"Now I know why you've got such nice arms under those layers you never let me get under." He had felt them though. Jonathan was thin, no doubt, but he wasn't scrawny. Some proper muscle definition, Edward wagered. One day he was hoping to coax the boy out of his long-sleeved shirts long enough to know for certain. "You're right though, our produce is shit. Unless you have the big bucks, anyway. Gotham summers are about as dreary as the rest of the year."
He was grinning anyway. "I still love summer though. All your blues will disappear, doing things you've planned all year."
"I ain't that strong." He tossed his cigarette onto the floor and stomped it out, wondering why Edward would enjoy summer if it wasn't much different. "I miss the sun but I don't miss the south. That's why I kept going until I hit the n-north." He gunned it for days and it was just a thrill. Leaving his home, his family, the bodies behind.
The relief of a new life was one thing he never lost.
"I guess it's nice. Never a reason to take off your coat." Gotham was good for layers. Jon appreciated it, for obvious reasons.
"So, you're telling me not to get my hopes up for you to go shirtless once summer rolls around? Shame." Edward did wonder whether Jonathan would freckle. Of course, now that he had thought about it to this extent, he was kind of curious about the boy's body in general. Jonathan had seen all of him, didn't seem fair that he'd barely glimpsed beneath the layers. A wrong to right eventually.
"Out of all the towns in all the world, you walked into mine." Edward whistled the Casablanca theme briefly, smiling to himself as he assumed Jonathan was unlikely to get the reference.
"It was fate. And a shitty truck." Jon admitted, shrugging his shoulders. He had been surprised it had gotten him so far, especially considering how much of it was being held together with bits of tape, tissues and cardboard. Even so, he missed it. It was such a shitty car that when he went to look at it last week, it wasn't even missing it's wheels. No one fucking wanted them.
"The club is around here, it's the one that's just a number. Like 1616 or something. Falcon deals here sometimes. It's not bad. It's not easy to get into though." Jonathan didn't like the clubs so much, too loud for his tastes but even so, a job was a job and it was annoying when they wouldn't let him in. "The bouncers at the club find my stutter as funny as our classmates."
"Those apes are on the same step on the evolutionary ladder, so that's not surprising." Edward considered his options, not too sure how easy a time they could have getting into this club. Although... "1616, you said? That'd be-- I think I may know the assistant manager."
That was the club Oswald was working his way up in, last he checked. Assistant manager for now, biding his time. "If we run into any trouble, maybe I can get us an in. He would not approve of the mockery, at any rate."
Too much time in his life spent being called Penguin, Edward wagered.
"We'll see. I have my r-reservations." Jonathan was pretty good these days, he didn't tend to stutter too much when he was relaxed or at easy. As soon as the challenge was set and he had to interact with hostiles, his skills soon started to degrade. It was frustrating and humiliating but that was the problem with this process. It took time to unlearn.
As they approached the club, the bouncers were blocking the door and Jonathan sighed. "I don't like our odds." He knew these two. They were jerks. Too strong, no brains and ready to push him around. Well, here went nothing. "I need entry. I'm with F-F-Falcone." Fuck. That was bad. He could see the smirks. "I'm a d-dealer."
Edward weighed his options, but hey. He wanted to get into the club and ideally he would also like to show off to Jonny a little by getting them both in, so he considered his options as he stepped forward. He'd seen those two around, which wasn't saying much. They were all rather the same type. "Riddle me this: I'm a creature with feathers that doesn't soar, icy fields and depths I explore."
Dumb faces, which was at least something. They were too confused to shut him up immediately. "Penguin." There, did that help? "Is he in? I've got information for him."
He was sure he could part with some of the morsels of intel he did have if he really had to.
The two men seemed confused but they spoke to each other for a few moments before the biggest guy gestured for them to follow him inside. They were going to go and talk to Penguin? He knew that name, he wasn't super thrilled. Why was Edward drawing unwanted attention when they could just get some drinks and go somewhere else. Edward was always so annoyingly single-minded.
The bouncer knocked the door. "I got some kids here to see you, boss."
"... What?!" Well, he sounded thrilled. "I'm busy!"
