"So we do!" Oswald agreed, pulling out a chair for Ed to take a seat. He swiped the bottle of wine as he did so and went to open it and pour a glass for them both.
After they were settled, he lifted both fork and knife and held them up expectantly, "Well, dig in."
Getting some food in his stomach would definitely calm his nerves enough to broach the subject he actually wanted to discuss.
And dig in he shall, after taking his seat. "Thank you for this." The fish is, of course, a tad burned. But still good, he thinks. The effort, it seems, may help with flavor as much as any spices or cooking. Isn't that interesting.
"I'm glad you like it," Oswald said, assuming that's what Ed meant with the thanks. He ate about half way through his plate before he set his utensils down with a nervous pat and settled his hands into his lap.
"So... I wanted to talk to you. About... something... You see..." he laughed, a bit on the manic side. He'd never been very good at this sort of thing. And he didn't really want to rock the boat after their very emotional Sunday night. Still settling into it and all, but...
"Selina contacted me yesterday. And she asked me something that... well, I couldn't exactly answer. And she implied... that you might have suggested one, but she was rather vague beyond that.
Ed listens to this, trying to follow the line of thought. When Oswald mentions Selina, he thinks he has some idea of what this is about. But. He does want to clarify it. He'd hate to be wrong. He really would not want to be wrong.
He set down his utensils, taking in a sharp breath. Steadying himself. He couldn't hear anyone calling him an idiot in the vague distance, really. "What...what did she ask you?"
"She asked if we were... boyfriends," he hesitates in saying the word. Sure Ed had basically admitted to being in love with him, but they hadn't exactly defined their relationship beyond that. Something he was fine with. This was all new territory for him as it was. Keeping it a 'learn as you go' thing worked out well. But it was more what Selina had said after that which concerned him.
"She said that you 'didn't deny it'. I presume that means she asked you as well, at some point?"
He hesitates, taking a drink of his wine and thinking about how to answer this. What a role reversal this was, wasn't it? He won't deny being nervous. Was this what Oswald felt back then? Huh. "She asked if we were a 'thing'. I told her I didn't know, and she said she thought that I wanted to be and said 'I got this', and that was the last I heard of it. I suppose this is...what she meant by that."
"You... you don't know?" He looked up, eyes widening and breath hitching. "I..."
He gulped and smiled, trying to push away the worry that came with that statement, "I thought we were. Maybe not... what she thinks, but I thought that we were... a thing. Of some sort. Now."
Eyes widen a bit. "I told her I didn't know," he clarifies. "I know. I know." Oh that hand comes to touch Oswald's real fast, doesn't it? "No. You weren't wrong."
But man, they absolutely need to have a conversation about being more specific don't they? Maybe?
The flood of relief that washes through him doesn't quite relax him, but his hand is quick to flip over and embrace Ed's as he grins big and bright.
"Oh. Good. I wasn't sure if I'd somehow misunderstood," he shook his head. He thought he'd read the situation properly before, but all this was new. Territory he'd seen others tread, but never stepped foot in himself. "I didn't think I had, but the way she asked... And what she asked..."
Oswald squinted at him, cringing a bit, "You didn't say we were... being... intimate. Did you? She seemed to have that impression for some reason."
"No, I didn't tell her anything like that. I wouldn't do that." He really wouldn't. Not with Selina, not with Steve, unlikely with anyone. Oswald, maybe but...well. Obviously with Oswald. Ha. "She's from further in the future than I am, and I was...overly curious about our futures. Maybe she got something from that. Or she was trying to push your buttons."
It is, after all, Selina Kyle. "She hangs out with the Wayne boy, you know."
That caught Os by surprise and it showed, "She does? They run in completely different circles, though. How did she manage to get into his good graces?"
The last thing he'd heard about Bruce, in his world, was, well, the death of his parents.
"I think it's less that she got in his good graces and more that he fell from the graces of his peers. And got in her good graces." Honestly, Selina Kyle is much more intelligent and worth something than Bruce Wayne. At least in his opinion.
Of course it might help that she's currently his assistant. And she did try to help him get out of Arkham. Sort of. After being bribed.
He nodded along, not really understanding how that might happen. Wouldn't the attack on his parents mean he had even more protection coming to him? Keeping him where society thought he should be? Then again, it was Gotham. Odder things had likely happened.
"There's so much you've been through that I haven't," he began slowly, looking down at their hands. "I think... when I'm allowed to return to Gotham... I'm going to. So I can experience whatever it is we've been through together. So I can share that, with you. Again, I suppose."
He opened his mouth, but then closed it again. Unsure of what to say. What should he say to that? Don't leave in six months, don't go home? Wasn't that his sort of quasi-hastily put together plan? For Oswald to eventually go home and things be...better? Or different? Or...something?
And yet, he finds that he's starting to not want him to go. And that voice again, far away but clearer. Chastising him for such a stupid plan. "Six months," he finally manages, hesitantly. "That's how long they say that takes. For people who fluxed in."
