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You were beginning to think that your week couldn’t get any worse- and then? It did exactly that. Your apartment had been broken into and robbed, and to make matters worse they took all of your medication (including your sleeping pills!!!). Jim, the righteous detective that he is, promised you that he would find who did it and get your belongings back and as a result, your apartment is now an active crime scene. So not only do you have the majority of your belongings missing, you now have nowhere to stay for the next few days. Well, that was until Ed offered to let you crash at his for a few days.
You didn’t want to overstep- you and Ed were friendly at the GCPD, sure, but you had never really interacted outside of work. He was nice though, you enjoyed his silly little riddles and knew he worked hard at his job so who were you to decline? A place to stay is a place to stay.
Your stay with Ed wasn’t going as well as you had hoped because now it’s 2am and you’re laying on his couch and staring at the cracks in his ceiling. You had been tossing and turning all night, your mind was racing, your body was annoyingly restless, and the unfamiliarity of Ed’s apartment definitely was not helping. You closed your eyes and tried to relax- to focus on the stillness of the apartment and ignore the sirens and voices from outside. You turned on to your side- still not being able to relax.
You felt bad. Ed had offered to give you his bed and sleep on the couch and you declined and now you’re taking up space in his apartment and probably being too loud. Maybe some background noise would help? No- you can’t risk accidentally waking Ed up. He was being so kind and just because you can’t sleep doesn’t mean he has to stay awake too. You sat up slowly, (carefully, trying to quieten the squeaks from the leather couch) rearranged the blanket that was over you and turned onto your back again.
You saw a warm glow leak from underneath Ed’s door. Fuck. Of course, you were being too loud and annoying and now he was coming to kick you out-
“Are you alright?” he asked from the doorway, voice raspy from sleep.
You froze. Maybe you could get away with it if you pretend to suddenly be asleep now?
Wrong. He called out your name and you could hear genuine concern laced in the vowels.
You sat up and blinked at him from behind the back couch cushions. His hair, unstyled, looked lighter and fluffy. His features looked softened around the edges and sleepwarm in this lighting. Your shoulders relaxed slightly at this unintentional display of vulnerability- it was almost domestic.
“Sorry,” you replied, voice brittle and quiet.
“For what?” he laughed.
“Waking you up. I was being too loud wasn’t I?” you sighed
“It’s alright,” Ed mused, “it would be strange if you slept well after your apartment got broken into. Would you like some tea? Maybe it will help you to relax.”
He began walking towards his kitchen counters, socks padding across the floor.
“No it’s alright, thank you but I'm not sure it would really help.” you responded. You had tried just about everything you could to help with your insomnia and tea was something that definitely didn’t work. You sighed and sat up on the couch, knees pulled to your chest. There was enough space so that if he wanted to, Ed could sit with you; a silent invitation.
Ed just hummed in response and poured himself a glass of water. The apartment was dimly lit and you couldn’t stop yourself from studying his belongings. He had so many books- had he read them all? you wondered.
Probably.
“Sometimes I get so restless that it feels impossible to be still. I swear- sometimes it’s like I need someone to just hold me down.” you joked.
“Really?” he questioned, something unidentifiable flickering in his eyes. He treads across the kitchen and sits at the other end of the couch.
Invitation received.
“Maybe,” you giggled, “I'm not sure if that would even work.”
“We could try it.” He offered, the corner of his mouth curving upwards.
“And what exactly are you offering, Mr. Nygma?” you asked, carefully keeping your expression neutral.
“I’ll hold you down.” Ed shrugged
“Edward Nygma wants to playfight? You couldn’t.” you laughed.
“I could,” he grinned “but we should probably set up some ground rules.”
“Do proceed then,” you challenged. You tossed the blanket on the floor and turned to face him.
“First, if you want to stop, just say “stop” or tap me twice to tap out. Is that agreeable to you?”
“Obviously.” You deadpanned.
“Secondly, punching and biting is off limits. I don’t want anyone actually getting hurt.”
“Biting?”
“Biting.”
“Not even a nibble? A snack if you will.”
