Chapter Text
Oswald dreaded every single time Ed brought Isabelle to his home or to work. His chief of staff was walking on clouds while he had to swallow his anger and jealousy driving spears through his heart. It was harder, than one would expect. Oswald wasn‘t known for staying calm and civil and usually he would have just taken what he wanted and killed Isabelle after he threatened her. After all she knew about his feelings, his weakness. At least she refused to visit the manor by now, whether it were his threats or Olga's very angry glares, bless her soul. She didn’t need to learn that stupid English language to use her eyes and see how much in love the Penguin was. Anyone who has ever loved could see it. But that green beanstalk of a moron was not worthy of that little angry bird man. After all he did not show up for dinner, she really had outdone herself for, what a waste! How could any stupid pretty woman compete with Olga's cooking abilities! Oh and angry little bird man boss. That made at least two people in the building hating that young woman's guts. Though Olga was clever enough to know it was also the man at fault. She had very sneakily put too much pepper in the beanstalks soup last time he spend time at the manor, enjoying the cough she heard from the table when she returned to her kitchen. She oh so hated seeing her Employer as sad as he currently was, if he was her son, she would have scolded him for drinking so much.
Which he currently was. Sitting in front of the fire where he had hugged Ed, pulling his fathers robes around himself and staring off into the flames. His head was running with unspoken words and painful memories. The night he came back from the founders dinner was haunting him even in his sleep. Seeing Ed kiss that Kringle Copy, in his own home. If he hadn’t been so exhausted and shocked that it knocked all anger out of him, he would have charged at her with his hidden knife. His lips curled in a light grim smile, imagining how he pushed the knife between her ribs over and over, her mouth gaping open so she never could kiss his Edward again. But Edward wasn’t his. His friend yes. Maybe. So he halted himself, for Ed, thinking for a moment. Nursing his wine, noticing the half empty bottle again, he sighed. No he couldn’t do that to his friend. As much as it hurt, and it hurt a lot. But he was too late, he was a coward and took too long. But Oswald couldn’t simply stop loving him, but having Ed around knowing that he would always choose a woman over him, it was like walking on broken glass. Each glance, each touch burned and hurt. The dreamy smiles on the mans face, knowing he was thinking about that stupid librarian. Oh how he wished he could rip his black little heart out that somehow still loved and cared. But he couldn’t. Maybe it was time to look at it logically. There was no easy solution to this predicament without hurting and since killing Isabelle wasn’t an option, he had to remove the thing that hurt the most. Gladly his work was giving him a decent excuse for once. The perfect painful opportunity. Oswald sighed and tightened his grip on the glass, while his eyes wandered over a small pile of books that were definitely not his. Even as lovestruck Oswald was, he knew that Nygma wasn‘t only neglecting him and their friendship. After the talk with Isabelle and her hair dying madness, really that couldn’t be healthy, Ed was so distracted that he was neglecting his work. He was dreamy, late, small mistakes slipped into his work and it was dangerous, Oswald had to admit that. The entire affair with Ed was dangerous. He chuckled darkly at the wording his brain used, as if there was an affair. But he had to focus on the only logical thing to do as mayor, as king of Gotham, as a top tier criminal, a man who had done everything to claw his way to the top. He has to give up now. Ed had become unreliable and a danger to his position, of course he cared about him, he absolutely adored and loved that man, but he became his weakness. Love, it really was a weakness for men like them. And he had to get rid of that weakness. No not killing Ed, he could never do that. Maybe that was another problem. But he had to do what he had to do. With another dark chuckle he finished his glass and stared into the fire until his eyes burned. “I have to let him go.” He whispered.
The next morning his leg ached awfully and his mood was gloom to put it lightly. With a groan he steeled himself, got dressed and took some painkillers before making his way to the breakfast table. Ed wasn’t there, like most mornings nowadays, he missed walking down to the man sitting at the table and scoffing at the latest news in the paper only to look up and shoot Oswald a brilliant smile. His expressions hardened again, he would have to get used to it. From today on he would get rid of that weakness in his life. His mother would probably be disappointed, but even she left and let her one true love go. He knew that. He was lucky to have met his father, if only very briefly.