"Yes. And I've been here a month already. So five more," he smiled over at Edward, rubbing his thumb over Ed's knuckles. "I promise I'll return. I... I like it here. Gotham is my home, but... You are, too. And if you're here, I want to come back. I just... I want to know what you shared with me. Before now. The future we have together beyond this place. It won't be exactly the same, I'm sure. Since I'm going to destroy that Hugo Strange fellow as soon as I find him. I won't forget that. But, I hope it will be close enough we can... compare. Once I get back."
He smiled, hesitantly. "You might not want to leave there, you know. It might be better. After Strange, all of...that." And he might find out some truly awful things that Edward did and not want to have anything to do with either version of them. Or, maybe those things will never happen and he'll want to stay.
Ed wouldn't blame him, really. That version of Ed is probably significantly less damaged.
"But it wouldn't be with you." Oswald shook his head, "I know I'll meet you. Or a version of you. I don't think it'll be the same you. But, it's not... it's not you. The you that's right here, with me, right now."
Some tears were starting to form at the edges of his eyes, "I know I'm not the same man you fell in love with. Not yet. But you still love me. The me that I am right now. And that's wonderful. But my mother... she always told me that you only get one true love. And when you find them, you run to them."
He blinked the tears back and looked right at Ed, smile bright, "Even if I meet another you when I go back, he won't be you. You're my one, Ed. The you that is here, with me, right now. No one else. I believe that."
"I do. Love you." And the Oswald that he left behind, if he's very honest with himself. If he went back home, could he stay there? He's not really sure. He doubts that Oswald would let him be, wouldn't try to refreeze him or kill him. He's not even sure he wouldn't try to kill him back.
It's better here, he thinks. He's only been here a month, and he's almost sure of it.
"Your mother sounds very wise." If nothing else, he almost does not want Oswald to go back home to spare him what happens to her. He wonders if Oswald will be angry, when he does return. If he does return. That he didn't tell him what happened.
He wonders if telling him would keep her alive. It's something to think about, isn't it? "I don't know why the idea is so upsetting me." He does, he really does know. "The way time works between worlds, you might not even be gone that long here!"
"I'll see how it works before I go. So I can see if they can pull me back at a certain hour, here. And there, I suppose. Or if it's less precise than that. But if they can, then I might not be gone for more than a few hours," he reasoned, considering asking if he might be able to bring his mother back. She'd do so much better in this place. And if he was going to stay, she should come with him. He didn't know how those rules worked. Hadn't really paid attention before. He'd have to rectify that.
"But I know that even if that's true, I will miss you," he assured Ed, "I know it'll be longer for me, so that seems obvious. But I will. So until then, we should do what we can to... get to know each other as we are. Better, I mean."
He picked up his fork again and started to pick at the remains of his meal, the other sill holding Ed's, "I was thinking... Well... I don't really date, but... we could try that?"
"I'd like that. To try that. Date, get to know each other. All of that." He has another sip of his drink with a smile. "I'll miss you too. Even if it won't be long. But we have...time. Five months." It seems like a long time and somehow not long at all.
Ed squeezed his hand before letting go so he could more properly finish his meal.
"Well, then, let's have this be the first of many," he declared, lifting his glass in a toast. When he returned, mother would be so pleased to know he wasn't seeing any painted ladies. He wasn't sure how pleased she'd be to know he was seeing a man, but she'd be very happy Ed wasn't a woman out to tear him away from her. So, points on that side.
He doubts that even he could tear Oswald away from his mother. And he doubts he'd even try, honestly. He knows how bad off Oswald was when he lost her. He wouldn't even dare to try.
"You know, we could try cooking something together over the weekend." Since he won't be working at the morgue, he assumes. And there isn't really anything happening that he's aware of.
"Oh... you don't think I'd get in your way?" Oswald had only really attempted to cook when Ed wasn't there to do it. Ed was by far the better chef. And he was feeling rather spoiled because of it. He liked the feeling.
"I mean, I'd love to. But I've seen you cook. You... you're great at it."
"In the way? No, not at all. It could be..." What's the word he wants here. Hmm. "Fun?" But, a smile at the compliment. "Thank you. I like it. Cooking. For you. I didn't cook as much before you arrived." Cooking for yourself is hardly as interesting.
"If you want to, then yes," he agreed, feeling a bit giddy. The night had gone well. Was going well.
"Maybe you can teach me a few things. Mother was more of a traditionalist in a lot of ways. She insisted on cooking. I only learned a little from her and if it wasn't cookies or something I could lick the spoon after, she'd shoo me out of the kitchen so I wouldn't try to eat it too soon. But some of the simpler stuff, things from the 'homeland', she did try to pass those down. So I'd have some connection to my roots."
Hence the soup he'd made his first night here and a few of the other things since.