Ed was obviously amused by this but stayed silent.
“What do you think of me? That I'm a vampire or something? Actually, don’t answer that, you’ll just have to find out,” you grinned
“Is that agreeable to you or not?” he deadpanned.
“Yes, fine, whatever,” you replied and poked his cheek, “let’s go then, we can’t sit here all night.”
You jumped up off the couch and cleared the floor, pushing all of the remaining furniture out of the way so that there was a clear section of the floor. Next, you grabbed the pillows and blankets from the couch and put them on the floor.
“What’s that for?” Ed raised an eyebrow.
“Safety. Obviously.”
“Right.”
Before Ed had a chance to react any further- you dragged him down onto the floor by his arm and pushed him onto his back. He groaned slightly at the sudden impact of his back hitting the floor. Thankfully, his head didn’t hit the floor because of the pillows you had put down.
You kneeled at his side and smirked as he tried to regain his composure.
“Ow?”
“Oh shut up,” you rolled your eyes playfully, “safety pillows.”
“Yes, I feel very safe.” Ed replied sarcastically.
“You shouldn’t.”
Suddenly, Ed surged forwards and grabbed your shoulders, spinning you around so that he had his arm around your torso.
“Who needs the safety pillows now?” he smirked in your ear. His warm breath fanned across your neck and tickled slightly.
You pushed against his arm, not really wanting him to let go.
He didn’t.
“Still you,” you muttered.
You swiftly slipped out of his hold and wrestled him back down to the floor. His skin was warm and both of your heart rates were getting quicker.
He weakly, no, gently, tried pushing you away.
“Are you even trying?” You laughed, not giving up your attack.
“N-“
Cutting him off yet again, you climbed on top of him, using your hips to immobilise his legs. You ignored the blush dusting his cheeks and nibbled at his wrist.
“See? I knew you were a vampire.”
“Not really.” You trailed your fingers from his forearm down to his wrist and dramatically acted like you were about to actually bite into him but before you could- Ed tugged at his wrist, consequently pulling you towards him.
You were stunned for a moment- the sudden proximity was sobering and dizzying all at once.
He then flipped your positions and had somehow manoeuvred you into now being the one beneath him. You protested, kicking your legs against the floor.
Ed restrained your arms by your sides and smiled confidently at his work. You had never seen him smile like that before- it was powerful.
You wriggled underneath him but it wasn’t really achieving anything. He looked so powerful like this, the dim lighting of the apartment cast a warm glow on his features which highlighted his jaw and cheekbones. It felt alluring and overwhelming.
At a last attempt to do some ‘damage’, you blew at the hair falling over his eyes.
“Really?” he deadpanned.
“What can I say? I'm resourceful,” you beamed a smile at him.
“Of course you are. You live in Gotham.”
Proving your point further, you abruptly moved your arms from your sides with such force that Ed lost his balance and fell over you with his arms bracing each side of your head.
His messy hair obscured some of his vision but he knew you were grinning like a cheshire cat beneath him.
Alarmed by the intense closeness, Ed sat up and pulled away from you, leaning against the couch.
“Are you alright?” You asked, genuinely concerned that you had crossed a boundary.
“Yeah.” he cleared his throat, “Just getting my breath back.”
“Ah.” you exhaled. You blinked up at the ceiling for a final time and sat up and relaxed next to him against the couch.
“Did that help?” he questioned
“Hm. I think so? It was fun more than anything else.”
Ed hummed in contentment and you inched closer next to him.
You could feel the warmth radiating off of his body and could hear every intake of breath.
“Thank you for letting me stay here.” you breathed, “I really don’t know what I would have done without you.”
“It’s more than alright.” Ed reassured “It’s not your fault that you got robbed. It just happens.”
You shrugged your shoulders and quickly realised you were missing an amazing opportunity to attack. With a menacing smile, you nuzzled into the crook of his neck and bit him. He whined, quietly, and you rolled his skin between your teeth before releasing him.
“Ready to go again?” you challenged.
“Always. Are you?”
“Definitely.”