"Riddle me this, Mr Cobblepot!" Edward called it out loud enough to be heard, feeling that it would work quite effectively as a calling card. And since, he didn't like to not complete a riddle once he had announced one, he did add that as well. "What is always found at the end of one rainbow and not at the end of two?"
He didn't think Oswald would want to solve his riddle. He never did. Oswald, as far as Edward could tell, found riddles annoying. Serious character flaw, but also led to the natural conclusion that since he had requested Edward's services and therefore his presence again and again since his childhood days, he had to value something else about him a lot, to make the constant riddling worthwhile. Information. Edward had always been good at that.
There was a sigh and then Osward pushed the door open and held it open for Edward. Jonathan was awkward, not sure if he should follow or not but Osward gave him an expectant look. "Yes, you as well. Hurry up." Oswald shut the door behind them and then gave Edward a look. "Why are you bringing people to my office? I hardly need more than one teenager hanging around me."
Jonathan found Oswald fascinating. He had a pronounced limp, he used a cane, he was abnormally short and his temper was just as short. And he really did... look like a Penguin. Huh. He had expected him to be bigger.
"Good evening to you, Mr Cobblepot. Lovely to see you, you're looking well. I'm splendid, thank you for asking." Edward proved that he didn't need a partner for conversation, stepping further into Oswald's office and sitting himself at the man's desk. It was not done in Oswald's style, Edward knew that much. He couldn't wait until Oswald had enough power amassed to really imbue his surroundings with his aesthetic, it would be so fun.
"Your gorillas out there have no manners whatsoever. They mocked my associate." He gestured at Oswald and shook his head, saddened by the injustice of the world. "I had to bring him in with me. He's new to the city and such a bright young lad, he doesn't deserve that kind of treatment by the intellectually inferior."
"And why, pray tell, do they mock you?" Oswald asked, able to think of a few reasons why. Jonathan was gangly, strange and was making way too much eye contact.
"Can't th-think of a r-reason why, sir." Jonathan smiled in a way that let Oswald know he was hardly broken up over it. There was more resignation than upset.
"Well, bullies are bullies and brutes are brutes. They might be unpleasant but they get the job done." Oswald didn't see the point of defending or admonishing his bouncers. They did their job, didn't they? "It's not very often that you call your peers 'intelligent', Edward. Such flattery. I'm intrigued."
Jon did find the wording interesting but he just let it all flow over him as he stood there, hands on his pockets, observing. And yes, perhaps making a tad too much eye-contact.
"That is true. However, that is hardly a failing of mine, they simply never give me reason to consider them anything much above bottom feeder level." He was certain that Oswald of all people would be able to relate to that. "Now, Jonathan Crane here only has the years keeping him from a doctorate or two and is already a brilliant man no one wise would underestimate. Of course, fools can't get over minor challenges and-- deviations."
As Oswald was obviously aware. Edward put his hands down on the desk to lean back, looking at Jonathan with a smile before turning his head to look at Oswald again. "My gift to you. A meeting with the sharpest new mind in Gotham - myself obviously excluded - before anyone else has caught on to what a diamond is hidden in the rough. Have I ever misled you?"
Oswald stared at Edward and seemed to consider it for a moment before he just had to ask. "Are you two fucking?" Well, Edward was being very flattering and for all he knew, he was just in love. Puppy love could make teenagers quite stupid.
"No." Jon wasn't lying, they hadn't. Just a blowjob. That was all. And he liked the idea of more but he was more than content with his fantasies. "I work for F-Falcone though."
"I did too. That's not a big deal, it's pretty easy to walk away when you know how." Oswald looked at Edward and then back to Jonathan. "Well, what makes you so sharp?"
Jonathan hadn't expected to be quizzed like this today so he had no obvious answer. He just thought of what his father would have said if he was standing here. "I'm not afraid of anything and I know my place in the world." He felt that was a smart thing to know. "Also I can make better meth than Falcone's supplier and I can make it faster and better quality. When it's more addictive, you can charge more. I don't understand why you'd cut with cheap sh-shit."
"He's a brilliant chemist with a working knowledge of the most twisted kind of psychology and an utter lack of morals, how is that not a perfect package?" Edward felt it was certainly worth a lot. "He has a complete set-up in his apartment. An apartment he lives in alone." No parents, no pesky attachments to work around. Oswald of all people should be aware of the advantage that offered.