He barely touched his breakfast this morning, which resulted in Olga scoffing at him but she kept quiet otherwise. She wasn’t very talkative but he knew she picked up on something being wrong. She always did, though his constant sighing was probably a giveaway. He could feel her worried glance on his side when she retrieved the barely touched dishes. Thankfully she always kept silent. With a grunt he grabbed his cane and retrieved his coat to go to the car. He had a long day ahead and bad news to break to his best friend.
It was busy and chaotic at city hall as always. And Oswald's mood got even worse as he had to look up his appointments by himself as his chief of staff was still absent. Gladly one of the more eager secretaries, even though Oswald wasn’t very fond of them, helped him retrieving a calendar and Ed’s notes. They were all an hour in the work until his Chief of staff finally showed up, disheveled and hectic he rushed into the Mayors office to apologize, busting into an important phone call. A rather heated one. Oswald felt his blood pressure rising at the call from one of his goons and wished for once he could shoot a bulled through a phone like in those cartoons. Instead his voice had to do and pierce the goons brain as he shouted stuff he himself barely would remember moments after. “GET THAT DONE OR I’LL HAVE YOUR HEAD!” He slammed the phone shut. “ED!” His angry eyes settled on the late man he was supposed to rely on. Secretly he was glad he was angry, it definitely helped getting in the mood for the talk. Ed gave him a sheepish smile. “Apologies Mister Mayor i-”His mouth shut close when Oswald's hand shot up to stop him. “No Mister Nygma spare me the excuses.” He limped around his heavy wooden table and glared the other man down, which was hard given the other was so much taller, but he was trained in intimidating bigger people, most were taller. Sadly it didn’t work as well on Edward, somehow he was rather immune to his temper. Usually it was what he liked about him, just not right now. “This is not the first time you run late, I missed one important appointment because of your neglect. Chief of staff means you have to be reliable, but you are not. You are not there to do your job on time. I can’t allow this to happen again. You will finish today's business and then pack your things. You are released from your responsibilities.” Oswald finished and felt his throat tighten, no he did not enjoy this, not even his anger could make him feel better about that decision but it had to be. Ed was gaping at Oswald in disbelief, for once at a loss for words. Oswald forced himself to not look into Ed’s eyes, he couldn’t stand it. The disbelieve slowly turned into a frown.
“Pack… you are firing me?” The other asked.
“Yes Ed I am.” Oswald sighed and returned to his seat.
“I can write you references if you wish, I am certain you will find a good job with those. A less demanding one.” He knew he struck a big chord of Nygma’s ego with the last sentence. One could practically feel the air around the tall man buzz with anger and panic, while he was trying to analyze Penguin. But Oswald felt too exhausted to react to it and picked up some papers to not have to look at Ed any longer.
After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Ed spoke up again, it was clear he had to do his best to stay calm. Oswald could practically hear the clenched fists, but he swallowed his guilt down.
“So are you throwing me out of the manor as well?” Ed asked flatly and it was his turn to glare down at Oswald. But he didn’t lift his head, acting like the paper in front of him was more interesting, he just couldn’t look into those brown eyes. “If you wish to leave, you may, but no, I will not throw you out on the streets.” Oswald sighed, pained at the question and prospect of living alone again. It was going to be a long and depressing day. “Now if you excuse me, I have a press conference. Laurence will accompany me.” He looked up from his papers, immediately regretting it. Ed stood in the room looking so lost. But he received a silent nod and then the other man stormed out his office.
