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Ed had been skeptical about washing out the dye. He had run his fingers through his hair for about twenty minutes, but there was still a red undertone to his hair. He finished looking himself over in the reflection, then made his way up the stairs. He was promptly stopped by an usher.
“Mister Cobblepot has been waiting on you. The second suite on your left.” She intoned. He nodded, and handed her some cash.
“Thank you, Lark,” he said. She nodded, and looked him over.
“I barely recognized you, Mister Nigma.”
He could see why. The only vestige left of the riddler was the green pocket square he wore with his tuxedo. Tonight, they were Oswald and Ed. He pulled aside the curtain. Oswald had kept up appearances, with his hair slicked back and under his usual hat. Ed whistled just as the overture began.
“Ozzy?” He asked. Oswald turned around, and smiled.
“I was afraid you weren’t going to make it. Wow! So you are a brunette.”
“Our little secret,” He reminded, “I was worried I wouldn’t make it here either, but Q and E made sure to keep the Bat occupied.”
“My offer for them at the lounge is still open, my friend, though I doubt they’d take it.” He surmised. Ed took the only seat open in the box next to Oswald.
“How much did these seats cost? You’ve never had us in a private suite before.”
“Edward, come now, do I look like I care about prices? After what you pulled off tonight, you deserve it.” He lowered his voice. ”And you know I love to treat you, darling.” Ed smiled, and looked back to the guards standing outside of the booth.
“Do they know?” He whispered. Oswald shook his head.
“I figured we could discuss our… liaisons at dinner tonight. I’m not so sure it would be beneficial for your appearance to be connected to me.”
“Beneficial? Ozzy, you know I don't care about that. I’m more concerned about how it affects you and the lounge.” He said, keeping his voice low. Oswald sighed.
“It would require a heavy hand. I’m still legitimate, you know.’’
“But of course. You’ve gone straight.” Ed chuckled. He dug into his jacket, and handed Oswald an envelope. “By the way, here’s the bank statement for your cut.”
“You could have waited, but I appreciate your timeliness.” He said. He took the envelope and carefully opened it as Ed watched. There was a bit of paper inside, and Oswald held it under the small lights beside the seats.
“Mhm. You’ve done it again, my dear.” Oswald reached over to give Ed a peck on the cheek, and Ed cupped the area Oswald had kissed.
“I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of that.” He whispered. They both heard clapping, and looked back to the stage. The overture had ended. They clapped along, and settled back into their seats. Tonight, they were treating themselves to Verdi: La Traviata, one of Ed’s personal favorites. He loved the luscious sets and the parties, as well as the Italian. He had picked up a few words, and he always loved to show off for Oswald- or anyone, really.
Oswald was always a fan of the masquerade. At this point, he looked over at Ed, only to see his partner looking expectantly at him.
“You know, you are awfully distracting.” He said. Oswald laughed, and grabbed his free hand.
“That can’t be the only reason you were looking.”
“It could have. But! You’ve always loved this part,” Ed smiled, “I’m surprised you haven’t held a masquerade at the lounge.”
“You can’t, not with the Bat around.” Oswald mumbled. He took a sip of his drink. Ed raised his glass, and Oswald raised a brow.
“A toast!” Ed said, keeping his voice low, “A toast to a night without the Bat!”
“A worthy toast, my friend.” Oswald said. They clinked their glasses, and took a drink.
“Not to me.” A voice said behind them. Ed spit out his drink. They both whirled around, and saw a dark shadow loom over them.
“Oh, you’ve got to be shitting me- how long have you been standing there, waiting to enter with some one-liner?!”
“Riddler, you’re going back to Arkham.” He growled. He looked at Oswald. “And I thought I told you that I’d be keeping an eye on you. Harboring a fugitive won’t look good at all.”
“Shh!” The patron from the next box over shussed. Batman eye’s widened, and Ed took the opportunity to groan.
“I didn’t even take a hostage this time!” Ed hissed. Batman gave him a glare.
“No, you didn’t. But Echo put a cop in critical condition.” Batman looked back to the unconscious guards outside of the box, then the stage. He had seen this before, Selina had taken him. Only one act left. His eyes wandered back to Oswald, whose hand was resting on Ed’s. He quickly retracted it.
Selina was going to kill him if she had to listen to Oswald rant about this.
“Nigma.”
“Hm?”
“Don’t try anything funny.” He grumbled. “I’ll be seeing you shortly.” Ed and Oswald looked at each other in shock, then back to where Batman had been. He was gone.
“Well well well, I guess he does have a heart.” Ed mumbled.
“We could finish the opera, or we could always…” Oswald trailed off. Ed seemed to understand, and leaned over to kiss him.