"Personally, I believe he'd truly flourish in a less narrow-minded work relationship than his current one." Edward smiled and looked at Jonathan, then joked, not entirely wanting to ignore Oswald's suspicious questioning. "Then he can maybe afford to buy me enough drinks for a fuck. I've got standards, you know?"
"You live alone? As in, you have an apartment and no parents."
"I left them in a hole in Georgia, sir. I got an apartment and my own chemistry set up." Jonathan admitted as he realised that Edward was bartering for him to have a better position. Fascinating. "My f-father was a researcher. Psychology. I think his research has some very useful applications within the criminal community."
"What? Giving them therapy?" Oswald snorted in dismissal, never one to see the bigger picture when he was in a combative mood.
"No, getting them out of jail. It's a loop hole, isn't it? Make them temporarily, undeniably insane. They spend a couple of months in Arkham then go back into Gotham. Better than five to ten in Blackgate." Jon knew he could pull that off, he thought it would be a handy system but he didn't expect anyone to believe him until they saw it.
Oswald frowned and then looked at Edward. "His stutter went."
"Oh yes. It does that when he's confident." Real turn-on, he could also add to this, but he wasn't quite sure whether Oswald would appreciate that. "Just think, Mr Cobblepot."
He also had to keep himself from calling him Oswald or, worse, Penguin, all for Jonathan's sake. And the sake of his scheme succeeding, Edward wouldn't deny entirely that it was part of his goal here. "You, like any forward thinking man of intelligence, make calculated investments. I'd know, wouldn't I?"
He might not have realised at the very beginning when Oswald had first offered him some money to buy candy in exchange for staying at a certain place and then telling him what he'd seen, but he had realised in the time since. Oswald knew what pieces to pick. "A drug dealing chemist who'll be set to become a psychiatrist mere years from now. I'd wager it'd pay off."
Turning his head, he looked at Jonathan. "It's all about knowing Gotham's future. No one knows it as well as Oswald Cobblepot."
"That's all well and good but it would all fall apart if people realise the psychiatrist was a hobby drug dealer, don't you think? There are records, ways to be traced. People who are careless show their hands early in." And Oswald wasn't sure how much this boy could reign himself in and keep on the down low until then.
"I was a queer in the south, sir. I know about discretion." Jonathan informed him bluntly without a hint of shame or concern. Well, a queer could peg a queer. And Oswald was fucking flaming.
And even bolding admitting to his queerness seemed to throw Oswald. "Well... okay. Very good then." Oswald threw his arm out casually. "I'm nothing if not fair. I'm always willing to give chances."
"It's Gotham. The closest bakery to my house is also a rave party. There's something to be said about the virtue of a double identity." Edward had certainly been working on his own for years already, scheming what name to change his to the second he'd be able to get away with it. "Anyway, Mr Cobblepot, we thank you for your consideration. For tonight, can Jonathan head on over into the club and see how successfully he can deal?"
Mission more than accomplished. Edward was rather filled with glee after that, righteously smug - if he dare say so. "I feel like dancing. I can't wait for you to have a club of your own, then I'll want to sing as well." He just felt he would vibe with that décor better.
"Alright, go ahead. Have fun and be responsible. We'll be in touch, I'm sure. Have a nice evening, boys." Oswald had to think this over and likely talk to Edward without the strange presence of Jon but for now, he was relatively content.
Jonathan nodded and he had to admit, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to be feeling but he followed Edward out of the room and into the hallway. The club was loud in the distance and his heart was racing. He felt sick and excited in equal measures. "I'm intelligent, huh? Heh. You're sweet on me." Well, it was pretty funny.
"Don't flatter yourself, you smelly barn boy. I just didn't want to show up to Oswald empty-handed, I had to make you sound a lot more desirable than you are." Edward stopped in the hallway so he could turn to face Jonathan, reaching up to attempt to fix his hair. Nothing much to be done, he really had to bring some product with him for that. Perhaps next time.
"I will admit that you have potential. I'd not have even attempted to talk up anyone as dull as most creatures you and I have to contend with all day." He put his hands on Jonathan's shoulders and smiled. "For now, your most attractive feature still remains your eyes. What can I say? I love seeing myself in them."