The day had dragged on painfully. Oswald's legs ached more than usual and he felt a huge pang of guilt in his heart that not even the hurt and anger could wash away. Maybe alcohol could. “It was the right thing to do!” He murmured into the whiskey that Olga brought him. The manor felt empty and so did he. He realized that he had given up, properly given up. Isabelle had won. Ed would leave the manor, move with her and attempt a happy normal life. Trying to forget the darker part of himself until it couldn’t stay contained anymore. But this wasn’t Oswald's responsibility anymore. He loved Ed’s darker part, he was so beautiful with the sadistic grin and the calculated cruelness. He loved everything about that man, except for his dense desire to be ‘normal’. There was no normal for men like them. But if Ed wanted to try and play pretend who was he to stop him.
In the meanwhile Edward Nygma was pacing Kristen-Isabellas Apartment with his girlfriend sitting on the couch and giving him an annoyed glance, after spending a full hour of trying to calm him down. But he didn’t hear any of her words. His brain was like a canyon echoing Oswalds words over and over. The entire situation was ridiculous, and the worst part was, that it affected him so much. Frankly he felt like his brain cracking while the sound of his friends voice became louder, chipping at his carefully mended sides until he suddenly felt like he broke in two. He was here. The cold eyes of the other following him through the room. A disgusted sneer was on his face and the words coming out of his mouth were seething with anger. But not at the situation, it was directed at Ed. ‘You utter fool! You wonder why he fired you? You failed him!’ Ed hated those words. He hadn’t failed. He helped Penguin be where he was now. He was his best friend. One bad day and he was fired? Well maybe a few more bad days. Admittedly he had neglected work, something he was a little ashamed of. But he was in love! He was loved! For the first time in his life he was loved despite what he was. ‘Despite huh?’ He halted to stare at his darker self. “What does that mean?” His darker self shrugged and the angry grimasse turned into a condescending smile.
‘You really need to raise your standard Ed.’
“What?”
‘Despite? Pathetic, don’t you want to be loved for who you are?’
“I am, she loves me!”
‘Do you really think she would stay knowing you will kill more people? No she wants to turn you normal, harmless, pathetic.’
“But she is-”
‘She keeps you back!’
“No! Maybe she just makes me a better man!”
‘Well then why are you upset about Oswald firing you? It’s your chance to be a normal man.’ His dark side hissed. ‘Daddy would be so proud of you!’
“SHUT UP!” Ed shouted and clenched his fists. His other self chuckled darkly and gave Ed a dismissive wave of his hand, but Isabella was jumping up. “Fine! If you are ready to calm down,i am in the bedroom. You’ll see, him letting you go is the best for you sooner or later, but don’t take too long to realize that.” Ed’s head snapped back to her. “Letting me go? He fired me! He threw me out!” He hissed irritated. Isabella turned her head away but Ed could have sworn there was a flicker of a smile crossing over her features. But as fast as it was there it was gone in the next moment as she was walking out the room gracefully and slammed the door to her bedroom shut. He blinked and shook it away. There was nothing to smile about so why would she? He could sense his other side lean over his shoulder, feeling a warm breeze against his skin, a smirk crawling on the face, that was almost touching his ear. ‘Yes poor little Ed why would she smile at your predicament? One she caused?’ Ed blinked again and noticed that Kristen… no Isabella had acted oddly cheerful under her sympathetic glances and reassuring touches when he delivered the news. God. Why was he messing up so much today? The red hair was not making this easier.
‘To be honest, it’s quite disturbing. Didn’t think you’d be into necrophilia.’
“She isn’t dead.”
‘Please in what world would it be normal to alter your hair to the colour of the dead ex girlfriend of your violent boyfriend to look even more alike?’
“She did it to show me I am not going to hurt her, she makes me a better man.” The darker side growled annoyed. ‘A better man? You killed people, and you enjoyed it. You became a man who let’s down his best friend and neglects his duty. You let down Oswald, again!’
“I did not!”
‘YES yes you did. The dinner? Where you were too busy snogging your girlfriend in front of him after he was almost infected with that insanity virus and might have needed your friendship?’
“He was alive and fine.” He growled dismissive.
‘Oh really have you asked? No wait, you didn’t.’
“He seemed to have handled it well!”
‘Oh yes of course, because he always does. Unlike you, dumping your stupid little sorrows about your girlfriend on him.’