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Re: -> Action; several hours later
After they were settled, he lifted both fork and knife and held them up expectantly, "Well, dig in."
Getting some food in his stomach would definitely calm his nerves enough to broach the subject he actually wanted to discuss.
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"So... I wanted to talk to you. About... something... You see..." he laughed, a bit on the manic side. He'd never been very good at this sort of thing. And he didn't really want to rock the boat after their very emotional Sunday night. Still settling into it and all, but...
"Selina contacted me yesterday. And she asked me something that... well, I couldn't exactly answer. And she implied... that you might have suggested one, but she was rather vague beyond that.
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He set down his utensils, taking in a sharp breath. Steadying himself. He couldn't hear anyone calling him an idiot in the vague distance, really. "What...what did she ask you?"
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"She asked if we were... boyfriends," he hesitates in saying the word. Sure Ed had basically admitted to being in love with him, but they hadn't exactly defined their relationship beyond that. Something he was fine with. This was all new territory for him as it was. Keeping it a 'learn as you go' thing worked out well. But it was more what Selina had said after that which concerned him.
"She said that you 'didn't deny it'. I presume that means she asked you as well, at some point?"
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He wishes he could be surprised.
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He gulped and smiled, trying to push away the worry that came with that statement, "I thought we were. Maybe not... what she thinks, but I thought that we were... a thing. Of some sort. Now."
The smile faltered, "Was I wrong?"
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But man, they absolutely need to have a conversation about being more specific don't they? Maybe?
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"Oh. Good. I wasn't sure if I'd somehow misunderstood," he shook his head. He thought he'd read the situation properly before, but all this was new. Territory he'd seen others tread, but never stepped foot in himself. "I didn't think I had, but the way she asked... And what she asked..."
Oswald squinted at him, cringing a bit, "You didn't say we were... being... intimate. Did you? She seemed to have that impression for some reason."
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It is, after all, Selina Kyle. "She hangs out with the Wayne boy, you know."
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The last thing he'd heard about Bruce, in his world, was, well, the death of his parents.
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Of course it might help that she's currently his assistant. And she did try to help him get out of Arkham. Sort of. After being bribed.
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"There's so much you've been through that I haven't," he began slowly, looking down at their hands. "I think... when I'm allowed to return to Gotham... I'm going to. So I can experience whatever it is we've been through together. So I can share that, with you. Again, I suppose."
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And yet, he finds that he's starting to not want him to go. And that voice again, far away but clearer. Chastising him for such a stupid plan. "Six months," he finally manages, hesitantly. "That's how long they say that takes. For people who fluxed in."
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Ed wouldn't blame him, really. That version of Ed is probably significantly less damaged.
...good lord, don't be jealous of yourself.
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Some tears were starting to form at the edges of his eyes, "I know I'm not the same man you fell in love with. Not yet. But you still love me. The me that I am right now. And that's wonderful. But my mother... she always told me that you only get one true love. And when you find them, you run to them."
He blinked the tears back and looked right at Ed, smile bright, "Even if I meet another you when I go back, he won't be you. You're my one, Ed. The you that is here, with me, right now. No one else. I believe that."
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It's better here, he thinks. He's only been here a month, and he's almost sure of it.
"Your mother sounds very wise." If nothing else, he almost does not want Oswald to go back home to spare him what happens to her. He wonders if Oswald will be angry, when he does return. If he does return. That he didn't tell him what happened.
He wonders if telling him would keep her alive. It's something to think about, isn't it? "I don't know why the idea is so upsetting me." He does, he really does know. "The way time works between worlds, you might not even be gone that long here!"
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"But I know that even if that's true, I will miss you," he assured Ed, "I know it'll be longer for me, so that seems obvious. But I will. So until then, we should do what we can to... get to know each other as we are. Better, I mean."
He picked up his fork again and started to pick at the remains of his meal, the other sill holding Ed's, "I was thinking... Well... I don't really date, but... we could try that?"
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"Well, then, let's have this be the first of many," he declared, lifting his glass in a toast. When he returned, mother would be so pleased to know he wasn't seeing any painted ladies. He wasn't sure how pleased she'd be to know he was seeing a man, but she'd be very happy Ed wasn't a woman out to tear him away from her. So, points on that side.
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"You know, we could try cooking something together over the weekend." Since he won't be working at the morgue, he assumes. And there isn't really anything happening that he's aware of.
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"I mean, I'd love to. But I've seen you cook. You... you're great at it."
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"Maybe you can teach me a few things. Mother was more of a traditionalist in a lot of ways. She insisted on cooking. I only learned a little from her and if it wasn't cookies or something I could lick the spoon after, she'd shoo me out of the kitchen so I wouldn't try to eat it too soon. But some of the simpler stuff, things from the 'homeland', she did try to pass those down. So I'd have some connection to my roots."
Hence the soup he'd made his first night here and a few of the other things since.
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