them into any coherent shape.
"Why did you... wait?" he asked in a low tone.
Instead of an answer the standing man took another step towards the door.
"Why did you stay?" this time his voice found more strength, fueled by the anxiety that this last piece might just slip through his fingers forever.
"... I don't know". It wasn't more than a whisper.
"Alright" licking his lips he watched the deflated figure in front of him. "Alright. That's... unusual but... why did you come in the first place?" his voice was still not quite his own and showed a lot more emotion than he would have liked.
Edward's shoulders shook a little and he finally turned around again. With considerable flair he pulled the hat down his forehead, covering his face, only to dramatically cast it aside with an exaggerated swirl of his hands. "BOOM BABY!"
Oswald's jaw had dropped again "...and?" he blinked a couple of times to make sure he wasn't missing any hidden details that might have appeared. Nothing.
"And... that's the idea. Surprise you, show you how reckless you've gotten not even recognizing your driver anymore... But uh.”
"...yes I see what you're getting at" he chuckled self deprecatingly.
Oswald sunk back into his pillow. Rolling his eyes up to the ceiling, he in turn gestured grandly at the foot of the bed. "Do take that seat, please. Be my guest and regale me with more tales of my lacking oversight."
Edward didn't move from his spot, his hands awkwardly raised in a half motion. "Os, I didn't stick around to...gloat. Only to see if- when you would wake up. And you are awake now. You know everything you need to know. It'd best I left you to it." His eyes searched the corner he had thrown the hat in.
"Matter of fact I do not. You still haven't told me if Tony's men are still around."
A grin flashed across Ed's face and he quickly pulled his sleeve back in an exaggerated pose to glance at his watch. "Well if you must know-"
"I do. I really, VERY, very much do."
"-they are. But only for thirty seven more minutes."
Oswald rubbed his fingers over the bridge of his nose. He didn't feel it in him to go fishing for details, Ed would let him know of his ingenious plan soon enough.
"And it will be your doing?"
"Why, yes. You see I simply-"
"Still refuse to take that seat, yes, I can see that."
Still hesitant Ed shot another glance toward his hat, then took the few steps needed to cross the distance and pick it up. From his new position he let his eyes wander around the room, until he inadvertently locked eyes with Oswald once more.
" You're right. You should be here when the timer runs out..." he added with a soft smile that Oswald couldn't help but return.