Ed sighed. “Admittedly I was a coward not going to her to break up myself and he was a good friend offering help.”
‘Unlike you.’
Ed’s tense shoulder slumped and his fists unclenched. “Yes. Unlike me. I’ll go and apologize.” He looked at the clock. “Tomorrow morning”
His darker side shook his head and scoffed but left anyway. Ed rubbed his nose as if it would help his headache.
Oswald was glad he had a free day, even if he wanted to get up, he couldn’t. His head felt like it was split with an ax and so did his heart. Even the darkness of the room was too bright for his eyes and the silence of the manor too loud. Not that there was any reason to get up. There was no one awaiting him at the table. With a groan he tried to turn around in his bed without feeling sick. His tolerance was high but this time he had tried to forget everything, Ed, same thing really. Not that it worked, he had forgotten his own name, but not Ed. Maybe it got better, after some time. Maybe when he never saw him again, he would forget his face, the big brown eyes, the strong jaw, the brilliant smile, the kind words for him spilling from his lips. Now he just felt miserable, nauseous and heartbroken. He preferred a bullet in his body and getting beaten up over this a million times. With a wince he realized that the silence in the building is broken and while his aching brain refused to make out words, he could at least recognize the voices coming from downstairs. His heart made a leap when he recognized Ed’s and then got confused because the other person raising their voice was... Olga?
Ed snarled but was still stopped by an unmovable force called Olga. He just had wanted to visit Oswald, in their shared home to apologize and that woman had the guts to not let him through. Saying he was sick, well Oswald didn’t want to see him? Too bad! “Olga, for the sake of Oswald, let me through!” A loud smack echoed through the walls and Ed blinked in shock. He lifted his hand to his left cheek. It burned, badly.
“For Sake of Penguin, you leave!” She growled. That woman had muscles. Of course she had, Ed had seen her carry heavy pots of goulash and butcher meat herself. But it was so easy to forget the mostly silent woman doing her work all day. Admittedly it’s been a while since he has seen her. But not that long.
“What was that for?” He asked, still baffled.
“You will not see Penguin.” She said and glared at him unmoving. Ed had to admit that he was slightly intimidated. But she was a buffoon after all.
“I just want to apologize, you deft woman! ” He growled but stepped out of her immediate range. Just in case. But she shook her head and narrowed her eyes even further.
“ You just want job back. You ungrateful man. You hurt him. ”
“ And for that I want to apologize. ” He said slowly, what did she not understand about that?
“No, you done enough damage.” Ed shot her a glare, not entirely sure what damage he had done that she reacted that badly, but then again he knew she really cared about Oswald, and killing her now would make a bad apology. So he’ll just catch Oswald at work then.
Oswald could hear the smack echoing through the manor and held his breath for a second. Ed wasn’t one to throw punches he knew that. Which only could mean that Olga had left a print of her hand on Ed’s face. He didn’t know whether to feel bad or amused. It was sweet that Olga kept Ed away. Oswald doesn’t remember last evening but he was fairly certain he had ranted in front of her. Her angry voice and Ed’s frustration were followed by angry stomps of long legs leaving and a door being slammed. With a sigh he closed his eyes and took in a stuttering breath. It hurt, but it was better that way. He wouldn’t have wanted Ed to see him this way anyway. But he was fairly certain he wouldn’t give up. Which meant that Oswald had now to either deal with the confrontation, risking vulnerability and knowing he couldn’t let Ed go if he returned again, or keep him away by force. He should have thrown him out the manor as well, letting him stay really complicated things. Olga wasn’t always around. But he couldn’t. Not that, he had promised to give Ed a room and everything he needs. And he was a man of his words, well mostly, sometimes. For Ed! The rest of the day was spend sulking in bed, wrapped in soft blankets and nose pressed into pillows until they were soaked by tears. He could allow himself one day of mourning his loss of a good friend, the next day would be filled with work again. Even as King of Gotham, the world didn’t stop for him.