Loved that Jonathan was always observing, loved that Jonathan loved watching him. "I'm sweet on myself. Only natural."
"But of course. Now, you said you wanted to dance, didn't you? There's your dance floor, son. Hop to it." Jonathan didn't think they had gone through this whole elaborate ruse for nothing. Edward was going to dance and Jonathan intended to get some drinks and trying to deal some of the stash he had from Falcone. He doubted he would be caught here, it seemed unlikely police would be sneaking around.
"Just try not to dance with anyone with off vibes. You ain't that stupid, eh?" He didn't want Edward getting pulled off by some dangerous fucker. What was Jon going to do? Sutter them to death in defence.
"I don't know, Jonny. That depends. Are you going to dance with me?" Jonathan raised his eyebrows in askance. He didn't think there were many people around with more off vibes than Jonathan. Smelling of bleach and drugs, dressed like a hobo with dark circles under his eyes, dealing drugs and watching him. He laughed and then just blew him a kiss, clearly not bothered by those off vibes. "See you later, honey. Don't forget to think about me while you're hard at work. We're such a fifties couple."
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icebergloungers2024-05-02 05:52 pm
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He was grinning anyway. "I still love summer though. All your blues will disappear, doing things you've planned all year."
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The relief of a new life was one thing he never lost.
"I guess it's nice. Never a reason to take off your coat." Gotham was good for layers. Jon appreciated it, for obvious reasons.
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"Out of all the towns in all the world, you walked into mine." Edward whistled the Casablanca theme briefly, smiling to himself as he assumed Jonathan was unlikely to get the reference.
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"The club is around here, it's the one that's just a number. Like 1616 or something. Falcon deals here sometimes. It's not bad. It's not easy to get into though." Jonathan didn't like the clubs so much, too loud for his tastes but even so, a job was a job and it was annoying when they wouldn't let him in. "The bouncers at the club find my stutter as funny as our classmates."
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That was the club Oswald was working his way up in, last he checked. Assistant manager for now, biding his time. "If we run into any trouble, maybe I can get us an in. He would not approve of the mockery, at any rate."
Too much time in his life spent being called Penguin, Edward wagered.
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As they approached the club, the bouncers were blocking the door and Jonathan sighed. "I don't like our odds." He knew these two. They were jerks. Too strong, no brains and ready to push him around. Well, here went nothing. "I need entry. I'm with F-F-Falcone." Fuck. That was bad. He could see the smirks. "I'm a d-dealer."
"F-F-F-Fuck off, freak."
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Dumb faces, which was at least something. They were too confused to shut him up immediately. "Penguin." There, did that help? "Is he in? I've got information for him."
He was sure he could part with some of the morsels of intel he did have if he really had to.
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The bouncer knocked the door. "I got some kids here to see you, boss."
"... What?!" Well, he sounded thrilled. "I'm busy!"
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He didn't think Oswald would want to solve his riddle. He never did. Oswald, as far as Edward could tell, found riddles annoying. Serious character flaw, but also led to the natural conclusion that since he had requested Edward's services and therefore his presence again and again since his childhood days, he had to value something else about him a lot, to make the constant riddling worthwhile. Information. Edward had always been good at that.
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Jonathan found Oswald fascinating. He had a pronounced limp, he used a cane, he was abnormally short and his temper was just as short. And he really did... look like a Penguin. Huh. He had expected him to be bigger.
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"Your gorillas out there have no manners whatsoever. They mocked my associate." He gestured at Oswald and shook his head, saddened by the injustice of the world. "I had to bring him in with me. He's new to the city and such a bright young lad, he doesn't deserve that kind of treatment by the intellectually inferior."
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"Can't th-think of a r-reason why, sir." Jonathan smiled in a way that let Oswald know he was hardly broken up over it. There was more resignation than upset.
"Well, bullies are bullies and brutes are brutes. They might be unpleasant but they get the job done." Oswald didn't see the point of defending or admonishing his bouncers. They did their job, didn't they? "It's not very often that you call your peers 'intelligent', Edward. Such flattery. I'm intrigued."
Jon did find the wording interesting but he just let it all flow over him as he stood there, hands on his pockets, observing. And yes, perhaps making a tad too much eye-contact.
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As Oswald was obviously aware. Edward put his hands down on the desk to lean back, looking at Jonathan with a smile before turning his head to look at Oswald again. "My gift to you. A meeting with the sharpest new mind in Gotham - myself obviously excluded - before anyone else has caught on to what a diamond is hidden in the rough. Have I ever misled you?"
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"No." Jon wasn't lying, they hadn't. Just a blowjob. That was all. And he liked the idea of more but he was more than content with his fantasies. "I work for F-Falcone though."
"I did too. That's not a big deal, it's pretty easy to walk away when you know how." Oswald looked at Edward and then back to Jonathan. "Well, what makes you so sharp?"
Jonathan hadn't expected to be quizzed like this today so he had no obvious answer. He just thought of what his father would have said if he was standing here. "I'm not afraid of anything and I know my place in the world." He felt that was a smart thing to know. "Also I can make better meth than Falcone's supplier and I can make it faster and better quality. When it's more addictive, you can charge more. I don't understand why you'd cut with cheap sh-shit."
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"Personally, I believe he'd truly flourish in a less narrow-minded work relationship than his current one." Edward smiled and looked at Jonathan, then joked, not entirely wanting to ignore Oswald's suspicious questioning. "Then he can maybe afford to buy me enough drinks for a fuck. I've got standards, you know?"
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"I left them in a hole in Georgia, sir. I got an apartment and my own chemistry set up." Jonathan admitted as he realised that Edward was bartering for him to have a better position. Fascinating. "My f-father was a researcher. Psychology. I think his research has some very useful applications within the criminal community."
"What? Giving them therapy?" Oswald snorted in dismissal, never one to see the bigger picture when he was in a combative mood.
"No, getting them out of jail. It's a loop hole, isn't it? Make them temporarily, undeniably insane. They spend a couple of months in Arkham then go back into Gotham. Better than five to ten in Blackgate." Jon knew he could pull that off, he thought it would be a handy system but he didn't expect anyone to believe him until they saw it.
Oswald frowned and then looked at Edward. "His stutter went."
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He also had to keep himself from calling him Oswald or, worse, Penguin, all for Jonathan's sake. And the sake of his scheme succeeding, Edward wouldn't deny entirely that it was part of his goal here. "You, like any forward thinking man of intelligence, make calculated investments. I'd know, wouldn't I?"
He might not have realised at the very beginning when Oswald had first offered him some money to buy candy in exchange for staying at a certain place and then telling him what he'd seen, but he had realised in the time since. Oswald knew what pieces to pick. "A drug dealing chemist who'll be set to become a psychiatrist mere years from now. I'd wager it'd pay off."
Turning his head, he looked at Jonathan. "It's all about knowing Gotham's future. No one knows it as well as Oswald Cobblepot."
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"I was a queer in the south, sir. I know about discretion." Jonathan informed him bluntly without a hint of shame or concern. Well, a queer could peg a queer. And Oswald was fucking flaming.
And even bolding admitting to his queerness seemed to throw Oswald. "Well... okay. Very good then." Oswald threw his arm out casually. "I'm nothing if not fair. I'm always willing to give chances."
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Mission more than accomplished. Edward was rather filled with glee after that, righteously smug - if he dare say so. "I feel like dancing. I can't wait for you to have a club of your own, then I'll want to sing as well." He just felt he would vibe with that décor better.
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Jonathan nodded and he had to admit, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to be feeling but he followed Edward out of the room and into the hallway. The club was loud in the distance and his heart was racing. He felt sick and excited in equal measures. "I'm intelligent, huh? Heh. You're sweet on me." Well, it was pretty funny.
Edward had a crush. How embarrassing.
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"I will admit that you have potential. I'd not have even attempted to talk up anyone as dull as most creatures you and I have to contend with all day." He put his hands on Jonathan's shoulders and smiled. "For now, your most attractive feature still remains your eyes. What can I say? I love seeing myself in them."
Loved that Jonathan was always observing, loved that Jonathan loved watching him. "I'm sweet on myself. Only natural."
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"Just try not to dance with anyone with off vibes. You ain't that stupid, eh?" He didn't want Edward getting pulled off by some dangerous fucker. What was Jon going to do? Sutter them to death in defence.
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